Donald I. Bosshardt, PhDChair, Associate Professor of Economics and Finance
BBA; PhD, Finance — University of Wisconsin at Madison
National Fuel is among the companies that have sought the expert advice of Dr. Bosshardt. The Canisius College faculty member has led seminars on derivative securities for local executives and written a program to ensure the accurate calculation of executive stock-option values to comply with SEC reporting requirements. He also is the author or co-author of articles in such publications as the Journal of Economics and Dynamic Control and the Journal of Finance and has served as a manuscript reviewer for Cambridge University Press.
Dr. Bosshardt designed two courses in “Portfolio Analysis” offered at Canisius College. He has served on the Educational Policy Committee and Academic Freedom Subcommittee of the Faculty Senate, the Executive Committee of the Wehle School of Business, and the Curriculum Reform Committee of the Department of Economics and Finance.
Nelson D. Civello Executive Director of the Golden Griffin Fund
BA, Economics — Canisius College
MBA — Bowling Green University
Nelson Civello joined Canisius in 2001. Prior academic record includes serving as the Professional Co-Director of the Center for the Financial Services Industry and the Dain Rauscher Clinical Professor of Finance at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. His Financial Institutions and Financial Intermediaries course is oriented to contemporary topics in the industry including the new financial services industry landscape. While at Canisius he added a new course in Fixed Income Capital Markets, Bloomberg Computer Certification and a two-semester Golden Griffin Fund course which is a student run investment fund with over $300,000 in assets. He received his MBA from Bowling Green State University in 1969, and a BS in Economics from Canisius College in 1967. He has also attended the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University and the Columbia University Commercial Bank Management Program.
Before joining Canisius, Civello was President of the Fixed Income Capital Markets Division at Dain Rauscher Incorporated for 10 years where he also served on the firm’s Executive Committee, Capital Commitment Committee and chaired it’s Political Action Committee; prior to that he was Executive Vice President and Group Head of the Capital Markets Group at First Bank System (now US Bancorp). Civello was the director of Public Finance for Marine Midland Bank in New York for many years. He was a member of the Bond Market Association’s Board of Directors for 5 years, serving as the 1999 Chairman of the Association's Board, it’s Vice chairman in 1998 and it’s Treasurer in 1997. He also served on its Municipal Securities Division Executive Committee, Corporate Bond Division Executive Committee and Regional Advisory Committee of the Association. He was a member of the Board of the Greater Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce for 6 years where he served as Vice Chair for Economic Development and on its Executive Committee.
He currently serves on the Bond Market Foundation board, the charitable arm of the Association, Strategic Solutions International ( SSI) and serves on the board of JB Hanauer & Co., a New Jersey headquartered brokerage firm founded in 1939. Securities Industry licenses include series 24, 63. 62, 53 and 52.
Patricia A. Hutton, PhDProfessor of Economics and Finance
BSA, Agricultural Economics — University of Manitoba
PhD, Agricultural Economics — University of Wisconsin
Superior achievement in teaching, scholarship, and service led to Dr. Hutton’s selection as the 2001 Kenneth L. Koessler Distinguished Professor, an honor presented by the Canisius College Alumni Association. She is known for her wit, good humor, and involvement in campus activities.
Her enthusiasm for the subjects she teaches is evident in the magnitude of her research. Her work has been published and presented in both the U.S. and Canada. Author or co-author of more than 26 articles and papers. Her current research focuses on explanations of macroeconomic variables with special interest in developing a theory of why firms may make non-contingent wage contracts. She serves as a referee for four scholarly publications: the Journal of Macroeconomics; the Review of Economics and Statistics; the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; and the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization.
Dr. Hutton designed two courses offered at Canisius: “The Economics of Work” and the MBA course “Quantitative Decision-Making.” She has held more than 30 committee assignments at the college, serving on the Justice in Jesuit Higher Education Committee, Honors Program Committee, and advisor to the Center for Teaching Excellence, and has chaired the Committee on the Status of Women and the Human Resource Committee. She is a member of the American Economics Association, the Southern Economics Association, and the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession.
Dr. Hutton founded and advises the Canisius College chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) which develops and implements educational outreach projects intended to empower others to improve theri economic well-being. The club has also started a student-run business, QuadGearTM, which is providing hands-on entrepreneurial education.
In 2007, Dr. Hutton was the first recipient of the new Peter Tower Professorship. She will use the professorship to support the SIFE team. The award, given to faculty in the college's Richard J. Wehle School of Business, provides resources to create innovative programs for undergraduate and graduate students which foster entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development in Western New York.
Larry Lichtenstein, PhDAssociate Professor of Economics
BA, Mathematics — Brooklyn College
MA, Economics; PhD, Economics — State University of New York at Binghamton
Received the Donald E. Calvert Outstanding Professor of the Year Award in 1998. Dr. Lichtenstein teaches at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. He is an applied microeconomist and has a diverse set of research interests. He has presented papers on such topics as rent control, cost of housing quality, human capital, and optimal tuition pricing for members of the American Real Estate, the Urban Economics Association, the New York State Economics Association and the Northeast Business and Economics Association. Articles he has written or co-authored have appeared in such publications as the Journal of Urban Economics, New York Economic Review, and the Western New York Economic News. He is a past recipient of a Canisius College Faculty Fellowship, a Wehle School of Business Faculty Fellowship, and a research grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Dr. Lichtenstein’s college appointments have included membership on the Wehle School of Business Outcomes Committee, the Faculty Senate Academic Freedom and Fairness Committee, the Canisius College Committee on Faculty Status, and the Wehle School of Business Faculty Development Committee.
George Palumbo, PhD
Professor of Economics
BA, Economics — Hobart College
MS, Economics; PhD, Economics — The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Dr. Palumbo strives to help students link the study of economics to “the world they know.” His skill in explaining complex ideas simply and clearly is one reason his students hold him in high regard. Their respect for him was evidenced by his selection for the 1999 Kenneth L. Koessler Distinguished Faculty Award, given by the Canisius College Alumni Association.
Dr. Palumbo is often called upon by the news media to help the public understand the economic impact of current events. The same goal is advanced through his work in producing The Western New York Economic News, an online publication that provides quarterly updates on issues related to the local, state, and national economies. The newsletter is a collaborative effort with Dr. Mark Zaporowski, Canisius College professor of economics and finance.
The diversity of Dr. Palumbo’s scholarly interests is reflected in his current work on a book about the history of the African-American community of Syracuse, New York. He also has examined such topics as economic growth and decline in metropolitan areas, has analyzed the economic impact of the various activities in WNY, and the privatization of local public service. He has conducted research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the City of Buffalo, the National Academy of Science, HUD, and other agencies and organizations.
Dr. Palumbo served on the State of the Region Task Force, assisting in the identification of regional economic indicators. He also has been involved in a study of minority business activity in Buffalo for the Empire State Development Corporation. His service to the college has included membership on the Faculty Senate and the Student Affairs Advisory Committee. Currently, Dr. Palumbo is analyzing the fiscal disparities between cities and their suburbs for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Philip Pfaff, PhDProfessor of Economics and Finance
BMgtE, Production — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
MS, Economics — Fordham University
PhD, Economics — Michigan State University
Dr. Pfaff began his career in the private sector, first as an industrial engineer for General Electric Co. and later as a systems analyst for Chemical Bank in New York City. Today he focuses on the study of financial planning and quantitative methods for business.
He is the author of Financial Modeling, published by Allyn & Bacon in 1990, as well as articles in such scholarly publications as the Journal of Finance, the Quarterly Review of Economics and Business, and the Journal of Financial Education. Incorporating an essential consideration of ethics into the study of business, he conducted an ethics workshop for Arthur Andersen in St. Charles, Illinois, and published two ethics-related articles in the Canisius College Teaching Quarterly.
Dr. Pfaff also has led workshops for his fellow Canisius College faculty members on creative ways of using technology in the classroom. In the fall of 1999, he launched “e-world pizza,” a network-based, interactive simulation to introduce new MBA students to business and e-commerce. He has designed three courses offered at Canisius: “Financial Modeling,” “Reading Financial Statements,” and the MBA course “E-Commerce.”
Among other college assignments, he is a past president of the Faculty Senate and has served on the Undergraduate Business Curriculum Committee.
Ronald R. Reiber, PhDAssociate Professor of Economics and Finance
BS, Business Administration; MA, Economics — State University of New York at Buffalo
PhD, Economics — University of Arizona
Honored three times by the college’s MBA students as the Donald E. Calvert Outstanding Professor, Dr. Reiber also claims the distinction of winning the Faculty Excellence Award from the Independent College Fund of New York in 1992. He was also co-recipient of the outstanding profesor award in 2005 voted on by undergraduate students. He has presented his research before the New York State Economic Association and is co-author of an article published in the Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics.
Dr. Reiber designed the Canisius College course “Commercial Banking.” Among other college appointments, he has served on the Racial Task Force, the Curriculum Committee of the Economics and Finance Department, the Curriculum Committee of the Wehle School of Business, the Sexual Harassment Committee, and as faculty advisor for the Economics/Finance Club.
Dr.
Craig D. RogersAssociate Professor of Economics and Finance
BS, Economics; BS, Business Administration – State University of NY College at Brockport
MA, Economics; PhD, Geography – State University of NY at Buffalo
MBA, Concentration in Corporate Financial Management – State University of NY at Buffalo
Dr. Rogers joined the faculty of the Economics and Finance Department in the fall of 2001 after a five-year affiliation with the college’s Center for Entrepreneurship. During his tenure at the Center, he headed a $490,000 project analyzing entrepreneurial and economic activity in selected areas of the City of Buffalo. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education Urban Community Service Program, the project was aimed at stimulating economic activity in the target areas. As project director, Dr. Rogers supervised a team of five researchers who compiled data about some 2,000 Buffalo businesses. He also initiated entrepreneurial training programs designed to promote small business development. Student employees involved in the project benefited from his expertise in both economics and geography, learning to use sophisticated mapping software and to draw accurate conclusions from demographic data.
Prior to his appointment at the Center for Entrepreneurship, Dr. Rogers served as executive director of the Office of Urban Initiatives, Inc., in Buffalo, overseeing a nonprofit community and economic development organization comprising 150 members. He was responsible for a campaign that led to a 219% membership increase for the organization. He also was instrumental in creating a program resulting in an 18% increase in the number of procurement contracts issued by municipal governments to minority-and female-owned businesses.
From 1992-1994, Dr. Rogers was an Economic Development Zone marketing specialist for the City of Niagara Falls, New York.
Richard A. ShickProfessor of Finance
BS, MBA, Ph.D State University of New York at Buffalo
Dr. Shick is currently Professor of Finance specializing in the area of Corporate Finance. He has twice received the Dr. Donald E. Calvert Outstanding Teaching Award. Prior to returning to teaching, Dr. Shick served as Dean of the Richard J. Wehle School of Business for 23 years – the longest serving dean in the history of Canisius College. Before coming to Canisius Dr. Shick taught at the University of Georgia and St. Bonaventure University where he was also the Chairman of the Department of Finance. He served as the Regional Economist for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the Fourth National Bank Region.
The author or co-author of 30 articles on areas such as mergers, financial institutions, and insurance companies; Dr. Shick has presented papers at 17 professional association meetings. His current research interests are in the areas of outcomes assessment for academic programs, and the valuation of personal financial assets.
While dean, Dr. Shick was president of the Middle Atlantic Association of Colleges of Business Administration and the Jesuit Association of Collegiate Schools and Programs of Business Administration. He was very active in the AACSB – International Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business serving as chair of the Initial Accreditation Committee, and as a member of the Accreditation Management Committee, the Standards Committee and the Nominating Committee. Dr. Shick made 28 accreditation visits for the AACSB and help conduct six accreditation workshops. He has been a consultant to 25 colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Dr. Shick is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, Alpha Kappa Psi, Alpha Sigma Lambda, Alpha Sigma Nu, and Di Gamma. He received the Community Service Award for Education from the Amherst Republican Party and is the initial recipient of the Richard A. Shick Award for outstanding service to the Richard J. Wehle School of Business Advisory Council. Dr. Shick is or has been listed in Who’s Who in the East, America, the World, American Education and Finance and Business.
In the community Dr. Shick has served on 12 boards of directors, been the treasurer of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; the treasurer, president and chairman of Studio Arena Theatre; the treasurer of the AAA of Western and Central New York; the chair of the advisory boards of the VNA Pharmacy and Home Care Support Services of the Visiting Nursing Association of Western New York; and the president and chair of the Old Fort Niagara Association.
Dr. Shick has provided professional development seminars for the Citizens and Southern National Bank. U.S. League of Savings Associations, Marine Midland Bank, Greater Buffalo Press, Norstar Bank and Hunt Real Estate. He has been a member of the boards of directors of Wehle Electric Company and Oak-Ellicott Holdings and is currently on the board of Chautauqua Brick Co., Inc. Dr. Shick has worked as a forensic economist for more than 30 law firms in the areas of pension valuation, business valuation, losses due to wrongful deaths and injuries, and the value of enhanced earnings due to education.
Richard A. Wall, PhDProfessor of Economics and Finance
BS, Mathematics, Economics, Physics — Canisius College
MA, Economics; PhD, Economics — State University of New York at Buffalo
Dr. Wall’s numerous honors attest to the integrity of his research and his skill in teaching. He received the Alumni Association’s Kenneth L. Koessler Distinguished Faculty Award in 1991 and was twice named the recipient of the Donald E. Calvert Outstanding Professor Award, given by the college’s MBA students. He held the M&T Distinguished Professorship since 1990, an honor that provided support for his banking research, and in 1988 studied bank holding companies as a Goldome Scholar.
Author or co-author of numerous articles in scholarly journals, Dr. Wall has focused much of his research on small business and US economic growth. He provides expert opinion for various law firms on the extent of economic loss due to personal injury, wrongful death, and medical malpractice. He has conducted financial analysis training for CEO’s of closely held businesses through the Canisius College Center for Entrepreneurship and has taught personal finance classes for members of the Buffalo Bills football team.
Dr. Wall designed the finance course “Analyzing Financial Information” and redesigned “Introduction to Finance,” and was part of a committee charged with developing a major in entrepreneurship at Canisius. Among other college appointments, he has served on the Trustees Student Affairs Committee, the Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee and acted as Interim VP for Student Affairs.
Mark Zaporowski, PhDProfessor of Economics and Finance
BS, Economics — State University of New York College at Oswego
MA, Economics; PhD, Economics — State University of New York at Albany
The quality of Dr. Zaporowski’s scholarship was evident early on when he received the President’s Award for Distinguished Doctoral Dissertation from the State University of New York at Albany. The subject of his dissertation, inflation expectations and interest rates, continues to be a source of interest in his research. With Dr. George Palumbo, Canisius College professor of economics, Dr. Zaporowski produces the quarterly online publication Western New York Economic News, which delivers data and analysis related to the local, state, and national economies. Dr. Zaporowski has published articles in such journals as the Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics and the Journal of Banking and Finance.
Attorneys rely on Dr. Zaporowski as an expert witness for providing economic valuation in cases involving wrongful death and disability, divorce, pensions, and closely held business enterprises. He has also been called upon to perform statistical analysis in employment discrimination cases.
Dr. Zaporowski designed three courses taught at Canisius: “Introduction to Finance” and the MBA courses “Regression and Forecasting” and “Macroeconomic Analysis.” He has served as a freshman advisor and as a member of the committee that developed the Master of Science in Telecommunications Management Program at the college.