What is something others might not know about the Belk College of Business?
We have close to 5,000 students and 100 full-time faculty members.
We have several top-ranked graduate programs – our M.S. in Mathematical Finance is ranked #14 and our MBA program has been consistently nationally ranked.
We also continue to grow!
Jennifer Troyer, Ph.D., served as Dean of the Belk College of Business until she was named Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for UNC Charlotte. She also remains Professor of Economics. Dr. Troyer has conducted research in health economics, with a focus on long-term care issues.
When did you join the Belk College of Business?
I joined the Belk College in Fall of 1999. I just found a photo of the University that year. At that time, there was no Cato building, no CHHS building, no Student Union, etc. Student enrollment was a little over 16,000.
What roles have you served in the college?
During my time at the Belk College, I served as Professor of Economics, Chair of the Department of Economics, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs, Senior Associate Dean, interim Dean of the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), and Dean of the Belk College.
What has been most rewarding about your leadership role in the Belk College of Business?
It’s very rewarding to be able to help support our faculty and staff in their work with students and in their research and other activities that benefit the Charlotte region and beyond.
Describe your major area of expertise as a faculty member.
I am a health economist and an expert on the U.S. nursing home industry. I have also engaged in a number of studies evaluating the costs and outcomes associated with different health-related interventions.
What research do you have in progress?
My co-authors and I just completed the analysis of a randomized trial that asks the following question: Can a mobile health intervention, which includes an iPad program given to patients immediately before a medical visit and follow-up automated electronic messages, increase receipt of colorectal cancer screening? We know that screening for colorectal cancer saves lives, yet over one-third of all age-eligible Americans are unscreened. Our intervention results are very promising so far; at a cost per patient of only $8, those in the intervention group had twice the rate of colorectal cancer screening.
What have been some of your greatest faculty moments so far in your career?
As a faculty member, few things are more rewarding than the look in your students’ eyes when they grasp a new concept. Some of my most rewarding teaching has been at the graduate level, where I have had an opportunity to teach students new analytical tools that can be applied to real business or policy problems. I have also loved working one-on-one with doctoral students engaged in their own cutting-edge, original research in the area of health.
