Ball State has appointed Michael Hicks, nationally known for his research on energy markets and the economic impact of Wal-Mart, as director of its Bureau of Business Research (BBR).

Hicks will oversee the bureau situated within the Miller College of Business starting Aug. 15. Since its inception in 1970, the BBR staff has supported business faculty and provided the state's business community with research resources.

He succeeds Patrick Barkey, who recently left the university to become the director of health care research with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana

"We are pleased to bring a noted scholar and author of Dr. Hicks' stature to Ball State," said Ray Montagno, associate dean for research and outreach for the Miller College of Business and search committee chair. "Over the last few years, Dr. Hicks has received national acclaim for his research. We feel strongly that he is motivated to elevate the Bureau of Business Research into one of the nation's top research centers."

Hicks is currently an associate professor of economics at the Air Force Institute of Technology's Graduate School of Engineering and Management at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, and is an adjunct scholar at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. He previously was a tenured research professor at Marshall University.

"My family and I are pleased to be coming to Ball State," he said. "The university's strong national reputation for immersive learning programs as well as its strong commitment to research furthering Indiana's economy makes this a very exciting opportunity."

Hicks earned doctoral and master's degrees in economics from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor's degree in economics from Virginia Military Institute. He has authored two books and more than 60 scholarly works focusing on state and local public policy, including an emphasis on tax and expenditure policy, environmental regulation, alternative and traditional energy and the economic impact of Wal-Mart on local economies.

He also holds the rank of lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, serving since 1984 in North Africa, Southwest Asia, Korea and Japan.