Professor Mary P. Merva, who joined JCU in 1994, received BA degrees in both Geography and Economics from California State University, Long Beach in 1982. She went on to complete a Master of Arts in Economics at Rutgers University, where she subsequently obtained a PhD in Economics in 1989. While studying at Rutgers, she was invited in 1985 to teach economics for a year in the graduate school of Jilin University in the People’s Republic of China. After receiving her doctorate, she accepted a position at the University of Utah, where she taught economics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. At the University of Utah, she was awarded the prestigious Superior Teaching Award from the College of Social and Behavioral Science. She also participated in the development of a televised economics course that was broadcast in the state of Utah for nearly a decade. In 1993, Professor Merva relocated with her family to Rome, Italy. In 2006, Professor Merva earned the right to hold the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designation. Her research area is in applied economics, where she has published a number of influential articles. She teaches in the areas of economics, finance, and quantitative methods. Professor Merva has nearly two decades of experience in accreditations and institutional assessment of educational programs, both with U.S. accrediting agencies such as MSCHE and AACSB, and the QAA for the U.K. Professor Merva served as Dean of Academic Affairs from 2007 to 2021. In 2010, she was promoted to Vice President of Academics, a position that she continues to hold.