Paul Jarley, dean of the UNLV College of Business, named Stephen Brown the new director of the UNLV Center for Business & Economic Research (CBER), effective Sept. 1.

"Stephen Brown is an excellent, nationally recognized economist whose work at the Federal Reserve and on energy economics makes him a great fit for this position," said Jarley. "He has a keen understanding of how the economy works and his expertise in energy issues will be of great help to UNLV's alternative energy research initiatives."

In addition to CBER responsibilities, Brown will teach courses on economics at the undergraduate and graduate level, and will continue his research in regional economic growth, energy economics and economic policy. He specializes in the analysis of economic and business conditions, regional economic growth, energy prices and aggregate economic activity, economics of government policy, global warming and energy security.

Brown is well-known for his energy economics research including an article he co-authored titled, "What Drives Natural Gas Prices?," published in the 2008 edition of The Energy Journal. The International Association for Energy Economics recognized the article as an outstanding paper.

Brown's research has been funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior; the U.S. Department of Energy; the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation; the National Energy Policy Institute; the Bertelsmann Foundation; the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center; the National Commission for Energy Policy; and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Brown taught economics at Arizona State University, University of Colorado, Southern Methodist University and Tulane University. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland.

The CBER was established at UNLV in 1975. For more than 20 years, the late UNLV economics professor Keith Schwer, who passed away last December, led the CBER into becoming a well-known resource for analysis of business trends analysis and economic conditions for Las Vegas, the state of Nevada and region. Twice a year, the CBER holds conferences forecasting the city and state's economic outlook.