Richard F. Bieker, PhD

Richard F. Bieker, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Delaware State University, where he served on the faculty from 1970 until his retirement in 2017. Over nearly five decades, he mentored generations of undergraduate and graduate students and made significant contributions to the intellectual and academic life of the university. His teaching, scholarship, and leadership advanced the study of applied economics, regional development, and public policy.

An internationally recognized scholar, Dr. Bieker was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar and served as a visiting professor at Slovak Agricultural University in the Slovak Republic and at the American University of Armenia. His international work focused on economic development, transition economies, and the application of economic policy within emerging market institutions.

At Delaware State University, Dr. Bieker held several leadership positions, including Director of the MBA Program from 1984 to 1995. He also served as Program Leader for the Economic Research Program within the Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS), where he directed research initiatives addressing regional economic development, labor markets, and public policy.

Dr. Bieker’s research interests include the economics of education, welfare policy, labor markets, regional development, public policy analysis, and personal financial planning. His work has been published in journals such as Social Science Quarterly, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Growth and Change, Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, The International Journal of Management Education, Southwestern Economic Review, Journal of Economics and Finance, Journal of Education for Business, and Financial Counseling and Planning, among other professional outlets. His research addresses topics including education economics, unemployment insurance, rural labor markets, welfare reform, regional growth, and personal financial planning.

He has contributed to the profession through service as a reviewer for the Advanced Placement Economics Examination administered by Educational Testing Service, as an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers, as Associate Editor of The International Journal of Management Education (2017), and as a peer reviewer for numerous academic journals.

Dr. Bieker is the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Alpha Chi National Honor Society and both the Outstanding Teaching and Outstanding Research Awards from the School of Business.

In recognition of his distinguished career in teaching, scholarship, and academic leadership, he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus of Economics at Delaware State University. He continues to maintain active intellectual interests in economics, public policy, and international education and continues to teach on a part-time basis.