MTSU faculty member Murat Arik, director of the Business and Economic Research Center, was recently recognized for exemplary service and research with multiple honors from the Institute for Global Business Research.

For his supportive role to the organization, Arik was named a recipient of the 2020 IGBR Fellow Award. Serving as editor of IGBR's Global Journal of Accounting and Finance, Arik similarly works to encourage attendance at conferences, serves as a journal referee and advocate, and takes on extra duties on behalf of the organization as a member of the board of directors. He also is an associate editor of IGBR's Global Journal of Management and Marketing.

Arik was also honored with IGBR's 2020 Distinguished Research Award for his scholarly research article, along with fellow co-authors from MTSU's Jones College of Business: Kristie Abston, (Management) and Sam Zaza, (Information Systems and Analytics). The IGBR awards committee performed a blind review and highly ranked their paper, "How Difficult is it to Fill Manufacturing Positions? A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Survey Results," submitted for publication in the Global Journal of Accounting and Finance.

The awards were announced at the institute's virtual spring 2020 conference held April 8-10.

As BERC director, Arik has consulted extensively with local and state government agencies, chambers of commerce and private businesses. His research focuses on regional economic trends, international business dynamics, strategic management of resources, and management of innovation.

He teaches strategic management to undergraduates at MTSU. Arik also serves on the board of directors of Leadership Middle Tennessee.

Learn more about BERC online by visiting mtsu.edu/berc.