AUBER Profile

L. William Seidman Research Institute
Arizona State University

The L. William Seidman Research Institute in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is the current incarnation of the original Bureau of Business Services, which was established at then Arizona state College in 1951. The Bureau (with a name change to the Bureau of Business and Economic Research) operated as the single research/public service unit of the ASU College of Business until the 1980s, when the college adopted a more decentralized, entrepreneurial model, and several additional centers with specific areas of specialization were created. The L. Williams Seidman Research Institute was established in 1985 to coordinate research activities in the College of Business at Arizona State University. It is named for the former dean of the college, L. William Seidman. The institute provides support and coordination for its constituent centers, with the individual centers playing key roles in the development and delivery of the programs associated with the institute.

There are currently seven research centers operating under the Seidman umbrella (in alphabetical order): the Arizona Real Estate Center, the Bank One Economic Outlook Center, the Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies, the Center for the Advancement of Small Business, the Center for Advancement through Information Technology, the Center for Business Research, and the Center for Services Leadership. The current organization and activities of the institute are the result of many factors—among the most important are the interests and talents of the associated faculty and staff, the agendas of constituencies and funding organizations, and the mission and strategic goals of the W.P. Carey School.

There of the Institutie's constituent centers focus on the kinds of activities normally associated with AUBER units. The Arizona Real Estate Center (AREC), established in 1980, compiles and monitors data on housing, commercial real estate, and construction activity in Arizona. Based on these databases, the center produces the Phoenix Metro Housing Study and the Phoenix Metro Commercial Study, both subscription-based, and a number of public services studies, including the monthly Arizona Construction Report and housing affordability and appreciation studies for the Phoenix metropolitan area. AREC also conducts applied research projects under the sponsorship of private and public agencies.

Created in 1985 as the economic forecasting unit of the school, the Bank One Economic Outlook Center (BOEOC) was renamed in 1997 in recognition of a gift by the bank to the university. In addition to monitoring current trends and producing forecasts for the Phoenix area and Arizona, BOEOC is best known as the publisher of the Arizona Blue Chip Economic Forecast, the Greater Phoenix Blue Chip Economic Forecast, and the Western Blue Chop Economic Forecast newsletters, which provide consensus forecasts for 10 western states. As a public service, the center also compiles the Arizona Leading Index, the Arizona business Conditions Index, and the Arizona Tourism Barometer.

The Center for Business Research (CBR) is the primary public service research/public information unit of the institute. It specializes in applied research relating to the economic, business, and demographic issues of Arizona and the Greater Phoenix area. The center produces Arizona Business, ASU's monthly economic newsletter, which publishes summaries of research by the BOEOC and the AREC, in addition to the results of its own research activities. The CBR's ongoing projects include population and migration estimates/projections and an annual comprehensive analysis of state economic trends. The center also conducts public service research projects under the sponsorship of public and private agencies.

The research and administrative staff of the Seidman Institute and the three centers include Tim Hogan, director of both the institute and the Center for Business Research; Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center; Lee McPheters, director of the Bank One Economic Outlook Center; Tracy Clark, BOEOC's associate director; Dawn McLaren, BOEOC research economist; Kent Hill, faculty research associate in the Center for business Research; Tom Rex, CBR research manager; and Katrina Walls, research specialist; Nancy Maneely, editor; and Kelley McManus, business manager, all with the Seidman Institute.

For more information about the Seidman Institute, please visit its Web site: www.wpcarey.asu.edu/seid/ or contact;

L. William Seidman Research Institute
W.P. Carey School of Business
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85281-4011
(480) 965-3961