Dr. Mahua Barari Mitra
Professor of Economics
Provost Fellow for Public Affairs, 2009-2010 and Conference Chair
Provost Fellow for International Education and Partnerships, 2007-2008
Acting Head, Department of Economics, 2005-2006

Mahua Barari Mitra was born and raised in India and completed her B.S. degree in Economics from Presidency College, Kolkata, India before moving to the United States. She received her M.A. degree in Economics from Clemson University in 1986 and her Ph.D. in Economics from Iowa State University in 1992.  

Mahua’s recent research has been empirical in nature and investigates topics in the area of economic and financial integration. Her current research interests also include assessment based empirical analysis pertaining to internationalization of higher education. She has made several scholarly presentations at domestic and international conferences over the years. Her research has been published in scholarly journals such as Journal of International Economics, International Review of Financial Analysis, Applied Financial Economics and Journal of Operational Research Society.

In addition to teaching and research, Mahua has also accumulated administrative experience in recent years. She was the Acting Head of the Economics Department in 2005-2006. In 2007-2008 she was appointed as one of the two Provost Fellows for International Education and Partnerships with the responsibility of further enhancing internationalization efforts on the MSU campus. In that capacity, she worked closely with the Public affairs Conference Chair for that year in adding an international dimension to the conference.

In 2004, Mahua participated in the MSU Centennial Public Dialog to discuss the university-wide mission of Public Affairs and its enactment. Since that time, she has witnessed the evolution of MSU’s Public Affairs Conference into a flagship conference in the southwest region of Missouri that has now added a unique dimension to the history of this institution. As the Provost Fellow for Public Affairs in 2009-2010, Mahua will be chairing the Sixth Annual Public Affairs Conference on Evolving Economic Realities in April 2010. As a life-long student of economics, she has naturally taken a keen interest in the current economic and financial crisis unprecedented in history. The conference will provide a platform for going beyond economics and help shape a broader perspective of the current crisis cutting through several disciplines across all six colleges on campus. She envisions engaging MSU students, faculty, alumni and the Springfield Community at large in a lively discussion with significant national and international figures from outside of Missouri about the promises and perils of the new economic realities.