Our Staff

Liviu Andreescu is professor with the Faculty of Public Administration and Business at the University of Bucharest. Originally trained as a philologist, he holds a PhD in Political Science (SNSPA) and an MA in American Studies (UB). He has studied higher education and research policy, policy foresight, church-and-state policy, and research ethics. He served as an expert on higher education and research policy with several Romanian higher education councils and agencies. He is founding member and former director of Prospectiva, a non-profit interested in future-oriented practices in the public sector, among others by designing and facilitating policy workshops and consultations.

Email: liviu.andreescu@faa.unibuc.ro 

Dr. Andreea Ardelean is a Lecturer and researcher at the University of Bucharest's Faculty of Administration and Business. In the Behavioral Economics Master's program, she teaches "Methods for Impact Evaluation," training students to isolate causal effects using econometric models and statistical tools. Her research utilizes empirical data analysis to investigate socioeconomic phenomena, digital transformation, and consumer behavior—focusing on educational performance and ICT implementation in EU labor markets. In her practical modules, she equips students with quantitative skills in R and SPSS for behavioral data analysis.

Email: andreea.ardelean@faa.unibuc.ro 

Magda Beșliu's research interests span administration, business, and communication, with a focus on experimental and interdisciplinary approaches. Her academic activity includes teaching Game Theory, Econometrics, Statistics, and Data Analysis as an Assistant Professor at the University of Bucharest (The Faculty of Business and Administration). She holds a Ph.D. in Statistics and Cybernetics and an MSc in Behavioral Economics. Her studies address public policy in terms of policy impact evaluation (institutional effectiveness) and understanding citizens' aggregate decision-making processes (relevant for counteracting fake news, managing health crises, consumption behavior, collective anxiety, and governmental communication).

Email: maria-magdalena.rosu@faa.unibuc.ro 

Ștefan-Alexandru Catană is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest. He holds a PhD in Marketing. His main research interests include consumer behavior, digital marketing, and generational marketing.

He has published several articles in national and international academic journals, focusing on topics such as retail innovation, online consumer decision-making, and the impact of digitalization on shopping experiences. He has also participated in numerous academic conferences, presenting research on how different generations interact with brands across both physical and digital retail environments.

Email: stefan.catana@faa.unibuc.ro 

Elena Druică is Full Professor at the University of Bucharest, with a background in mathematics and PhDs in Probability Theory and Economics. Her research combines behavioral science and quantitative methods, with a particular interest in understanding why people do not always act on what they know is good for them. Her habilitation, Behavioral Data Science for Health and Well-being Research, reflects this interdisciplinary approach. With 32 years of teaching experience, she brings the same philosophy to Applied Regression Analysis and Research Methods for Dissertation Thesis: start with a meaningful question and ask what the data can genuinely tell us about it.

Email: elena.druica@faa.unibuc.ro 

Dr. Rodica Ianole-Călin is Professor and Vice-Dean for Research and International Relations at the Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest. Her research integrates applied microeconomics and behavioral science, examining how social norms, perceptions, and institutions influence economic behavior and well-being. Her work addresses financial and health decisions, sustainable consumption, and collective governance, with publications in leading international journals. She teaches behavioral economics, game theory, microeconomics, and health and environmental economics, using experimental and data-driven approaches. Her international academic experience includes teaching at European universities. She also applies behavioral insights to public policy and institutional programs, collaborating with public and private organizations in Romania and abroad.

Email: rodica.ianole@faa.unibuc.ro 

Viorel Mihăilă is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, where he currently serves as Director of the Department of Public Administration. His academic and research interests span strategic communication, migration and development, community development and social innovation, crisis management, social cognition, behavioral economics, participatory research, and social marketing.

He is actively involved in interdisciplinary and international academic initiatives, with a particular interest in civic engagement, participatory approaches, and the relationship between public institutions, communities, and behavioral processes. He is a member of the CIVIS Civic Engagement Expert Group and a former member of the Applied Behavioral Economics Research Center at the University of Bucharest.

Email: viorel.mihaila@faa.unibuc.ro 

Dr. Ionela-Andreea Puiu is a Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest. She holds a PhD in Economics, awarded Summa Cum Laude, from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, and a master’s degree in behavioral economics. Her interdisciplinary research explores behavioral economics, health economics and data analysis, with interests in behavioral modeling, resistance to innovation, sustainability, and consumer behavior. Combining rigorous quantitative methods with an interdisciplinary perspective she has published in high-impact international journals and is a Reviewing Editor at Springer Nature.

Email: ionela-andreea.puiu@faa.unibuc.ro 

Mihaela Păun is Professor of Applied Statistics, with over 25 years of academic and research experience in Romania, Canada and the United States. Her work combines applied statistics, behavioral economics, data analysis and evidence-based decision-making. She has contributed to national research and higher-education policy through advisory bodies involved in research strategy, institutional assessment, monitoring, forecasting and evaluation, and has worked on studies addressing research funding and graduate employability. Habilitated in Statistics and Cybernetics, she supervises doctoral research across a broad range of applied-statistics topics. Her interdisciplinary background brings quantitative rigor and policy relevance to the study of economic and behavioral decision-making.

Email: mihaela.paun@faa.unibuc.ro 

Andrei Florin Sora is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of History, University of Bucharest. His research focuses on political elites, state administration, and governance practices in Central and Eastern Europe, with particular interest in how institutions, political actors, and society interact. His recent research has increasingly explored economic and political life in rural societies, especially in Romania, including political participation and relations between local communities and central authorities. He has co-edited several volumes on economic, social, and political change in Central and Eastern Europe, including Integrating the Rural World. Economy, Society and Politics in Central and Eastern Europe, 1848–1939 (CEU Press, 2026).

Email: florinandrei.sora@istorie.unibuc.ro 

Dr. Calin Valsan holds a Ph.D in Finance from Virginia Tech. He taught Behavioral Finance, Corporate Governance, Corporate Finance, and Political Economy at various universities in Europe, and North America. He is currently affiliated with Facultatea de Administratie a Afacerilor at the University of Bucharest, and the Williams School of Business at Bishop’s University in Canada. Dr. Valsan’s research interests include Behavioral Economics, Corporate Governance, Political Economy, and Economic Complexity.

Email: calin.valsan@faa.unibuc.ro