Omid Bagheri, Ph.D.

I am a Professor of Economics at the Department of Business Administration of Mt. San Antonio College. I joined Mt. SAC in 2026. Before that, for 9 years, I was an Associate Professor of Economics at Kent State University (Salem Campus). I joined Kent State after I received my Ph.D. from the Virginia Tech Department of Economics in August 2017. My bachelor’s degree is in Industrial and Systems Engineering (2003), and I hold a master’s degree in Socio-Economic Systems Engineering (2006) along with a master’s degree in Economics (2013). I also hold a certificate in Executive Management (2010).

I teach 5 courses per semester at Mt. SAC. At Kent State, I used to teach 4 courses per semester and also do empirical research in labor economics with a focus on immigration and in environmental economics with a focus on air quality. Besides, for a whiIe I was involved with experimental research in behavioral economics.

In 2015, I received the “Best Graduate Instructor of the Year 2014-2015” award from the Virginia Tech Department of Economics, and also for two years in a row (2015 and 2016) I was nominated for the Virginia Tech “Graduate Teaching Excellence Award”, a university-level competition. In addition, I was recognized by the Virginia Tech Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research (CIDER) "Thank a Teacher" program for teaching effectiveness.

I am an Iranian-born and back in my home country I worked for two of the most influential economical/industrial organizations: “Management and Planning Organization” and “Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO)”.  At the former organization, I served as a member of “Science and Technology Professional Committee” (part of Iran’s 5th national 5-year development plan core). I was also a member of the advisory team for micro and macro issues in marine, railway, and home appliances industries. At IDRO, as a research and strategic planning expert, I defined and supervised several foresight and strategic formulation research projects regarding the high-tech industries.