Meet the Interim Provost

Dr. Steve Perez is the interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs. Dr. Perez comes to Chico State after serving as interim president since January 2022 at San Jose State University, where he has kept the institution on an upward trajectory during a time of transition. He previously served as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs and professor of economics at Sacramento State, providing leadership and support for the Division of Academic Affairs, including faculty and staff in all colleges, the University Library, and several offices that support students, faculty, staff, and the Sacramento region.

After receiving his B.A. degree in economics at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Perez received his Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of California, Davis in 1994. He taught economics at Virginia Commonwealth University and Washington State University before coming to California State University, Sacramento in 2001. Over his two decades of service to that university, he also served as associate professor, professor, assistant to the president for special projects, faculty athletics representative, interim dean for the College of Business Administration, and interim provost.

Dr. Perez’s research has explored most macroeconomic topics, but a specific interest has been evaluating the ability of econometric techniques to discover the truth, issues of causality in macroeconomics, and sports economics. Dr. Perez has also taught macroeconomics at all levels, as well as econometrics, sports economics, labor economics, and mathematics for economists. His articles appear in many economics journals, including The Journal of Sports Economics, The Journal of Monetary Economics, The Econometrics Journal, Economics Letters, The Journal of Economic Methodology, Public Finance and Management, The Journal of Economics and Business, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking, Applied Economics, and The Journal of Macroeconomics.