James E. Glassman, Managing Director and Head Economist, Chase Commercial Banking
JPMorgan Chase & Co.

 James E. Glassman is a managing director and senior economist with JPMorgan Chase & Co. He works closely with the firm's chief investment officer, commercial banking, investment banking, and government relations groups. He publishes independent research on the principal forces shaping the economy and financial markets. Glassman's views are widely cited in the financial media, where he is a frequent commentator on economic policy issues.

From 1979 through 1988, Glassman served in a number of areas in the research divisions at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington D.C. He joined the JPMorgan Chase & Co. family in 1988.

Glassman earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Ill. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate in economics from Northwestern University.

Mark A. Ruelle, President and Chief Executive Officer
Westar Energy

Mark Ruelle is the chief executive officer of Westar Energy. From 1986 to 1997 he held various regulatory, financial, strategic planning and corporate development positions, including vice president, corporate development and strategic planning. In 1996, he was named president of the company's unregulated energy operations. He left Westar to serve as chief financial officer of Sierra Pacific Resources and Sierra Pacific Power Co. from 1997 to 2001 and served as president of Nevada Power Co. from 2001 to 2002. In 2003, he returned to Westar Energy as executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Ruelle received a bachelor's degree in economics in 1983 and a master's degree in economics in 1986 from the University of North Dakota.

He serves on the board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Topeka, GO Topeka, and the Edison Electric Institute.

John Dieker, Vice President, Stategic Prjoects
Bombardier Learjet

John Dieker, vice president, strategic projects, Bombardier Learjet, has an extensive background in all areas of manufacturing, including fabrication, assembly and product delivery.

For 20 plus years, he worked for Hawker Beechcraft in Wichita within the manufacturing /operations areas. After that, in 2001, he served in the vice president/general manager position at Sino Swearingen in Texas. His tenure at Sino lasted two years, until he joined Bombardier as general manager, Bombardier Transportation, in Plattsburgh, N.Y., where he was responsible for the total operations of the plant.

In June 2006, Dieker joined the Bombardier Aerospace team, returning to Wichita as director of operations for Learjet. In 2007, he was appointed vice president to oversee total operations of the Learjet 40, 45 and 60 models.

Dieker was appointed to his current role as vice president, strategic projects, in August 2011, to oversee facilities and site expansion, environmental health and safety, sustaining engineering and external stakeholders, i.e., the Wichita Aero Club, the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, the Wichita Area Technical College, and others.

Dieker resides in Wichita with his wife, Sue. He enjoys golf and good wine.

Jeremy Hill, Director
Center for Economic Development and Business Research, W. Frank Barton School of Business, Wichita State University

Jeremy Hill is the director of the Center for Economic Development and Business Research. He came to Wichita State University from Georgia Southern University, where he was the director of the Coastal Rivers Water Planning and Policy Center.

Hill leads the CEDBR in its mission to provide accurate, reliable information and analysis to inform decision making in the public and private sectors. The center provides market research, fiscal and impact analyses, and employment forecasts for the regional and state economies.

He has also contributed to innovative research, analysis and planning in collaborative ventures across Kansas. His research focus has been on business analysis and community development, as well as workforce, tourism and retirement dynamics. This variety of research has required economic impact modeling, cost-benefit analysis, forecasting, data analysis, and survey development and design.

Hill has been involved in a number of national and regional organizations, including the Association for University Business and Economic Research, the National Association for Business Economics, and the Kansas Economic Development Alliance.

Cindy Klose, Anchor
KWCH Channel 12

Cindy Klose co-anchors Eyewitness News at Five, Six and Ten on weeknights. Before joining the Eyewitness News team in 1991, Klose worked as an anchor at CNN Headline news in Atlanta, Ga. She started her journalism career at WCIA television in Champaign, Ill. She also produced newscasts at WCIA and hosted a weekly public affairs program. After two years in Champaign, she became co-anchor of the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news.

Klose is a graduate of Murray State University, where she was active in student-produced news broadcasts and the school newspaper. She also worked as a disc jockey at the commercial radio station in Murray, Ky., WNBS, but her favorite college job was statistician for Murray State Racer football and basketball broadcasts. Klose considered a job as a sports reporter until she was told people would never accept sports news from a woman! Instead she started as a general assignment reporter covering whatever news was happening.

Klose still approaches the news as she did when she began her career more than 30 years ago. She thoroughly researches a story and then picks the most interesting elements to share with viewers. She loves the quick access to research topics made possible by the Internet. She is always looking for that one story each day that she would want to share with friends.

Klose grew up in a military family, so she's lived in or visited nearly every state in the union, as well as other countries. Her favorite spot is on a beach, with a good book. Her friends know her as a health-conscious person who enjoys running, tennis, yoga and weight lifting. Her favorite activity is spending time with her husband and children.

John William Bardo, President
Wichita State University

 John William Bardo was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, grew up in that area and graduated from Oak Hills High School. He received a bachelor's degree in economics and studied economics and social policy at the University of Southampton, England, during his junior year. He received his masters' degree in sociology from Ohio University in 1971 and his doctorate in sociology from Ohio State University in 1973. He also attended the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard in 1987.

Bardo's first academic appointment was at Wichita State University as an assistant professor of sociology. He also worked and taught in the Hugo Wall Center for Urban Studies. During his time at WSU he obtained a Fulbright to Australia, where he and his wife, Deborah, studied Americans as migrants; and he had a sabbatical appointment in social policy at the University of Wales in Swansea.

After leaving Wichita State, Bardo held appointments at Southwest Texas State University, the University of North Florida, Bridgewater State College, and Western Carolina University. At Western Carolina, he served as chancellor from 1995 to 2011, after which he rejoined the faculty.

Bardo's academic interests involve the relationships between higher education, the economy, and quality of life. He speaks regularly on issues associated with the New Economy and building competitiveness. When he is not working, Bardo enjoys international travel and working with stained glass.

He first met his wife, Deborah, in Neff Hall on the WSU campus, and they married in 1975. They have one son, Christopher, who is a student at North Carolina Central University studying biology and chemistry.

Doug Hensler, Dean
W. Frank Barton School of Business, Wichita State University

Doug Hensler joined Wichita State University in June 2008 as dean of the W. Frank Barton School of Business.

Prior to that, he served as dean and Sid Craig Endowed Dean's Chair in the Craig School of Business at California State University, Fresno. Before that appointment, Hensler served for eight years at the University of Colorado at Boulder as the W. Edwards Deming Professor of Management, a joint appointment to the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Leeds School of Business.

Prior to returning to the academic community, Hensler served in several management capacities in the nuclear and aerospace industries. In 1998, he co-founded the Multinational Alliance for the Advancement of Organizational Excellence. He serves on several editorial boards of international journals. He holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace and mechanical sciences, a master's degree in business administration and a doctor of philosophy degree in finance. In addition, Hensler is a registered professional engineer in quality engineering.