New SCPS Faculty: Fall 2008

Constantine Kontokosta

Constantine Kontokosta joined the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate as a clinical assistant professor of real estate in the Institute’s real estate and construction management graduate programs. His research interests include housing policy, land use, urban economics, real estate finance, and sustainable development. As a principal of a real estate development firm, Kontokosta also has practical experience in development, engineering, economics, and planning.

This past fall, Kontokosta presented a paper on the Olympics entitled “The Price of Victory: The Impact of the Olympic Games on Real Estate Markets” at an economics conference cosponsored by the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the NYU Schack Institute and as a doctoral teaching fellow at Columbia University.

An alumnus of NYU’s M.S. in Real Estate program, Kontokosta also holds a B.S.E. in civil engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. in urban planning from Columbia University. He is currently completing his doctorate in urban planning at Columbia University.

Richard Butler

Richard Butler, an Australian diplomat who served as the United Nations chief weapons inspector in Iraq during the 1990s, is NYU’s first “Global Diplomat in Residence” at the NYU Center for Global Affairs. An expert in nuclear arms control, disarmament, international security, and the United Nations, he will teach these and other topics in the graduate global affairs program and play an active part in the Center’s public events program.

During his nearly 40-year diplomatic career, Butler has held numerous international posts for both the government of Australia and for the United Nations. From 1997–1999, he was appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Security Council to serve as executive chairman of the United Nations Special Commission to Disarm Iraq (UNSCOM). In the wake of the first Gulf War, Butler was responsible for direct negotiations with Saddam Hussein’s government to “destroy, remove, or render harmless” Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, Butler is the author of several books on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.

He holds a B.Ec. from the University of Sydney, an M.Ec. (international relations) from the Australian National University, and has been awarded multiple honorary doctorates.

Thomas Flores

Thomas Flores, a political economist with expertise in Latin American politics and economic inequality and security issues in developing economies, has joined the full-time faculty of the NYU Center for Global Affairs as a clinical assistant professor in the Center’s graduate program.

A researcher and educator in the areas of international development and political economy, Flores’s work has focused on the political foundations of economic growth and inequality, security challenges in developing countries, the politics of international aid and international financial institutions, and the politics of Latin America, especially Colombia.

Before joining NYU-SCPS, Flores was an analyst with First Manhattan Consulting Group. He has received a Fulbright Scholarship for study in Colombia, a Ford Foundation Fellowship, and two teaching prizes from the University of Michigan. He has co-authored two forthcoming articles about World Bank lending and democratization in post-conflict countries, as well as a book on economic recovery from violent civil conflicts.

Flores holds a B.A. in government, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan.

Connee Zotos

Constance “Connee” Zotos, former director of athletics at Drew University and an authority on collegiate sports administration and Title IX funding and equity issues, has joined the faculty of the NYU Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management as a clinical associate professor in the Center’s undergraduate and graduate sports management programs.

Zotos directed the 18 varsity sports programs at Drew from 1994 to 2008. During her tenure, 11 different teams won a total of 53 conference championships. In 2006, she helped start the Landmark Conference, comprised of eight NCAA Division III schools from the Mid-Atlantic region, with a strong focus on academics as well as sports.

Professor Zotos earned national recognition for transforming the Drew athletics department from a traditional, tiered-funding model to a sports-equity model that provided more equitable funding and resources across men’s and women’s teams. Additionally, she has chaired three Title IX committees, a Gender Equity Task Force, and has served on the Executive Committee of Project Fair Play.

A native of New Jersey, Zotos holds a Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s in physical education with an emphasis in sports management from the University of Colorado, and a bachelor’s in physical education from Glassboro State College (NJ).

Bjorn Hanson

Bjorn Hanson, a hospitality and travel researcher widely respected for his industry forecasts and for having created econometric models that transformed business analysis in the field, joined the Tisch Center faculty as a clinical associate professor teaching in undergraduate and graduate hospitality and tourism programs.

Hanson had taught in the program as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor for 16 years. He holds a Ph.D. from New York University, an M.B.A. from Fordham University, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

Most recently at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which he joined in 1990, he founded the firm’s hospitality and leisure practice and held various positions, including national industry chairman for the hospitality industries. Prior to that, Hanson was a managing director with two Wall Street firms where he led banking and research departments for lodging and gaming.

He co-chaired a committee of the American Hotel and Lodging Association and was president of the Cornell Club of New York. He has been the Cornell University “Hotelier of the Year,” a Conti Distinguished Professor at Penn State University, and holds CRE and CFE professional designations.

Hanson is an author and speaker who is frequently quoted in major periodicals, industry journals, and broadcast media.