Associate Vice President for Government & Community Relations Professor of Economics
Dr. Bruce Corrie is a leading Twin Cities-based economist, business expert, cultural entrepreneur, and longtime member of the Concordia University, St. Paul faculty. With specific focus on minority businesses and the growing impact minority communities have on the broader economy, Dr. Corrie brings unique perspective and insight relating to the Minnesota business landscape.
Dr. Corrie’s work has garnered deep media coverage across local, ethinic, national, and international media. He has also published numerous academic articles and has written extensively for the Saint Paul Pioneer Press and Minnesota Business Magazine.
As an innovative economist, Dr. Corrie has delved deeply into the economic impact of immigrants and minority communities, documenting their true, powerful impact on our communities. His research and his teaching as a professor has helped shape views and perspectives on critical policy issues, including alternative perspectives that drive greater cultural intelligence in academia and the general public. He pioneered a strategy of economic development in low income neighborhoods focusing on the cultural assets of diverse populations reflected in Little Africa, Little Mekong and other cultural destinations. In response to the current pandemic and economic downturn he helped launch the ALANA Community Brain Trust to bring capital, build capacity and collaborate around building wealth in minority communities.
A member of the CSP faculty since 1987, he has developed the core economics curriculum at CSP. He also served as director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of St. Paul, and continues to be a driving force for economic inclusion in the Capital City and beyond.
Dr. Corrie is also a noted business consultant as the Principal at The Innovative Edge, LLC. Through this venture, he helps individual businesses improve cultural competency, researches immigrant and minority economics, and delivers impactful keynote speeches at business conferences and events. He serves currently on the board of Opportunity and Growth Institute of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Midway Chamber of Commerce, Union Park District Council, Junior Achievement and the Minnesota Museum of American Art.
Dr. Corrie received his PH.D. from the University of Notre Dame, and his M.A. in Economics from North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, Meghalaya, India.
His research, policy insights and strategies can be found at empoweringstrategies.org,
Key Areas of Expertise for Media:
- Business/economic news (perspective on local, national, and international issues)
- Minority economics and the broader contributions of minority communities on our society
- Government/legislative policies relating to economic development
- Business ethics, cultural competency, and workplace diversity
- Business recovery following recession, pandemics, and unrest