Education
Ph.D. Economics, UC Santa Barbara, 1981
Biography
Professor Emeritus Dennis D. Muraoka is a native Californian and a life long resident of Santa Barbara where he received his primary and secondary education from the local public schools. He attended Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) and UC Santa Barbara, ultimately receiving his doctoral degree in economics from UCSB in 1981.
While in graduate school, Dr. Muraoka was employed by the City of Oxnard as an economic analyst. He also taught economics courses at Oxnard College, Ventura College, SBCC and UCSB.
Upon the completion of his doctoral degree, Dr. Muraoka joined the faculty at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). While at CSULB, Professor Muraoka was honored by his peers with faculty awards for excellence in scholarship and teaching. He was also selected to receive the CSULB Outstanding Professor Award for excellence in teaching, scholarship and community service.
Dr. Muraoka is an expert in the field of natural resource and environmental economics and has authored or co-authored many articles in leading economics journals in this area. He is a pioneer and innovator in the use of technology in economics instruction having developed one of the earliest published packages of new media instructional materials for economics.
Dr. Muraoka joined the CI faculty in 2001. He was elected by his colleagues as CI's first academic senate chair. During CI's formative years, he served on numerous faculty committees and task forces, and held several administrative positions. As was the case with all of CI's initial faculty, Professor Muraoka made significant contributions to the creation of CI's curriculum including CI's majors in Economics, Business and Environmental Science and Resource Management. He was among the creators of several popular CI interdisciplinary courses including: The Zoo, The Library, The Music Museum, and The University.
Dr. Muraoka has made contributions in higher education extending beyond the CI campus. These include service with the CSU Statewide Academic Senate, the CSU Commission for the Extended University, the CSU Predoctoral Scholar Program, the California Forum for Diversity in Graduate Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC is the accrediting body for senior colleges and universities in California).
Dr. Muraoka and his wife, Mimi, a retired professor of nursing, reside in Santa Barbara.
Representative Courses Taught
- ECON 342 The Zoo: Conservation, Education and Recreation (cross-listed as BIO/BUS/ECON/EDUC 342)
- ECON 435 The Music Museum (cross-listed as BUS/ECON/EDUC/PAMU 435)
Scholarship
Keywords
Natural Resource and Environmental Economics