Dr. Gunther received his undergraduate degree in accounting and master's degree in economics from Kent State University (Ohio). His Ph.D. in economics was earned at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Gunther taught at the University of Alabama, last serving as Associate Dean for Research and Service and Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research from 1988 to 1998. He was Dean of the College of Business Adminsitration at the University of Southern Mississippi from 1998 to 2003.

He has been a Visiting Fulbright Professor at the University of Veracruz, Mexico; Senior Fulbright Professor, University of Amazonas, Brazil, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Sussex, England. He was selected as a Summer Faculty Fellow, U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research and was elected a Service Fellow of the Academy of Finance and Economics. He received a Certificate of Commendation from the Governor of the State of Alabama for his contributions while on the Alabama Tax Reform Commission and the Certificate of Distinction from The Association of College Honor Societies.

He has authored more than 150 articles, book chapters and research, has co-authored two books and co-authored five educational software packages. He served as a referee for Growth and Change, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Economic Inquiry, Review of Regional Studies, Rand Economics of Education Review, and the Journal of Economic Education. From 1995 to 1999, Dr. Gunther was a regular contributor to the quarterly economic forecasts for the southeast in the Wall Street Journal (Southeast Edition). He has been directly responsible for receiving more than $1 million in external grants to support research.

Dr. Gunther has served as a consultant to a variety of organizations including Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Department of Transportation, WEFA Forecasting, the Attorney's General Office of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Finance. He is past president of the Academy of Economics and Finance, and was a member of the Editorial Board of the Review of Regional Studies and the Executive Council of the Southern Regional Science Association. He has been recognized with numerous awards for outstanding teaching.

Dr. Gunther is a member in a number of professional organizations including the American Economic Association. He has been listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the South and Southwest, American Men and Women of Science, Dictionary of International Biography, and Who's Where Among Writers.

Dr. Gunther currently serves as Executive Secretary Treasurer of Omicron Delta Epsilon (International Honor Society in Economics), and serves on the Board of Directors of the Special Olympics Foundation of Alabama.

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