Awards
- Bicentennial Medal - 2019
About Kurt Zorn
Kurt Zorn received a B.A. in economics from State University of New York at Albany, and an M.A. and a Ph.D., both in economics from Syracuse University.
Zorn is acting vice provost for undergraduate education for Indiana University Bloomington. Prior to this appointment he was the associate vice provost for undergraduate education and a professor in the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Specializing in state and local public finance, with expertise in tax policy, transportation safety, economic development and gaming, Zorn has held various leadership positions at IU, including director of state relations, advisor to the president, and interim dean and associate dean for academic and fiscal affairs at O'Neill. For three decades, Zorn’s work has been published in numerous journals, including Public Budgeting & Finance, Economic Development Quarterly, Public Finance Quarterly, Growth and Change, Public Administration Review and The Journal of the Transportation Research Forum, and was included in more than sixty articles and book chapters as well.
Zorn is a member of the City of Bloomington Economic Development Commission and serves on the editorial board of Public Budgeting and Finance. Previously, Zorn served as chair of the Citizens' Commission on Taxes, created by then governor of Indiana, Frank O'Bannon, to formulate recommendations for improving the state and local tax system in Indiana. He has also served as chairman of the Indiana State Board of Tax Commissioners, as well as consultant to the State of Indiana, Indiana Infrastructure Inc., U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Transportation, and the President's Commission on Aviation Safety. Zorn is a faculty athletics representative to the Big Ten and the NCAA. He has won numerous awards, including the 2002-03 Gordon Faculty Award, and in 2019, Zorn received Indiana University’s Bicentennial Medal, in recognition of his distinguished contributions and service to the university.