MCC Professor Kevin Batts Recognized for Research Project

Madisonville, Ky. – Madisonville Community College (MCC) assistant professor of business administration and program coordinator, Kevin Batts, was honored with the “Best Paper” award in the Accounting/Finance/Economics track at the Academic and Business Research Institute (AABRI) International Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, in early October.

The paper by Kevin Batts and Dr. Steve Lacewell of Murray State University entitled, "The Effects of the Dodd-Frank Act on Community Bank Mergers & Acquisitions", examined quarterly aggregated data from approximately 6,000 community banks since 2010 focusing on the impacts of rising compliance costs and increasing restrictions stemming from the Dodd-Frank Act on community bank Merger & Acquisitions. Research was also performed to determine if any time lag exists between the time that restrictions/costs increase and the subsequent increase in bank Mergers & Acquisitions.

Batts joined the faculty at MCC in 2014 and earned his bachelor’s degree in economics and the MBA with a concentration in finance from Murray State University. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Leadership Hopkins County and Kentucky Business Society and also is a member of the Kentucky Economic Association. In 2015, he received the Richard A. Byrnes Memorial Leadership Award from Leadership Hopkins County.