Kenneth Heaghney, the state of Georgia’s fiscal economist, has been named the new director of Georgia State University’s Fiscal Research Center.

Heaghney succeeds Sally Wallace, who had served in the position since 2011. She became dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies in April.

Heaghney will lead a team of public finance experts who provide nonpartisan research, technical assistance and education to help policymakers and the community understand and make decisions on complex fiscal issues facing the state. Among other responsibilities, FRC develops estimates for tax-related fiscal notes and the Georgia State tax expenditure budget.

“Ken’s expertise in tax policy, revenue forecasting and analysis makes him the ideal person to serve as director the Fiscal Research Center,” Wallace said. “He has many years of experience working with the General Assembly and the governor’s office and will lead the FRC with a great deal of knowledge about the fiscal process.”

Heaghney, who is also research professor at the Andrew Young School, will continue to serve as state fiscal economist. Appointed to the role in 2005, Heaghney develops forecasts of Georgia tax revenue, interacts with bond rating agencies on revenue and economic trends in Georgia, and overseas the development of fiscal impact estimates on proposed tax-related legislative changes.

Prior to joining Georgia State as a research professor and becoming state fiscal economist, Heaghney worked in the private sector for more than 20 years, primarily in a variety of consulting roles. His expertise was in applying economic and statistical analysis to help business leaders solve a variety of strategic issues. His work included areas such as pricing, resource and investment planning, and regulatory policy.

“As state fiscal economist, I have worked closely with the outstanding staff of FRC for almost 15 years, said Heaghney, who starts as FRC director on Aug.. 20. “Our staff excels in providing thoughtful, data-driven analysis of fiscal issues to our stakeholders in government and the wider community. I look forward to leading our efforts to continue providing the highest quality fiscal analysis to our stakeholders.”

Heaghney holds a Ph.D. in economics from Rice University and a bachelor s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri.