How We Started

First established in June 2016 by Dr. Edward Timmons as the founding director, the doors to the "Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation" opened through a generous grant from the Knee Family Foundation and Charles Koch Foundation. The Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation was housed at the Shields School of Business at St. Francis University in Loretto, PA until 2021, studying the effects of occupational licensing on a variety of labor market and economic outcomes.

Moving to West Virginia

In the fall of 2021, the Center moved from St. Francis University to West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics in Morgantown, WV. The Business College offers ten bachelor's degrees, eleven master's degrees, and three doctoral degrees. With more than 3,000 undergraduate students enrolled at the John Chambers College of Business and Economics as of fall 2024, the expansive alumni network and research capacity is highly regarded.

Business programs at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics are accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In its 2011 edition, Bloomberg Businessweek ranks West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics among the top 100 undergraduate business schools in the country.

Where We Are Now

With expanding research and capacity, Dr. Alicia Plemmons, Assistant Professor of General Business, Director for the Center for Free Enterprise, Director of Health research at the Knee Center, and program coordinator for the DBA, MBA, and Healthcare MBA programs, has been named the Center's newest director as of spring 2025. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in research and policy into this role. The Center's faculty and research has also grown into three categories of regulatory focus areas:

Labor
Health
Regulatory Frontiers.

Each area explores a variety of questions and outcomes within the theme of regulatory policy.

The Center has renamed to "the Knee Regulatory Research Center" as work continued to expand into more topics.

Director of the KRRC

Dr. Alicia Plemmons has committed her studies and career experiences to understanding entrepreneurial activity, economic growth, and regulatory policy in a variety of applications.

Dr. Plemmons' dissertation studied economic growth and entrepreneurial development through research into the determinants of entry, operation, and exit decisions of firms, laborers, and consumers, with one of these chapters focusing directly on the impact of occupational licensing laws on firm decision-making. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals, such as the Journal of Health Economics and Health Policy, in addition to being cited by other reputable sources, such as U.S. News & World Report. She regularly provides testimony and educational briefings on healthcare licensing modernization for state and federal legislatures.