Mark Fagan earned his doctorate in social policy, planning, and administration with a doctoral minor in human resources management from the University of Alabama in 1981. He retired from Jacksonville State University (JSU) in Alabama with 32 years which included teaching 13 different courses, serving as Social Work Program Director and Department Head for Social Work and Sociology for 14 years, and serving as a Consultant to JSU's Center for Economic Development for 23 years. He assisted JSU with hosting the American Association of Retirement Communities for several years. He was awarded Professor/Department Head Emeritus in 2012.
He was released half-time from JSU from 1988-1992 to assist The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to develop the Alabama Program to Attract Retirees. He has assisted The Retirement Systems of Alabama since 1992 with The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. This work includes negotiations for 3 golf course complexes; projected economic impact studies for 5 sites and access roads for 4 sites; publishing 45 articles, books, and booklets; making 13 professional presentations; appearing on 16 TV programs and 3 radio programs; and receiving publicity in 43 periodicals and 9 newspapers.
He has coordinated 8 conferences on retirement, made 127 major presentations, 26 small conference presentations, and 74 presentations around Alabama and the nation about retirees, retirement, and academic topics. Most of his 207 publications and technical writings since 1981 have focused on the economic impact of retirees, retirement places, and economic history. His publication categories are books-10; technical publications-48; newsletter/magazine articles-101; newspaper specials-8; technical white papers-6; agency publications-6; bound booklets-12; academic journals-4; websites/Facebook Series-4; topic encyclopedia entries-18; and book chapters-2. His 10 books are 1-Attracting Retirees for Economic Development (1988), Retirement Development: 2-A How-To Guidebook (2002) , 3-The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Its History and Economic Impact with a Foreword by David G. Bronner (2016), 4-Coastal Alabama Retirement Guide (2018), 5-Coastal Alabama Economic History (2018), 6-Alabama's Public Pension Fund Growth and Economic Expansion Since 1973 (2019), 7-History of The 60 Commercial Buildings Developed by The Retirement Systems of Alabama (2022), 8-Financial Guide for Retirement (2023), 9-A Biography of Captain Wilson Parks Howell (1832-1912) (my great, great grandfather) (2023), and 10-The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Its History and Economic Impact, Second Edition (2024).
He has been consulted by and quoted in the news media for stories on retirees and retirement including 45 TV programs, 11 radio programs, 178 periodicals, and 302 newspapers around the US. Some of the national media in which Fagan appeared include The Golf Channel, CBS News, NBC News, CNN News, ABC News, “Good Morning America,” National Public Radio, U.S. News and World Report, Governing, Time, The AARP Bulletin, New Choices for Retirement Living, Where to Retire, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Money, Business Week, Mature Outlook, Golf Digest, Smart Money, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, and Stars and Stripes.
For details on his publications and books, visit https://www.facebook.com/booksbyMarkFagan. See the book icons below for ordering his last 7 books.