Chain of events: News from the Department of Supply Chain Management

Graduation is a proud day at a university, for students, family and the school. Today we introduce you to the May 2012 Outstanding Graduating Senior. In other news, supply chain management faculty publish in top tier journals, but the ideas generated here are disseminated in the popular and business media as well. Here's a small sample of what the world is reading about us. We also bring you news about an instructor whose talent in the classroom wins awards year after year. But enough about us; what are you up to? We're inviting you to let us know!

Graduation is a proud day at a university, for students, family and the school. The Outstanding Graduating Senior is a distinction reserved for students who are brilliant but also well-rounded. Today we introduce you to the May 2012 recipient. In other news, supply chain management faculty publish in top tier journals, but the ideas generated here are disseminated in the popular and business media as well. Here's a small sample of what the world is reading about us. We also bring you news about one of our instructors, whose talent connecting with students in the classroom wins awards year after year. But enough about us; what are you up to? We're inviting you to let us know!

Outstanding Graduating Senior

Phillip Howard was the May 2012 Outstanding Graduating Senior for the department of supply chain management, shown here carrying the department’s banner at the convocation. He was a dual major in economics and supply chain management. “I chose SCM as a major based on the outstanding reputation of the SCM department at ASU and my interest in the subject,” Phil said. “Dr. Michele Pfund was a great professor and I really enjoyed taking SCM 432 from her. While taking that class, I developed an interest in optimization problems and Dr. Pfund helped guide me in my decision to pursue a PhD after graduation. I also enjoyed taking SCM 345 from Dr. Arnold Maltz because he provided challenging coursework that was very interesting.

An Arizona native and graduate of Paradise Valley High School in North Phoenix, Phil was accepted at a doctoral program at the University of California Berkeley, but chose to attend the industrial engineering Ph.D. here at ASU instead. His studies begin in the fall. “After completing my PhD, my career goal is to become a professor at a research university and teach students in SCM or industrial engineering,” he said.

Product sustainability

Supply Chain Management Professor Kevin Dooley is also the academic director of ASU’s Sustainability Consortium. Recently he was profiled in The Atlantic: “Dooley discusses how most people are largely unaware of the life cycle of products they purchase; how smart companies already know that the next competitive landscape is about being more sustainable; and why the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change deserves to be in a sustainability Hall of Fame for bringing attention to climate change and the need to act now.” Read the article

Supply chain management in the W. P. Carey MBA

Department Chairman John Fowler talked to OnlineMBA.com about the supply chain management offerings in the W. P. Carey Online MBA. ”The growing trend of outsourcing and the struggling economy have increased the demand to improve the cost and dependability performance of the supply chain,” he said. “Virtually all types of industries are demanding graduates with supply chain management expertise, including the military, durable goods manufacturers, and financial service providers. We’ve seen great interest in this field from corporate recruiters.” Read the article.

Award Winning Teaching

Steven Brown, senior lecturer in the supply chain management department, was awarded the Huizingh Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching at the faculty awards ceremony this spring. Evidence of Brown’s effectiveness in the classroom is the fact that this is the latest in a long series of awards Brown has received for teaching. Last year he received the John W. Teets Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching, and in 2010 he received the equivalent Teets Award for undergraduate teaching – recognition presented to him in 2008 and 2005 as well.

Cross border supply chains

Arnold Maltz studies trucking and cross border supply chains. Recently he was interviewed by Industry Week for an article about near-shoring and Mexico. Maltz has been looking at the effects of the uncertainty surrounding border crossings on global supply chains -- the subject of a recent KnowSCM article.

Where in the world are SCM graduates?

Graduates of the W. P. Carey School’s Supply Chain Management program are making a difference in companies and communities all over the world. If you are at an interesting point in your career, or have found ways to use your ASU education in your community, knowSCM would like to hear from you! Please send the pertinent details, including your name, graduation year and degree, to liz.farquhar@asu.edu, and we’ll share some of the stories here.