Business Professionals to Learn Project Management Skills at Global Campus Certificate Program in Fall

Registration is open for a 27-hour project management certificate program to be taught by industry experts Tuesday nights, Sept. 4 through Oct. 30, at the Global Campus facility at 3300 Market St. in Rogers.

The program includes nine sessions taught face to face from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., and the cost is $990. Online registration is available at http://globalcampus.uark.edu/register.

Participants can earn 25 hours of general credit toward recertification as a professional in human resources, senior professional in human resources, and global professional in human resources, pending approval from the Human Resource Certification Institute.

Participants will earn a certificate of completion and proficiency from the University of Arkansas Global Campus upon successful completion of “Project Management: Plan – Manage – Deliver.”

Participants will receive a set of learning materials, practical references, case studies, a brief introduction into Microsoft Project, and access to online learning materials. The workshop will provide an overview of project management. Specific topics will include risk and change management, program organization and time management. Instructors also will address the strategic planning process and implementation, including the integration of technology and use of metrics.

“This course is geared to meet the needs of anyone tasked with the management of small to mid-sized projects,” said Judith Tavano, senior professional in human resources and director of professional development programs at the Global Campus. “It provides the knowledge needed to get the job done.”

Senthil Raman, a student in the Master of Business Administration program at the University of Arkansas, participated in the spring 2012 program.

"The Project Management Program greatly helped me understand and hone the Plan - Manage - Deliver principles of project management,” Raman said. “The professors' immense industry experience in running projects gave invaluable insights on key areas like planning, budgeting and risk management. Most importantly, the program was very instrumental in helping me find a job.”

The instructors will be Lou Adler, formerly a visiting professor in the operations management program in the department of industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas; Mark Tocco, an educator and management consultant based in Fayetteville who has extensive operational and growth management experience; Mike Sypult, a computer training specialist who develops customized computer application training programs for private and public organizations in Arkansas and South America; and David Moody, the president of Little Green Windmill Inc. and a former program analyst, manager and consultant for NASA.

Adler has more than 30 years of experience in the pulp and paper industries in North America, Europe, Scandinavia and Southeast Asia. He developed and applied process improvements and automation technologies that achieved savings of tens of millions of dollars annually.

Tocco has Fortune 100 management and consulting experience, working in the past for Ford Motor Co., Boeing Co., Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Daimler-Benz USA, LLC. He is on the board of directors for the Northwest Arkansas Entrepreneurs Alliance and teaches business management courses at the college level.

Sypult is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator. He has more than 20 years of experience in computer training, currently serving as the coordinator of computer services at the Global Campus. He conducts technology presentations at professional conferences and provides Microsoft Office training for the J.B. Hunt corporate office in Lowell.

Moody joined the federal service through the Presidential Management Internship and worked for NASA and in the aerospace industry for 14 years. He has owned and operated several businesses in the fields of risk management, retail and business consulting. He also served as the deputy director of the Arkansas Energy Office, which administered $52 million in federal grants that funded programs and projects across Arkansas.

For information about the certification program, contact Judith Tavano, Global Campus professional development program director, at jtavano@uark.edu.

The Global Campus collaborates with academic colleges and schools, businesses and organizations to provide development classes for business professionals. The Global Campus also supports the development of online academic-credit courses and degree programs provided by the university’s colleges and schools. Visit http://globalcampus.uark.edu/pd for information about professional development classes or http://online.uark.edu for online and distance learning offerings.