Operations Management Program Names New Assistant Director

Photo Submitted

Emily Nichols

Emily Nichols was recently selected as the new assistant director for faculty development in the College of Engineering Master of Science in Operations Management program.

The operations management program provides graduate education for military, civilian and industrial personnel and is the largest graduate degree program at the University of Arkansas. The degree requirements may be completed online, on the Fayetteville campus, or at one of five graduate resident centers located across the United States. The program is housed in the industrial engineering department because of the close relationship between operations management and industrial engineering.

The assistant director for faculty development is a new position for the program. In her new role, Nichols reports to Greg Parnell, director, and Richard Ham, associate director. Nichols will be responsible for adjunct faculty scheduling, training, mentoring and development. She will also work with the program's live, hybrid and online courses and with the Global Campus and other university resources to help the faculty learn new teaching methods and to continuously improve the program's courses.

Nichols started her employment with the Department of Industrial Engineering while she was still in high school, working hourly through the summer. While she was studying as an undergraduate at the University of Arkansas-Forth Smith, she continued to work hourly through the summers. She then worked for the department throughout the year while she pursued her master's degree in higher education from the University of Arkansas.

Nichols joined the operations management team in December 2012 as a project manager. In this role, she was responsible for maintaining accreditation for two of the graduate resident centers, keeping memorandums of understanding with the centers on military locations, developing efforts to stay connected with alumni of the program, and maintaining the program course schedule and website.

More information about the operations management program can be found on their website.