Chancellor Emeritus John White Receives Book of the Year Award

Photo by University of Arkansas

Chancellor Emeritus John White

John White, chancellor emeritus of the University of Arkansas, has just received the Joint Publishers Book of the Year Award from the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) for his new book, Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership, from Greenleaf Book Group Press.

This is White’s fourth Book of the Year award from IISE as he was awarded the Joint Publishers Book of the Year Award in 1974, 1986 and 2015. 

Ed Pohl, head of the Department of Industrial Engineering, said, “I am so excited that IISE has recognized Dr. White’s book as the book of the year. This book provides a great collection of practical leadership principles collected from leaders in industry, government and academia. It provides excellent insights and is a must-read for all aspiring leaders.”

The book, which became available in October, draws on White’s wealth of expertise acquired across a six-decade career as a corporate leader, chancellor, dean, educator, engineer and consultant to create a thorough and thought-provoking treatise on leadership. 

“Dr. John White does it again…another book of the year!” said Kim Needy, dean of the College of Engineering. “Why It Matters may perhaps be his best work yet, a must-read for emerging leaders, seasoned leaders and all those in between.”  

Why It Matters: Reflections on Practical Leadership has already drawn plenty of awards from Amazon.com including:

• Instant #1 New Release on Amazon in Corporate Governance
• Amazon Bestseller in Leadership Training
• Instant #8 New Release on Amazon in Business Mentoring & Coaching
• Amazon Bestseller in Corporate Governance
• Instant #2 New Release on Amazon in Leadership Training
• Amazon Bestseller in Management Science
• Instant #5 New Release in Project Management
• Instant #3 New Release in Management Science.

White will be recognized and receive the award at the Annual IISE Conference & Expo 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 20-23.

The book is available from the following retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads and Walmart.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News. 

About the Department of Industrial Engineering: The Department of Industrial Engineering was founded in 1950, led by department head John L. Imhoff, who believed deeply in the global impact of industrial engineering. Today, the department averages over 200 undergraduate students (sophomore through senior) and over 40 doctoral and master’s students. In addition, the department has three online master’s degrees: the Master of Science in Operations Management, Master of Science in Engineering Management and Master of Science in Operations Analytics. These three programs alone enroll over 2,000 students each academic year. A wide range of practical research is conducted in the department in the areas of reliability, maintainability and quality engineering; transportation, logistics and distribution; health care systems engineering; manufacturing and automation; engineering management and big data; and data analytics in each of the five research centers housed in the department. To learn more about the Department of Industrial Engineering, please visit our website.