M.S.O.M./M.S.E.M. Programs Hold Faculty Meeting, Give Awards

Karin Hickenbotham

2023 M.S.O.M./M.S.E.M. annual faculty meeting

The Master of Science in Operations Management and Master of Science in Engineering Management hosted its annual faculty meeting July 27-28 with over 50 in attendance. Those present included faculty, staff and guest speakers. Those gathering in person met at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, with 10 attending virtually, to collaborate on course development and participate in training and learn more about the College of Engineering vision.

During the meeting, instructors traded best practices, engaged in a panel discussion with students and received updates regarding department plans and online services. ProctorU gave a demonstration of its new platform for testing, Blackboard showed test questions options and great discussions were had about ChatGPT and AI in the programs.

In addition to the learning and networking opportunities, there were awards presented to faculty and community partners. Each year, the program asks for nominations on outstanding faculty who go above and beyond for their students, fellow colleagues and campus initiatives.

Rashóne Tate

Jeff Bean

Phil Jones

Jay Weaver

The Rookie of the Year Award was presented to Rashóne Tate. This award recognizes an outstanding instructor who has gone above and beyond to contribute to student success and program efforts, making a difference in a relatively short period of time. Tate jumped right in by redeveloping a course and has been quick to volunteer ideas. Students state that she always has a positive attitude and made working with her fun.

The recipient of the Leonard Nethercutt Innovator of the Year award went to Jeff Bean. The award is open to any instructor who increases learning outside the traditional curriculum through innovative teaching and service. Bean is solutions oriented, has positive attitude and is always problem solving to improve how he presents his material.

The recipient of the Randy Roy Instructor of the Year award was Phil Jones. This award recognizes an instructor who goes above and beyond to help students in the programs and has volunteered to help when program needs arise. When a student does not understand a concept, Jones is quick to jump on a call with the student to work through examples until they understand. He has helped to rebuild courses, is always willing to take on a new course and is many students' outstanding instructor.

The final award at the faculty meeting was the Campus Partner Award. This year's campus partner has played a key role in the success of the programs. Jay Weaver was a natural choice because he is always willing to help by working weekends and going above and beyond to admit students. He works in the Graduate School Admissions Department, and he is easy to work with and has been a valuable asset in the graduate admissions process.

Those interested in teaching as an instructor for the programs should contact Amanda Ogden, assistant director for faculty development, at amandao@uark.edu.

The Department of Industrial Engineering in the College of Engineering has three professional graduate degree programs: The M.S. in Operations Management, the M.S. in Engineering Management and the M.S. in Operations Analytics. The M.S.O.M. program began in 1974 and is designed for professionals from a broad range of backgrounds, including business and government operations. Students learn how to create value to the production of goods and services while working with worldwide suppliers and customers.

The M.S.E.M. program began in 2017 and prepares engineers to lead and manage teams, projects and organizations with technical workforces to meet strategic objectives. The programs also include graduate certificates in operations management, engineering management, project management, lean six sigma and homeland security to broaden student understanding of current skills needed by operations and engineering managers.

Six two-course microcertificates are also offered in Advanced Air Mobility, Analytics for Operations Managers, Decision Support Systems for Operations Managers, Engineering Management Analytics, Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, and Leading Operational Change. The two-course microcertificates will feed into a four-course certificate, which can also be used to earn a Master of Science degree. All programs have a goal of "Learn It Today. Use It Tomorrow."