Paul Cronan Retirement Celebration Set for Aug. 22

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 The U of A community is invited to celebrate the service and contributions of Professor Paul Cronan, the M. D. Matthews Chair in Information Systems, on Thursday, Aug. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Willard J. Walker Hall, room 203.

Dr. Cronan's distinguished career spans 45 years at the Sam M. Walton College of Business and has been marked by numerous leadership roles. He served Walton College as co-founder and co-director of the Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center, director of the Blockchain Center of Excellence, director of Walton Enterprise Systems and vice chair of the Department of Information Systems.

"Dr. Paul Cronan is a beloved member of the Information Systems faculty and of the extended Walton College, University of Arkansas and Information Systems global community," Shaila Miranda, chair of the Department of Information Systems, shared. "He has served the university with heart, dedication and creativity for 45 years. He leaves an indelible mark on our faculty, students, staff and programs. He will be dearly missed from our day-to-day activities, but we look forward to his ongoing counsel and wisdom."

A Career Devoted to Bettering Academia

Cronan's academic journey began at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where he earned a B.S. in computer science. He went on to receive his M.S. in economics at South Dakota State University and his Ph.D. in quantitative analysis at Louisiana Tech University.

Instrumental in the development of multiple curricula as well as the university's academic integrity policy, Cronan created and taught many of the current courses offered by the Department of Information Systems. A few classes include IT ethics, project management, business analytics, databases and IT management.

Cronan's impact stretches beyond the classroom with his extensive research culminating in hundreds of articles, papers and presentations. His work has been featured in prestigious journals such as MIS Quarterly, Decision Sciences and the Journal of Business Ethics. Previously, he served as an associate editor for MIS Quarterly. In recent years, Cronan has focused on studying IT ethics and academic integrity.

His career has been decorated with numerous honors and awards, including the Lifetime Distinguished Educator Award by the Decision Sciences Institute in 2019. Most recently, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Center for Academic Integrity in 2022.

What does retirement have in store? Cronan replied he'll continue to "support and be present for others," something he has become widely respected for during his tenure of over four decades at Walton College. He is an active member of the Association for Information Systems, the Decision Sciences Institute and the Association for Computing Machinery.

The U of A community is invited to join in honoring Cronan's remarkable career and wishing him the very best in his future endeavors on Aug. 22.