FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Intersection of Law and Data
DR. LING ZHU USES HIS RARE COMBINATION OF EXPERTISE IN BOTH LANGUAGE AND NUMBERS TO PREPARE LIU STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS
L
ing Zhu, an associate professor at LIU’s College of Management, always knew he wanted to become a lawyer. Growing up in Shanghai, the goal of graduating from an American law school became his dream at an early age.
His forward-thinking approach has helped keep the College of Management’s innovative curriculum on the cutting edge, equipping students for the workforce of the future. “I try to find an interaction between law, IT and business,” he said. “Based on my background, I find a pretty good fit in that tiny area.” With his finger on the pulse of shifting industry landscapes, Zhu recognized an opportunity for LIU to stay ahead of other institutions by offering a Master of Science in Data Analytics and Strategic Business Intelligence (MDA). Launched earlier this year, the program enrolled six students in its inaugural class this past spring semester. That number more than quadrupled to 25 for the fall.
While studying international trade law at the University of Arizona, Zhu worked on a research project focused on B2B, or business to business, and E-commerce between the U.S. and China. In the Zhu expects the growth to process, he discovered the “Find an interaction between law, continue. “It’s a big opporthesis topic for his mastunity for LIU to increase its IT and business” ter’s degree. Moreover, he enrollment and academic repurealized this new passion tation,” he said. required him to reroute the direction of his career path. Adapting to the shifting deZhu went on to earn his PhD in Management Information mands, LIU students will be ahead of the pack as they enter Systems and surged into the nascent field of e-commerce. a job market ripe with opportunity for individuals equipped with the new skillset of business-oriented data analytics. One year before graduating from the PhD program, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in Washington D.C. selected Zhu to study the science and technology policy in the United States. As a result, he participated as a Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow in a study initiated by Congress. Based on that research, Zhu realized his new vocation. “That was a life changing experience for me,” he said. “During those three months I attended lots of congressional hearings and met with officials from governmental agencies. It opened my eyes, and I could see how I fit into a particular research area, which is: the information technology policy.” After graduating in 2007, Zhu joined LIU’s AACSBaccredited School of Business as an assistant professor.
26
LIUMAGAZINE | December 2019
The University has offered a Bachelor of Science program in Management Information Systems for more than a decade, which is now complemented by the graduate MDA track. Those specialized either in computer science or business, but not both, lack the dual-perspective needed to holistically understand the complex digital exchanges occurring in today’s global marketplace. “Over the last five years you can see a trend, MIS people moving toward the data side. They are paying more and more attention to data,” Zhu said. “When you try to develop an information system within a business organization, you need someone who understands both areas. That is where MIS and MDA people fit in.”