2012 New Faculty Announcement

2012 New Faculty Announcement

Chelliah Sriskandarajah

Hugh Roy Cullen Chair in Business Administration PhD: Higher National School of Electrical Engineering, National Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble, France Recent Affiliation: University of Texas at Dallas

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fficient and effective management of supply chains that provide goods and services to society are essential and the backbone of the U.S. economy,” says operations management Professor Chelliah Sriskandarajah. Sriskandarajah has chosen to confront this challenge through his research, focusing on “how companies can best manage their supply chains to reduce costs.”

Cost reduction is a major concern at any company and is essential to keeping prices down and margins up. “It is a hard topic in the sense that all elements in the supply chain interact with each other, making the management problems much harder to solve,” Sriskandarajah explains.

Sriskandarajah has established himself as a leading researcher in this area, with his work published in top journals, including Production and Operations Management, Management Science, Operations Research, Manufacturing and Service Operations Management and IIE Transactions, among many others. He also brings his supply chain expertise to companies, consulting and advising for companies like Blockbuster, FSI International, and Brink’s Inc., who are part of his published research. Specifically, Sriskandarajah’s research with Blockbuster helped the company to properly formulate demand for its mail-in DVD services.

Sriskandarajah enjoys being able to bring his research and work experiences into the classroom. “Real-world examples will help students to realize the value of the material taught in the class, as well as encourage them to participate in classroom discussion,” he explains. Sriskandarajah has also been enjoying the student body at Mays, complementing them for being bright and also respectful and polite to their professors. “Texas A&M is a very friendly place,” he comments.

With a growing commitment to research and education at Mays, Sriskandarajah recognized the opportunity to be a part of a committed program at what he says is a university on the move. “[Mays] is rapidly growing in the areas of management research,” he says. “There are well-known people already here.”

He added that he hopes to contribute to strengthening the supply chain management program here, both in research and education, saying “it is an exciting time to be at Texas A&M.”

Chelliah Sriskandarajah

“Real-world examples will help students to realize the value of the material taught in the class, as well as encourage them to participate in classroom discussion.”

Ruby and Earle A. Shields, Jr. ’41 Chair in Investment Advising PhD: Purdue University Recent Affiliation: University of Texas at Dallas

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inance Professor David Mauer knows his field of study can be challenging for many students to understand, and that’s part of why he likes teaching it. “I especially enjoy explaining complex financial concepts and showing students how seemingly abstract concepts have important practical applications,” says Mauer.

The business world is rarely static, so Mauer also aims to teach students to think in ways that will allow them to adapt as business practices evolve. Mauer emphasizes a deeper understanding to help students avoid situations where their “education becomes outmoded.” This teaching method has garnered Mauer respect from students, the universities where he teaches and his colleagues: he is listed as one of Bloomberg Businessweek’s Outstanding MBA Faculty in the 7th and 8th editions of their “Guide to the Best Business Schools.”

Much of what Mauer is teaching overlaps with his research that, while broad, focuses mostly on the interactions between financing and investment decisions. His work has been featured in the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and Information Systems Research, among others. One of his early research papers was the first to establish a direct link between investments in information technology and a firm’s value, and his most recently published work was chosen for a highly selective conference at MIT in 2009.

Mauer’s research has made significant and lasting contributions in corporate finance, and he doesn’t have any plans to slow down; since 2003, he has had six papers published in the top three financial journals.

Besides investing himself in teaching students the ins and outs of finance and influencing corporate finance, Mauer says he is excited to help the finance department at Mays reach its full potential as a top department. “I really like Mays Business School because it has outstanding leadership and a world-class faculty.”

“I especially enjoy explaining complex financial concepts and showing students how seemingly abstract concepts have important practical applications.”

David Mauer

David Mauer

Deidra Schleicher

Associate Professor of Management PhD: Penn State Recent Affiliation: Purdue University

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eidra Schleicher knows that effectively managing the performance of employees can be a daunting task, especially when it comes time for managers to have those difficult, but necessary conversations about performance with their employees. “But for other companies, the number of employees managed can approach the thousands,” says the associate professor of management. “Managers are simply not very good at this.”

This is the kind of expertise Schleicher is fine-tuning with her research, as well as looking into how personality variables impact organizational behavior. Schleicher thoroughly enjoys research, thinking about it even while teaching classes. “I learn just as much from them as they do from me,” Schleicher says of her students. “I often get great research ideas from these interactions.”

Research is also the reason why Schleicher came to Texas A&M; she acknowledges the management department at Mays as one of the most research-productive in the country. “I wanted to be a part of that,” she says. “In addition, this is coupled with a great atmosphere of collegiality and respect. It’s a very powerful and unique combination.”

Yong Chen

Assistant Professor of Finance and RepublicBank Research Fellow PhD: Boston College Recent Affiliation: Virginia Tech

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he combination of “strong research and excellent teaching” is what brought Yong Chen, assistant professor of finance and a RepublicBank Research Fellow, to Mays. “To me, a successful teaching day ends with me learning as much from students as I teach them,” he explains. “It’s highly rewarding to interact with students.”

Chen's vast experience has allowed him to present at conferences for organizations such as the Western, American and European Finance Associations and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Chen focuses on research about investments, particularly the risks and performance of hedge funds and mutual funds. His research has appeared in numerous publications, including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and Journal of Investment Management.

“I look forward to making my own contribution in advancing our understanding about finance,” Chen says.

Stephen Courtright

Markus Fitza

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Assistant Professor of Management PhD: University of Iowa Recent Affiliation: University of Iowa tephen Courtright must often overcome a widespread mindset of students: that management is mostly intuitive. “Sometimes the perception of the students coming into class is that the concepts I cover are ‘common sense’ and are less important than the technical skills they are gaining in other classes.” Courtright, however, is committed to helping students see the “light,” and he brings the necessary tools to do so.

Courtright comes to Mays with the research and real-world experience crucial to back up his teaching, helping students “gain an appreciation for the importance and complexity of the ‘people’ side of business.” His research focuses on how human resource management impacts the development of effective leadership and teamwork in organizations, and has earned him awards from organizations like the Academy of Management and the Society for Human Resource Management.

His work has also been featured in publications like the Journal of Applied Psychology and the Journal of Management, as well as national publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and ABC Radio, among others.

Despite his own success in the field, Courtright has a lot of things to say about the faculty and management department at Mays.

“I feel proud to be part of such a renowned department,” he says. “This is a department where I feel I can really flourish.”

Assistant Professor of Management PhD: University of Colorado at Boulder Recent Affiliation: Bentley University emorize, learn, understand — all words students would use to describe what they try to do in class or when reading a textbook.

Markus Fitza uses a different word: connect. The assistant professor of management says what he enjoys most about teaching is the interaction with students and the ability to help students on their way to, as he puts it: “connect with content.”

This approach earned Fitza “The Best Should Teach” Silver Award at the University of Colorado in 2008, but he has also received recognition for his research, which won him the Best Conference Paper Prize at the Annual Meeting of the Strategic Management Society in 2010, among others.

Fitza’s research centers on the effects that being in an uncertain or knowledge-rich environment have on a firm’s performance. He also looks at how companies can best communicate that performance to key constituents, like stakeholders, an important connection for businesses to maintain. In addition to being award-winning, Fitza’s research has been published in leading journals such as the Strategic Management Journal and Journal of International Business Studies.

Fitza says he made the move to Mays to connect with the researchers here. He says he looks forward to “the chance to work with some of the greatest minds in [his] field.”

“The foundation of any business Michael Howard

Assistant Professor of Management PhD: University of Washington in Seattle Recent Affiliation: University of Washington in Seattle

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anagement Assistant Professor Michael Howard draws on analogies from the biological sciences to describe what happens when employees leave their current companies to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities.

“I examine how knowledge and experience pass from ’parent firms’ to ‘progeny ventures’,” Howard explains.

Howard’s research focuses on this phenomenon of organizational genealogy, with the end goal being a better understanding of knowledge creation in new ventures and the foundations of entrepreneurial innovation.

Howard is fascinated by the processes of innovation and new venture creation, and he looks to pass on that excitement to his students. “I enjoy sharing my passion for these topics through my teaching,” he says. “These fields are well suited to learning by example, and I draw on my business experience, knowledge of theory and empirical research insights to bring meaningful cases and scenarios to the classroom.”

Beyond teaching and research, he is also eager to learn, saying Mays has a world-class reputation in management research. “I am very excited by the opportunity to work closely with a number of the top scholars in my field.”

Haoying Sun

Assistant Professor of Information and Operations Management PhD: University of Texas at Austin Recent Affiliation: University of Texas at Austin

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he greatest form of flattery is imitation, and Haoying Sun is always delighted to have a student become interested in supply chain management while taking her class.

“To see my teaching spark interest in them in pursuing their careers is very rewarding,” says Sun, an assistant professor of information and operations management. “The interaction with students outside the classroom is the one thing that I enjoy the most.”

Sun is also passionate about research, helping firms understand how to better serve today’s everchanging consumer. “This consumer heterogeneity challenges firms’ capabilities to produce and deliver the right products, but it also creates opportunities for firms to intelligently segment the market to improve revenue potentials and operational efficiencies,” Sun says.

Beyond business, Sun is also interested in studying the effectiveness of government subsidy programs that offer perks like tax incentives for consumers to buy durable products that help preserve scarce resources.

A big part of why Sun came to Mays is because of its focus on research. “There are many great faculty members in my department with whom I can collaborate,” she says.

Michael Withers

Assistant Professor of Management PhD: Arizona State University Recent Affiliation: Arizona State University

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overnance — the word typically brings to mind matters of state, but for Michael Withers, corporations and boards of directors come to mind instead. Withers’ research focuses on corporate governance, including how directors are selected and how they influence organizational strategy and performance.

His research has been featured in the Journal of Management, Organization Science, Journal of Small Business Management, Academy of Management Perspective and Journal of Education for Business.

Research is what drew Withers to Mays. “Texas A&M has a great reputation for active researchers conducting world-class research,” Withers says. “A&M represented the opportunity for me to join a group of scholars who are dedicated to pursuing research that impacts not only our respective academic fields, but the classroom and practice, as well.”

However, it’s not all about the corporations and research. Withers also enjoys teaching strategic management classes, and says he finds it rewarding to be “a facilitator of and an active participant in the learning process.”

Withers says he is looking forward to his time at Mays – both for becoming more a part of the research community and for “learning more about the Aggie traditions that make Texas A&M such a special place.”

school is its faculty…those who touch the hearts and minds of our students.

By recruiting and retaining top faculty, we are making a lasting investment in the lives of our students.”

Jerry R. Strawser Dean and KPMG Chair in Accounting Mays Business School Texas A&M University

Endowed Faculty Chairs, Professorships and Fellowships Chairs Murray R. Barrick Department of Management Paul M. and Rosalie Robertson Chair in Business Administration Leonard L. Berry Department of Marketing M. B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership Luis Gomez-Mejia Department of Management Benton Cocanougher Chair in Business Ricky W. Griffin Department of Management Jeanne and John R. Blocker Chair in Business Administration Michael A. Hitt Department of Management Joe B. Foster ’56 Chair in Business Leadership R. Duane Ireland Department of Management Carroll and Dorothy Conn Chair in New Ventures Leadership Sanjay Jain Department of Marketing JCPenney Chair in Marketing and Retailing Studies Shane A. Johnson Department of Finance Thomas W. Leland Memorial Chair in Finance Mary Lea McAnally Department of Accounting Philip W. Ljungdahl Chaired Professor in Accounting David Mauer Department of Finance Ruby and Earle A. Shields, Jr. ’41 Chair in Investment Banking Thomas C. Omer Department of Accounting James R. Whatley ’47 Chair in Business Lynn Rees Department of Accounting J. Rogers Rainey, Jr. and Kathleen L. Rainey Class of 1944 Chair in Accounting Venkatesh Shankar Department of Marketing Brandon C. Coleman, Jr. ’78 Endowed Chair in Marketing Bala Shetty Department of Information and Operations Management Paula and Steve Letbetter ’70 Chair in Business Chelliah Sriskandarajah Department of Information and Operations Management Hugh Roy Cullen Chair in Business Administration

Jerry R. Strawser Department of Accounting Development Council Dean’s Chair in Business, KPMG Chair in Accounting

Richard Metters Department of Information and Operations Management Tenneco Professor in Business Administration

Neil Geismar Department of Information and Operations Management Mays Research Fellow

Robert H. Strawser Department of Accounting Arthur Andersen Chair in Accounting

Clair J. Nixon Department of Accounting PwC Accounting Excellence Professor

Edward P. Swanson Department of Accounting Nelson D. Durst Chair in Accounting Education

Michael W. Pustay Department of Management Anderson Clayton & Co. and the Clayton Fund Professor in Business

Charles E. Gilliland Department of Finance Helen and O.N. Mitchell, Jr. Faculty Fellowship in Real Estate

Senyo Tse Department of Accounting Thomas W. Leland/Oscar A. Weinke Chair in Business Rajan Varadarajan Department of Marketing Ford Chair in Marketing and E-Commerce Professorships

Suresh Ramanathan Department of Marketing David R. Norcom ’73 Professor Sorin Sorescu Department of Finance Patricia & Bookman Peters Professor of Finance

Kelly L. Haws Department of Marketing Pamela M. and Barent Cater ’77 Faculty Fellow Gregory Heim Department of Information and Operations Management Mays Research Fellow Ram Janakiraman Department of Marketing Mays Teaching Fellow

Anwer Ahmed Department of Accounting Ernst & Young Professor in Accounting

Laszlo Tihanyi Department of Management B. Marie Oth Professor in Business Administration

Michael Ketzenberg Department of Information and Operations Management Mays Research Fellow

James J. Benjamin Department of Accounting Arthur Andersen Professor in Accounting; Deloitte Leadership Professor in Accounting

Richard W. Woodman Department of Management Lawrence E. Fouraker Professor in Business Administration

Michael R. Kinney Department of Accounting KPMG Faculty Fellow

Wendy R. Boswell Department of Management Rebecca U. ’74 and William S. Nichols III ’74 Endowed Professor

Manjit Yadav Department of Marketing Macy’s Foundation Professor

Cydney Donnell Department of Finance Julio S. Laguarta Professorship in Real Estate Gary A. Giroux Department of Accounting Deborah D. Shelton Accounting Systems Professor James W. Kolari Department of Finance Chase Professor in Finance Xenophon Koufteros Department of Information and Operations Management Jenna and Calvin R. Guest Professor in Business Administration Dennis R. Lassila Department of Accounting Deborah D. Shelton Professor in Taxation Martha L. Loudder Department of Accounting A.P. and Earline Wiley Professor in Business Arvind Mahajan Department of Finance Lamar Savings Professor in Finance Annie L. McGowan Department of Accounting Deloitte Professional Program Director's Professor

Asgar Zardkoohi Department of Management T.J. Barlow Professor in Business Administration Fellowships Leonard Bierman Department of Management Mays Research Fellow Audra Boone Department of Finance Mays Research Fellow Haipeng "Allan" Chen Department of Marketing Mays Research Fellow Yong Chen Department of Finance Republic Bank Fellowship Lorraine Eden Department of Management Mays Research Fellow James C. Flagg Department of Accounting Carroll W. Phillips Faculty Fellowship in Business Administration

Subodha Kumar Department of Information and Operations Management Shelley and Joe Totorice ’70 Faculty Research Fellow D. Scott Lee Department of Finance Mays Research Fellow Rogelio Oliva Department of Information and Operations Management Ford Faculty Fellow Alina Sorescu Department of Marketing Mays Research Fellow Dechun Wang Department of Accounting Mays Research Fellow Connie D. Weaver Department of Accounting KPMG Faculty Fellow Dwayne Whitten Department of Information and Operations Management Mays Teaching Fellow Christopher J. Wolfe Department of Accounting KPMG Faculty Fellow

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