Paulo Goes

Great Ways to Start Off The Fall 2009 Semester

2009-08-28T05:09:58Z

It has been a great start to our new Fall semester and I welcome all of our new and past students as they begin their classes this last week.

We are proud to say that our undergraduate program is now #1 in the U.S. World & News Report rankings which just came out this week.

The MIS Department at Eller College is one of only three institutions to maintain top-five status in the Management Information Systems business specialty since the inception of the U.S. News & World Reports rankings in 1989, the two other institutions being MIT and Carnegie Mellon. This year, our undergraduate program was ranked first among all public universities and third overall. View all of our rankings here.

In addition the MIS Department turns 35 in September and we invite you to come celebrate with us.

We have come a long way over the last 35 years. From our beginnings in 1974 to the present we have strived to be a leader of MIS education and Shape the Future of IT. We pioneered the nation's first Management Information Systems (MIS) curriculum and since then have produced over 3,700 exceptional students. In addition, our faculty has been and continues to be at the forefront of cutting edge research. Their contributions to the field have been outstanding and well recognized throughout the world.

It is with pride that we celebrate 35 years of excellence. We invite you to celebrate with us on this momentous occasion by joining us at our 35th Year Anniversary dinner to be held on December 13, 2099. The dinner will be held in conjunction to the ICIS 2009 Conference which we are hosting. View event details and registration information here.

In addition, we invite you to view the following web pages dedicated to this historic event.

Sign our 35th Anniversary guestbook.

See our timeline that includes department highlights, list of faculty and ranking information.

New Master's Program Curriculum Announced

2009-07-07T18:29:43Z

As a top 4 graduate MIS program and one of the academic leaders who have Shaped the Future of IT for 35 years, it is imperative we keep our curriculum fresh and relevant to meet the demands for a well prepared 21^st century workforce. Determining what these needs are, how to address them, and how to revise established curriculum is an ongoing and vital aspect of being a leader in the field.

Over the last 7-8 months we have been analyzing and reviewing the current Masters curriculum. We feel the time is right to implement a new and improved curriculum that will better meet both our students and industry workforce needs. The new curriculum will begin in Fall 2009.

Below are the highlights of the change. In addition, details of new program can be found at our website at www.mis.eller.arizona.edu/masters/programs.asp

Why did we feel it was necessary to make this change?

1. It has been over three years since we have made any changes to our Masters curriculum. With all the current changes in the industry and workforce we wanted to help our students better meet the needs of the market and make them more "marketable".

2. We want to offer our students more flexibility to pursue their professional interests

3. The new curriculum aligns with the essence of what Eller MIS is all about --- strength in the combination of technical and managerial focuses.

4. Our premier faculty members want more in-depth interaction with the MS students. Faculty members teaching this new curriculum include Dr's. Hsinchun Chen, Sudha Ram, Sue Brown, Daniel Zheng, Alexandra Durcikova, and myself.

What has changed?

1. There will be a single common core of classes for all students with the right balance of technical and managerial course, rather than three individual tracks.

2. Concentration areas have been added which allow students to customize their program and receive concentration designations. Concentrations include Security and Information Assurance (SIA), Business Intelligence and Analytics (BIA), Managing Business Operations (MBO), Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IAE). We believe these concentrations will provide students with the right preparation for jobs with increasing demand

3. Master's projects will be either a team-based, client-oriented project or an individual project both faculty supervision

4. Students without business backgrounds are still required to take 2 business requirements. However the business requirements have been changed to:

i. Required Financial Accounting course

ii. Students can choose either Marketing or Operations Management as their second business course.

I would like to thank the Master's Program team members who worked diligently and hard to make these important curriculum changes occur. The team includes Dr's. Sue Brown, Alexandra Durcikova, Pam Slaten, and Daniel Zeng.

Summer travelling plans

2009-06-11T17:33:37Z

Summer is a great time to take a break from the usual hectic pace of classes and do some travelling. It provides the opportunity to re-connect with others in the industry and build up our alliances with educational and corporate alliances. My travel plans for the summer include:

Beijing, China - where I will visit and give a presentation at the National Academy of Sciences

Guangzhou, China - where I will attend the CSWIM (China Summer Workshop on Information Management) conference and be a panelist discussing "What Do We Expect? What Can You Offer? Building Sustainable Collaborations across National Boundaries"

Xi'an, China - where I will visit Xi'an Jiaotong University

Hong Kong - where I will visit City University of Hong Kong to discuss the opportunities to develop a joint MIS program. In addition I will be giving a keynote speech at their Annual Symposium

Hyderabad, India - where I will attend the PACIS (Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems) and be the Co-chair for the Doctoral Consortium. In addition I hope to host an information session for incoming MS students and prospective candidates in the region.

Congratulations to all of our MIS graduates!

2009-05-15T21:16:36Z

On May 13, 2009 we honored our graduates with an MIS reception in the Mc Clelland Hall Atrium. Please enjoy the pictures of this event by clicking the slide show above.

We are very proud of each of you and wish you the best as you begin your new lives outside of the University.

I wish to also congratulate every parent, wife, husband, child, relative and friend of our graduates. You're support of our students has helped them achieve their goals and have made their time with us even more enjoyable.

Graduates who attended the event include

Bachelors Graduates

Jeremy Bares

Allison Bishop

Tera Brosnan

Kellen Geselbracht

Benjamin Gray

Clayton Hamilton-Alexander

Wei David Hao

Gabriel Hazlewood

Monica Mastin

Clayton Rogers

Kirsten Smith

Chris Stoecker

Preston Troy

William Wycoff

Masters Graduates

Kaijia Bao

Hangang Chen

Harsha Gunnam

Josh Hottenstein

Luting Hou

Hyung Koo Lee

Zhe Liu

Jeremy McKean

Nargis Memon

Neha Sabharwal

Devarsh Shah

Doctoral Graduates

Xin Lin

Daning Hu

Undergraduate Award Winners

William J. Wycoff III - Outstanding Senior

Salter Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement

Ben Gray

Stephanie White

Allison Bishop

Marcela Blanco

Salter Award for Leadership and Service

Clayton Hamilton-Alexander

Gabriel Hazelwood

CNSS Certificates recipients

Allison Bishop

Tera Brosnan

Kunal Gandhi

Kellen Geselbracht

Vishal Gupta

Sangeeta Kuchimanchi

Monica Mastin

Clayton Rogers

Preston Troy

Once again - Congratulations to all of our graduates - please keep in touch and know that we are proud of you as you begin to help Shape the Future of IT.

Thank you Wal-Mart

2009-05-04T17:07:17Z

We would like to thank Tina Young, a recruiter from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., for taking time out of her busy schedule and visiting the MIS department last week.

The MIS Department at Eller College of Management has been chosen by the Information Systems Department (ISD) at Wal-Mart's headquarters as one of their top ten universities to recruit from. ISD is one of the largest divisions at Wal-Mart and employs over 3,000 individuals. Technology is the heart and soul of Wal-Mart's success. Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division runs the system operation of every Wal-Mart and Sam's Club in the world from their headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

While Tina was here she attended the following undergraduate classes: Dr. Roberto Mejias's MIS 304 - Using and Managing Information Systems, Dr. Suzie Weisband's MIS 341 - Information Systems and Design, and Dr. Zhu Zhang's MIS 331 - Database Management Systems classes.

While visiting the classes she experienced first-hand the student's final project presentations and was able to see how great these students truly are. She also graciously met with many of our professors, staff members and MISA (our student led undergraduate association).

Tina's trip enabled both the MIS department and Wal-Mart to get to know each other and to begin the process of building quality long-lasting relationships. As quoted from Tina, "It was a wonderful trip, and I look forward to Wal-Mart building an excellent relationship with the MIS Department now and for years to come"!

In addition, Wal-Mart has given the department two $2,500 Wal-Mart Leadership in Technology and Innovation Awards for our undergraduates for Fall of 2009. The department will be releasing the names of these award winners within the next few weeks so keep posted!

We appreciate the opportunity to work Wal-Mart and once again thank Tina for visiting us.

Designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education received.

2009-04-24T19:21:39Z

We have just been informed that our application to become a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) has been approved.

The CAEIAE application, which was submitted in late 2008, was part of ongoing efforts within the Eller College's Department of Management Information System's Information Assurance and Security Education Center (IASEC). The application passed a rigorous review that was evaluated against a stringent criteria, demonstrating its competency and commitment to academic excellence in Information Assurance education.

I would like to thank Lance Hoopes (Eller College IT Computing Manager and MIS adjunct faculty) and Roberto Mejias (MIS Lecturer) for all the hard work that went into this application process.

The designation will be held at The University of Arizona level and not the MIS Department level.

Having this designation is an enormous accomplishment by itself. It puts us in great company of elite institutions in the nation. It is particularly important for UA due to its location and the existing strong partnerships with the defense industry, border security, homeland security. It provides the reputation and recognition to all our programmatic efforts in security and information assurance, which we can specifically leverage in terms of offering certificate programs, and other information security/IA initiatives to a broader audience of IT professionals.

For more information on this exciting news, please see the story here.

Distance learning courses in Information Security and Assurance being offered in Fall 2009

2009-04-16T16:02:02Z

We are excited to have been notified of receipt of a $150,000 grant award that will allow us to develop, produce and offer distance learning courses in Fall 2009.

We will be offering distance learning courses that will be rolled into a certificate designed for Information Systems (IS) professionals who already have an undergraduate degree in a related field and who are currently working in the IS industry. The certificate will cover a broad spectrum of current and emerging IS Security, enterprise systems, and enterprise system security issues and provide professionals with a broad, up-to-date perspective on practices and challenges.

This certificate will fulfill a demand for advanced knowledge in information security that is becoming increasingly critical in today's regulated information environment. An important activity within information technology careers is providing security for cyberspace and information infrastructures.

This new certificate leverages the MIS department's current status as a Center of Excellence in Information Assurance (CE-IA) with the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS). The National Security Agency (NSA) has set a goal to establish centers of academic excellence to help reduce vulnerability in our national information infrastructure. NSA is promoting higher education in information assurance (IA) and has been encouraging universities to produce more professionals with IA expertise that is applicable within different disciplines.

Students who complete the certificate will receive, in addition to a University of Arizona certificate, the following NSA-CNSS certificates:

CNSS 4011 - Information Systems Security (INFOSEC) Professionals

CNSS 4012 - Senior Systems Managers

CNSS 4016 - Risk Analysis

The certificate will include these courses:

MIS 556 - Information Security in Public and Private Sectors

MIS 557 - Privacy, Security, and Business Continuity

MIS 558 - Introduction to Enterprise Computing Environments

To find out more about this certificate please view this page on our website.

Connecting with our students

2009-04-02T21:07:08Z

I want to thank all of the incoming Fall 2009 Masters students who took time out of their busy schedules to go online and "Skype" with me today.

These students have been forming a tight bond among themselves for several months now as they prepare themselves to join us this Fall. They have even come up with a special name for themselves - "Ellerites".

Most of the Ellerites who Skyped with me today were from India, Korea and around the world. It's amazing how they have already formed their "virtual" bonds which makes it so much nicer for them when they get here. They will basically have a family already formed as soon as they arrive at Tucson International Airport.

I would also like to thank Alexandra Durcikova (MIS professor), Mona Lopez (MIS Masters Advisor) and Chandu Manda (current MIS masters student) who helped me in answering some of the technical aspects of the Ellerites questions.

Building relationships with our students is foremost in my mind. They are going to truly be the Future of IT and again, I appreciate the opportunity to connect with our incoming students.

Our new MIS Departmental website is launched.

2009-03-17T14:57:50Z

Our new departmental website is up and I invite you to preview it at www.mis.eller.arizona.edu. We have incorporated a new fresher look including a more user friendly navigation system. We hope to expand many of the sections within the next year to include alumni profiles, partnership previews, research highlights and student activities. Let us know what you think of this new design and let us know if you have any other suggestions or recommendations for the site.

We can help you to meet your employment needs

2009-02-26T22:35:00Z

In today's trying economic conditions, internships play an increasingly important role in helping tackle project needs and establish a pool of strong candidates with critically relevant experience for future full-time openings.

Interships are an ideal partnership between the academic/student and business communities, giving students on-the-job work experience while allowing employers to meet their staffing needs. In addition, internships are a prime opportunity to bring new skills, a fresh perspective and in some cases a valuable international dimension into your business while raising your company's profile among students.

Successful internships are typically structured as independent projects that can be completed in three months or longer, or as a structured series of shorter-term assignments. They provide a win-win-win situation for the student, the university, and the firm.

Employer Benefits

A cost-effective way of 'trying out' potential employees
Short-term staffing to aid, especially during tight economic conditions, low staffing periods, completing crucial projects
The opportunity to assess interns without making a long-term hiring commitment
The presence of enthusiastic student-employees with fresh ideas and knowledge of the latest technology and techniques
Awareness of current curriculum and the opportunity to evaluate whether or not the university's objectives are meeting business needs.

MIS MS Student Profile

Two years work experience, on average

Most have Bachelor degrees in technical fields, engineering, computer science and/or MIS

All have successfully completed the first year of the 1.5-year MS MIS program

Significant technical skills: programming, Web technology, database-data warehousing-ETL, multi-platform including linux servers, various applications, tools and certifications

Coursework that includes interaction with an external business client, strategic business analysis, financial assessment of proposed IT solution, and implementation and risk mitigation strategies

Sample Internship and Master's Projects

Business Analysis & Project Management: The Product Sector
Enterprise Wiki: Confluence
Enterprise Search: Microsoft Share Point & Google Search Appliance
Business Objects Success Evaluation Project (BI)
An Applied Software Project Management Plan for the Engineering Solutions Org. (Business Process Reengineering)
Software Migration Analysis (IT Implementation)

For further information about our MIS MS internship program contact our Master's advisor, Mona Lopez, at Mllopez@eller.arizona.edu (520-626-0493).

View student resumes at www.mis.eller.arizona.edu/content/view/416/405/

Masters Program Expansion questions answered

2009-02-13T17:48:13Z

I have had many inquiries regarding our plan to expand our MIS Masters program. To help alleviate some of your concerns please read the following:

Program Expansion

Our MIS MS Program used to have 2 cohort classes. In recent years, we have been admitting 1 cohort class. Starting in fall 2009, we plan to return to the 2-cohort format. Note that this planned expansion will not increase the student/faculty ratio and will not increase the class size. Having 2 classes will help us grow and maintain our quality MIS MS Program in many dimensions because of the economy of scale.

• The Eller College will be providing us with additional teaching and instructional resources, benefiting every student in the program.
• Many professors would prefer teaching 2 classes of well-prepared MS students and interacting with them for research and industry projects.
• With 2 classes, the Eller College and MIS Department will be able to allocate significant, dedicated resources to student recruiting and placement efforts.
• Many recruiters want to recruit from larger programs that produce a reasonably high number of graduates.
• With an increased student body, we will be able to pursue industry internships and projects in a more systematic manner, with dedicated staff and also a further reach (e.g., in the Phoenix area) enabled by the economy of scale.

In addition to size, we are also planning other program changes, ranging from creating additional topic-driven theme areas (e.g., health informatics, security informatics, innovation management) with electives, to a possible, optional extension (with minimum increases to the current 17-month tuition) of the program study to 24 months for selected international students who will be needing extra time for internship or job hunting.

Budgeting and Support

During the current economic condition, most universities in the US are facing budget cuts. Budget cuts for the universities in Arizona have been finalized. The impact on the Eller College and in particular, our high-ranked Department will not be significant. From a student's perspective, you will not experience any negative effect on the quality of the program or the educational experience we offer. The fact that we are expanding our program directly signals the priority attached to the MS Program. In addition, budget cuts only apply to the funding from the State of Arizona. Most research assistantships around the campus are funded by federal grants. These grants are not impacted by the budget cuts from the State of Arizona.

There is no doubt that some difficult times are ahead for all of us in the midst of global economic recession. When you consider the "big picture," IT as a profession will still be a major enabler for modern enterprises and governments. Innovations, the drivers for growth, are still being increasingly conducted through IT-enabled platforms. We see a bright future for MIS professionals and it is our sincere hope that the University of Arizona's MIS MS Program will be the gateway for you to embark on a bright and rewarding career in MIS.