University News

Two Western Illinois University faculty members, Management and Marketing Assistant Professor Honey Zimmerman and Professor Mike Tracey, were recently awarded the 2015 Teaching Innovation Award.
[Download Print-Quality Image]

WIU Faculty Members Receive 2015 Teaching Innovation Award

October 19, 2015

Share |
Printer friendly version

MACOMB, IL - - Two Western Illinois University faculty members, Management and Marketing Assistant Professor Honey Zimmerman and Professor Mike Tracey, were recently awarded the 2015 Teaching Innovation Award after their paper, "Developing an Industry-Friendly SCM Program: A Two-Phase Approach," won for the best paper at the 2015 Council of Supply Chain Management Professional's (CSCMP) Educator Conference.

WIU Management and Marketing Professor Bart Jennings also attended the conference, where Zimmerman and Tracey presented in the Teaching and Innovation Track.

"The paper demonstrates how the WIU SCM [Supply Chain Management] program uses a structured approach to gather and utilize input from practitioners to refine its program to produce the most desirable graduates possible," explained Zimmerman. "The first phase of the process included surveying professionals from companies that regularly recruit WIU SCM students about the desired skills qualified candidates should possess, then matching those skills to the required courses to ensure adequate coverage. The second phase then surveyed those same professionals about the desired electives students wishing to work in a particular SCM career track—i.e. purchasing, transportation, distribution, etc.—should take."

As a result of this information, a tool was created to help advise the students which electives best fit their career aspirations, according to Zimmerman.

"This innovative tool has proven helpful to the SCM students, advising and SCM faculty," she added. "Additionally, recruiting companies were not only willing to be involved, but seemed pleasantly surprised to be given the chance to contribute to the curriculum and program development."

According to the CSCMP website, the educator's conference provides academics and students a forum to hear the latest in supply chain management and logistics research. This conference is open to all academics and annual conference attendees and offers informative and interactive sessions, while providing a venue for networking with colleagues from around the globe.

For more information on Western's Supply Chain Management program, visit wiu.edu/scm.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing