University of Memphis
MIS Advisory Council – Spring Meeting Minutes
May 3, 2013
Opening Comments
Bruce Livesay kicked off the meeting. There were over 30 attendees at the meeting, which was a good turnout for
a cold rainy Friday. Bruce started the meeting by reminding everyone that we have two meetings per year, the
first Friday of May and the first Friday of November. The next meeting is scheduled for November 1, 2013.
We welcomed new attendees, including one of the scholarship recipients Nicholas Mattock, Adam Walker
(Development Director-FCBE), and LaToya Chavers (Associate Director of Internships, Recruitment and
Scholarships-FCBE).
Fall Meeting Action Item Update
MIS Advisory Council Website
Dick Vandenberg provided an update on the new MIS Advisory Council website. The site is hosted externally from
the University, which allows more autonomy and more rapid response to desired changes without the bureaucracy
associated with the University website. The desire is to project a positive image to anyone exploring the U of M
MIS program and our council on the web. We want a site that will compete favorably with other institutions.
Dick demonstrated the site and showed a couple of areas where we need more content. Specifically, Dick
referenced the Executive Council page, where we need photos and brief bios. We also need any information
regarding awards and/or recognition. Dick also mentioned that the Advisory Council is funding professional
assistance to improve the navigation and look/feel of the website. Any suggested firms that have demonstrated
expertise in this area should be referred to Dick. Dick also noted that he is looking for suggestions on a logo for the
MIS Advisory Council.
Salesforce.com update
Dr. Brian Janz gave a brief update on the status of Salesforce.com for the Advisory Council. An AMIS student has
been granted a fellowship (sponsored by the Advisory Council) to help develop and promote the use of
Salesforce.com among members. The student is meeting with various council members and subcommittee chairs
to re-introduce the capabilities of Salesforce.com and look for opportunities to leverage the tool. Tal Frankfurt has
graciously offered assistance to the student to help learn the Salesforce.com system, capabilities, and
development opportunities.
The intent of using Salesforce.com for the group is to promote a greater sense of community and collaboration
between members. We leveraged the 501c3 designation of the University to acquire the 10 free licenses
Salesforce.com offers to non-profit organizations.
There are numerous possible uses for Salesforce.com. Some potential uses that were noted included:
1. Source of contact information for members/committees
2. Chatter groups for vendors/non-vendors
3. Access for MIS students for interaction opportunities with Advisory Council members
4. Fundraising support
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6.
Membership lead tracking
Linking intern candidates with member company demand
It was noted that there is a need to resend the login instructions to Advisory Council Members.
Development Committee Activities
Rick Pride introduced our student scholarship award recipients.
 Nicholas Mattock – Junior (was present to receive the award)
 Shpati Papraniku – Senior
Rick also announced the Outstanding Faculty Award winner-Dr. Chen Zhang.
Rick also provided a summary of our MIS Advisory Council fund account balance and an overview of the various
programs we are supporting with funds from the MIS Advisory Council, including:
 Scholarships
 Outstanding MIS Faculty award
 MILE Mentoring program support
 Student intern support to help with the MIS Advisory Council website
 Fellowship assistance with an AMIS student to help with the MIS Advisory Council Salesforce.com site
 AMIS Student Activities
Rick shared the need for council members to contribute to our development fund.
MIS Department Update
Bruce introduced Dr. Lloyd Brooks and recognized Lloyd for a recent award he received. Dr. Brooks was one of
three professors who were awarded a Professorship for Exemplary Leadership. This honor is in recognition for the
tremendous leadership Lloyd has demonstrated over the years in setting direction for MIS Department and
College. The Professorship includes a monetary amount of $10,000/year for 5 years and is privately funded by
members of the Dean’s Advisory Board.
Lloyd provided an update on the activities of the department since the fall meeting. Lloyd highlighted several MIS
Department achievements for the 2012-2013 year:
 Grants for SW testing, Healthcare, Information Assurance and Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment
 Four Professors have been appointed as senior editors or associate editors of Top A+/A Journals
 The First Tennessee Professorship Award winner was an MIS professor, Dr. Brian Janz
 MIS Undergraduate Marketing Video (featuring Gayle Rose)
Lloyd also noted that the University of Memphis had an incredible number of research articles published in A+
publications. The U of M had 11 articles published, which was more than double any local competitor. He also
mentioned that they expect to have even more next year to even further widen the gap between the U of M and
competing universities.
Lloyd discussed several professional development initiatives that were completed by some of the MIS professors in
2012-13. He also discussed some upcoming curriculum changes that are underway to continue to evolve the MIS
program as technology trends constantly change.
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Lloyd mentioned that the University of Memphis was recognized in the Association for Information Systems (AIS)
Top 50 MIS programs nationwide, along with other prestigious colleges and universities including Carnegie Mellon,
the University of Arkansas, the University of Alabama, and Arizona State University.
Finally, Lloyd noted a significant challenge the MIS Department faces with recruiting PhD students. The stipend
that the University of Memphis offers is about half the amount of other competitor universities. This is creating
real challenges recruiting PhD students, even those students that would prefer to complete their education at the
U of M. They were unable to recruit any PhD students this year, primarily due to the low stipend.
MIS Advisory Council Initiatives
Research Committee
Jeff Brittain gave a brief presentation on his plans for the Research Committee. Jeff proposed having Advisory
Council members conduct a series of “research sharing” workshops. Historically, the MIS department and
professors have shared active and completed research projects with the Advisory Council. There has been less
activity and engagement than we would like to see between Advisory Council members and the university. To
encourage sharing among members and ideas for Jeff proposed a process whereby Advisory Council organizations
conduct research sessions, possibly onsite at their work locations, where they share active research. This will
present opportunities for other member companies and MIS faculty to learn about active efforts and spark
potential areas of future research and synergy. We might even ask one or two organizations to present their
research activities at the longer annual meeting each fall.
Student Services Subcommittee
Tim Hill gave a quick update on his plans for the Student Services subcommittee. He distributed a sign-up sheet for
the Speaker’s Bureau. He also outlined the scope of responsibilities of the committee and asked for additional
volunteers for the committee.
Scope of Responsibilities:
1. AMIS group:
 Be involved with AMIS students and attend AMIS meetings
 Get to know the AMIS students to understand their perspectives on MIS and career goals
 Offer advice and mentor where possible
2. Internship program:
 Work with Advisory Council and University point person (LaToya Chvers) on internship opportunities and
help match students
 Improve MIS internship tracking (companies offering internships, students who qualify and participate in
internships, what companies hire intern students, etc.)
 Try to “funnel” qualified MIS students (ie; juniors and seniors with GPA greater than 3.0) into intern
positions
3. Conduit between Advisory Council and students / faculty:
 Encourage Advisory Council members to speak in classes (a.k.a. the Speaker’s Bureau)
 Provide financial support for AMIS functions or members
 Facilitate job shadowing opportunities with Advisory Council companies
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
Engage the Advisory Council in student mentoring through University programs like; MILE and Emerging
Leader
Brian Janz also gave a quick update on the MILE program and stressed the need for mentors.
Closing Remarks
Bruce noted that the fall meeting will be held November 1, 2013. The same room will be used (Tennessee
Ballroom at the U of M Holiday Inn). Bruce also reiterated the request for a volunteer for a subcommittee
chairperson for the Membership Subcommittee. Shawn Powers indicated that he will be unable to continue in this
role. The preference is for an existing Advisory Council member to step up to assume responsibility for this
subcommittee.
Action Items:
Item
Owner
1.
Send content for MIS Advisory Council website to Dick
Vandenberg. Specifically, Executive Committee members should
send photos and brief bios. Logo ideas should also be sent to Dick
Vandenberg. Everyone should send along any awards and
recognition they receive or their companies receive that might be
pertinent to the MIS department.
Executive
Committee
members/All
Council members/
Dick Vandenberg
2.
Send any professional website development firm
recommendations to Dick Vandenberg.
All Council
members/Dick
Vandenberg
3.
Resend login instructions for Salesforce.com.
Brian Janz
4.
Track down funding status of council members and encourage
members to contribute to our fund
Rick Pride/Adam
Walker
5.
Formalize plans for research sharing workshops
Jeff Brittain
6.
Coordinate Speakers’ Bureau activities
Tim Hill
7.
Consider volunteering for Student Services Subcommittee
All members/ Tim
Hill
8.
Consider mentoring in the MILE program
All members/ Tim
Hill
9.
Need a volunteer for the Membership Subcommittee chair
All members/
Bruce Livesay
10. Send any presentation materials/minutes from this meeting to
Dick Vandenberg so he can include them on the MIS Advisory
Council website
Status
All presenters at
Spring meeting
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