Georgia Southern University Professor Alan Mackelprang, Ph.D. Receives International Recognition for Supply Chain Research

August 23, 2012

Georgia Southern University assistant professor of Operations Management, Alan Mackelprang, Ph.D., has been named the winner of the 2012 Elwood S. Buffa Doctoral Dissertation Award.  The internationally competitive award, which is co- sponsored byMcGraw-Hill and the Decision Sciences Institute, encourages and publicizes outstanding dissertation research by selecting and recognizing the best dissertations written in the past year in the decision sciences.

The Elwood S. Buffa Dissertation Award, which is also accompanied by a $1,500 prize, is presented at the Decision Sciences Institute’s annual meeting.   Mackelprang, who joined the College of Business Administration’s faculty in 2011, received the award for his doctoral dissertation, Beyond Firm Boundaries: Exploring the Interdependence between Supply Chain Partners,which he completed at the University of South Carolina in May of 2011.

By being nominated and ultimately winning this award, he is now invited to showcase his research during a special session at the Decision Sciences Institute’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. in November.  In addition, Mackelprang has been named to the Decision Sciences Institute’s Hall of Fame and joins a distinguished list of previous winners including professors at the University of North Carolina, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, Auburn University, Boston College and more.

This is not the first honor for the business professor.  His co-authored paper titled “Supply Chain Integration:  A Meta-Analysis and Future Directions” has been selected as the winner of the 2012 Young Researchers Award at the Annual Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Educators Conference to be held in Atlanta in September.

Mackelprang earned his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina, his master of science degree from the University of Rochester and his bachelor of science degree from Arizona State University.  His research interests include supply chain contagion and flexibility, operations–marketing interface and operations management, and supply chain strategy. He has published in top empirical research journals, including the Journal of Operations Management.

Georgia Southern University, a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University founded in 1906, offers more than 120 degree programs serving more than 20,000 students. Through eight colleges, the University offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs built on more than a century of academic achievement. In 2012, the University was named one of the Top 10 most popular universities in the country by U.S. News & World Report and is a top choice of Georgia’s HOPE scholars.  Georgia Southern is recognized for its student-centered approach to education. Visit: www.georgiasouthern.edu.