New Milestone

UNIVERSITY AWARDS FIRST Ph.D.

Next month, College of Business Administration student Stephanie Thomas will become the first student ever to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) from Georgia Southern. The Logistics/Supply Chain Management program began in August 2010, and Thomas is among six students from the first cohort. Prior to enrolling at Georgia Southern, she worked for several companies including IBM, Lowe’s and Stanley Tools in a variety of logistics roles and said she was drawn to the University’s new doctoral program because it is “well known for its undergraduate program in logistics, and the marketing and logistics faculty are exceptional.”

“It is almost surreal to be at this point,” Thomas said. “The Department has phenomenal teachers, world-class researchers and highly sought after leaders in industry. The faculty members are extremely dedicated and provide doctoral students with extensive mentoring. I cannot think of a better environment to learn and grow as a scholar.”

Her dissertation titled “Competitive Versus Collaborative: Exploring the Negotiation Strategy Impact on Relational Outcomes in Ongoing Buyer-Supplier Relationships,” involves the strategies buyers and suppliers use to negotiate ways to work together and how they develop future relationships.

Thomas’s dissertation chair and professor of logistics Karl B. Manrodt, Ph.D., called Thomas intellectually curious, methodologically rigorous and focused. “Not only has she presented at numerous conferences, she has multiple top tier journal articles accepted and in print,” he added. “She is also a top instructor in the program, and taught our senior capstone class. She has started a group called Women in Logistics, to help prepare women for their careers in the discipline.”

– Sandra Bennett