Under the direction of Dr. George Fowler, the college’s Center of Management Information Systems (CMIS) is in the process of developing two new programs. Starting this fall, the CMIS Scholars Program and a mock interview program will help give students expanding opportunities within the information technology field.

“As director, my goal has been to reorient CMIS to project focus,” says Fowler, who assumed the role in January. “CMIS is an academic center. We concentrate on determining what kind of employees the industry wants and on forming partnerships with leading companies to help produce the kind of students that fulfill those expectations.”

According to Fowler, the CMIS Scholars Program will be sponsored by five companies from the corporate advisory board and will give five chosen students within the Department of Information and Operations Management (INFO) the opportunity for an internship as well as a $2,000 scholarship.

The mock interview program has companies from the corporate advisory board send representatives to A&M to stage simulated job interviews with INFO students. The representatives then will provide them with critiques and pointers for improved performances.

Along with these two new activities, Fowler said he will keep an existing program designed to have a company present students with a problem that MIS majors would likely come in contact with in a potential job. The students then have a week to come up with a presentation of their grasp on the problem and a proposed solution.

“It allows students who don’t have the best grades to shine through,” Fowler said. “It gives them an opportunity to be seen by corporate representatives. I am proud of our students. And I like to think that CMIS contributes to making them good students for good companies to hire.”