Mays Impacts

Thanks to a specially constructed networking environment, students are learning firsthand how to keep information systems and networks safe. The new Business Information Security Laboratory (BISL), within the Department of Information & Operations Management (INFO), gives students real-world experience in defending their systems against cyber attacks.

The laboratory was designed by Michael Grimaila, a visiting professor in the INFO department, to provide students an independent environment where they can learn how to prevent cyber attacks without disabling Mays’ or Texas A&M’s computer systems.

“The sandbox environment isolates the BISL from the university network to allow the safe study of real-world cyber attacks that could destroy or disable computer systems,” Grimaila says. “Tomorrow’s business managers need to be firmly grounded in information assurance principles and practices. Presidential Decision Directive 63 made it clear that our national security, in part, depends upon the information assurance and security of critical infrastructure industries, which are predominately private sector businesses.”

Each year Mays Business School recognizes outstanding staff members for their hard work and exemplary service. Those honored for 2002 were (from top) Bettie Poehl, Department of Information & Operations Management; Robert E. Brown Jr., Department of Accounting; Kris Morley, Fellows Program; and Sabrina Saladino, Department of Management.

Dr. Leonard L. Berry, Distinguished Professor of Marketing and the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership, presented at the 2002 University Distinguished Lecture Series at Texas A&M in December. His lecture, “Improving Health Care Service in America,” was based on his behind-the-scenes research endeavor at Mayo Clinic focusing on healthcare service.

Most people think of capital as money to be invested, but Finance Professor John Groth researches another kind of capital — human capital and the largely untapped creativity of people.

Groth’s latest research paper, “Creativity and Human Capital: International Implications,” explores the human and economic effects of exploiting people’s creativity or letting it expire unnoticed. He presented the paper at the annual International Business and Economic Conference in December.

“When you consider the role of ideas in human history, you realize that creativity is a stronger force than any army in shaping people’s lives,” says Groth. “And today, with a broader definition of creativity, increasing human capital demands more opportunities.”

Groth’s broader definition of creativity expands the range of creative events beyond the inventor in his laboratory or the painter in her studio, to encompass the ingenious ways ordinary people deal with their lives.

“As educators, we need to find ways to convince business leaders and managers to take advantage of the potential contributions brought about by the wider distribution of creative talents and the real diversity of human capital,” Groth says. “I want students, in particular, to come away with the idea of using each person’s individual strengths as opportunities to advance projects important not only to company profits, but to the well-being of society as a whole.”

The Academy of Marketing Science recently named Professor Rajan Varadarajan the recipient of the Distinguished Marketing Educator Award. Varadarajan, who serves as head of the Department of Marketing, has received numerous awards for both outstanding research and teaching.