Jindal School’s Online MBA Program Ranked Third in the Nation
Poets&Quants, an online publication that reports on the graduate business education market, has ranked the Naveen Jindal School of Management third on its recently released list of the Best Online MBA Programs for 2024. It is the highest ranking to date for the school from this site, and the second consecutive year in which JSOM has risen sharply in the rankings.
The education provided by the school is always at the core of any rankings, said Lisa Shatz, assistant dean and director of the Jindal School’s MBA programs.
“Our strength has always been the quality of our students and faculty,” she said.
The criteria for P&Q’s rankings included three weighted categories – admission standards, academic experience and career outcomes. Two of those relied on survey responses from alumni. They were asked to respond to questions about their academic experience, such as whether they would recommend the program to others and whether they were able to apply what they learned in class to their jobs. They also were asked about the format and flexibility of the program, the quality of professors, experiential learning and making connections.
Read more about this achievement on Inside Jindal.
Jindal School Alumnus, Donor Speaks at School’s Largest Fundraiser
A Jindal School alumnus returned to his alma mater recently to offer his perspective on the state of the healthcare industry at the school’s largest fundraiser. David L. Holmberg, EMBA’00, president and chief executive officer of Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health7 was the featured speaker at the JSOM Scholarship Breakfast.
Describing the health care system in the U.S. as “broken,” Holmberg outlined some of the steps Highmark Health is taking to better respond to the needs of the consumer.
“The future of health care is going to be about innovation,” he said. “Most of health care is data-rich but insight-poor. Our goal is to create actionable information from that data. We need to find ways to use that information to make improvements.”
Find out more about this event by visiting Inside Jindal.
Jindal School Dean Discusses AI at Technical Executive
Artificial intelligence, which dominates conversations about everything from manufacturing technologies to writers’ strikes to homework assignments, drew the attention of an esteemed group of panelists Sept. 30 at The University of Texas at Dallas’ Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, including Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Pirkul was one of the featured experts at the Technical Executive Forum, a special highlight of the Chinese Institute of Engineers USA-DFW Chapter’s annual convention. The theme — “Technical Fusion — Artificial Intelligence in Action” — centered on challenges and opportunities for AI to improve society.
As a longtime expert in the field, Pirkul told the audience of industry and academic leaders that AI is not as new as many assume. He first began studying AI in the late 1970s.
“It was overhyped and forgotten about,” he said with a sense of amusement. “We now have everything in place to deploy the power of AI. This time around it is not hype. It is here to stay and impacting everything we do.”
For more insights about Pirkul’s perspective on AI, continue reading on Inside Jindal.
Jindal School Master’s Program Earns CAHME Accreditation
The Master of Science in Healthcare Leadership and Management program has been accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME), the accrediting body for graduate programs in health care management in the United States and Canada.
While CAHME works closely with the Jindal School’s accrediting agency — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) — it is an additional accreditation that is used to recognize graduate programs that offer a master’s degree in health care management, said Dr. Keith Thurgood, program director and professor of practice in the Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area at the Jindal School.
“What is unique about CAHME is that it is a competency-based assessment,” he said. “In other words, we tie our program and course-level objectives and outcomes to 23 specific competencies that health care leaders need in order to make an immediate impact in the industry.”
Access the full story about this accomplishment on Inside Jindal.
Faculty and Research News
Study Measures Impact of Pausing Organ Transplants in Pandemic
Guihua Wang
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted organ transplants in unprecedented ways. Many transplant centers considered slowing down and even pausing all transplants, mostly due to the potential risk of COVID-19 to organ donors, transplant recipients and care providers
In a study published in the May 2023 special issue of Production and Operations Management on managing pandemics, two Jindal School operations management researchers analyzed the impact of pausing transplants on patient outcomes. Their findings could help decision-makers determine whether and how to pause organ transplants during a pandemic.
Management Science doctoral student Minmin Zhang and Dr. Guihua Wang, assistant professor of operations management, developed a model for evaluating the impact of pausing liver transplants. The model accounts for two potential risks: COVID-19 infection in the case of no pause and health deterioration in the case of a pause.
“We found that while pausing organ transplants reduced the risk of infections and saved scarce health care resources for COVID-19 patients, patients on the waiting list became sicker while waiting for organ transplants,” Wang said. “Policymakers, care providers and patients must balance the trade-off between the risks of infection and health deterioration.”
Dive into more details about this research on Inside Jindal.
Jindal School Researcher Proposes Approach for Optimizing Data Acquisition
Sumit Sarkar
A paper authored by a Jindal School researcher discusses a solution for allowing businesses that buy data to determine the specific information they need. Published in the July 2023 issue of Management Science, one of the academic journals tracked in The UTD Top 100 Business School Research Rankings™, the paper — “Cost-Restricted Feature Selection for Data Acquisition” — was authored by Dr. Sumit Sarkar, the Charles and Nancy Davidson Chair, a professor in the Information Systems Area and director of PhD Programs at the Jindal School.
Customer data is an important tool for businesses and organizations that use it in analytics aimed at advancing operations, acquiring managerial insights and developing business strategies. New customer data is often used to initiate marketing campaigns to increase their customer base. The cost of the data owned by an organization is typically minimal when it is generated as a part of the company’s ongoing operations. When it needs to acquire additional data for things such as promoting new products or expanding its customer base, the price of the additional data can be high.
“Data vendors have started pricing data at very fine granularities, often charging different amounts for each attribute of a record. There is a lot of data to consider and much of it will not be of value for a company,” Sarkar said. “Companies work within a budget and it is important that they be able to identify a set of the most useful and valuable attributes or features to acquire while keeping within their budget.” Companies that accurately identify the specific information they need can save money while obtaining the relevant data by purchasing only what is necessary.
Get the complete picture of Sarkar’s research study by visiting Inside Jindal.
Jindal School Assistant Professor Receives Best Dissertation Award
Joonhwi Joo
Dr. Hyesook Chung, an assistant professor in the Organizations, Strategy and International Management Area in the Jindal School, has received the Ralph Alexander Best Dissertation Award from the Academy of Management’s Human Resources (HR) Division.
“This award is for the top doctoral dissertation completed in HRM (Human Resource Management) in the last two years,” said Jill Ellingson, HR Division Chair, Academy of Management, and the Neeli Bendapudi Professor of Management at the University of Kansas School of Business.
This is a very competitive award that truly acknowledges research excellence, she added.
“In the context of the food service industry, my research explores how the utilization of variable work schedules (VWS), increasingly employed by managers to maximize profits in unpredictable market conditions, impacts employee turnover and, consequently, business performance,” Chung said. “The study sheds light on the concealed costs associated with the use of variable work schedules. Specifically, it reveals that managers who rely on less stable work schedules experience higher turnover rates due to their adverse effects on workers’ economic security, health and work-life balance.”
Learn more about Chung’s award on Inside Jindal.
Economists Find Tax Amnesties Helpful for Increasing Revenue for Governments
Alejandro Zentner
Governments often use amnesties to raise tax revenue by granting debtors partial forgiveness of what is owed in exchange for immediate payments or disclosing hidden assets.
In a new analysis, a Jindal School researcher and his colleagues found that beliefs about enforcement of taxes owed are a barrier to repayment, particularly for larger companies, and that amnesties – allowing debtors to make amends for past misdeeds in exchange for partial debt forgiveness – can be an important tool to generate greater tax revenues.
Study author Dr. Alejandro Zentner, associate professor of finance and managerial economics, said amnesties have existed since ancient times.
“Not many people know that the central conciliatory message inscribed on the Rosetta Stone, an artifact that was key in deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs, actually contains the roots of a popular instrument used by tax authorities today: tax amnesties,” said Zentner, adding that state governments in the U.S. have implemented tax amnesties 46 times since 2010.
Continue exploring this topic on The Telescope.
Center and Conference News
Packed Conference Calendar Explores Wide Range of Business Topics
The Naveen Jindal School of Management presented an overflowing schedule of conferences this fall that touched on a variety of topics including financial technology
(FinTech Conference),
business analytics (MSBA Analytics Symposium), finance (Finance Conference), “elevating” corporate governance (Corporate Governance Conference) and attracting international companies to the North Texas region (Center for Global Business symposium). Faculty members in the Jindal School also played a substantial role in the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, a forum for leading entrepreneurship centers and institutes to share thought leadership and best practices for shaping the future of entrepreneurship education.
Student News
Jindal School Students Win Multiple Awards
Students from JSOM
Students from the Naveen Jindal School of Management have performed well in multiple competitions and garnered awards in recent months:
Minmin Zhang, a fourth-year management science PhD student at the Naveen Jindal School of Management, took first place recently in the INFORMS Health Applications Society (HAS) Student Paper Competition (read more on
Inside Jindal
).
Jayashree Balakumar, an MS in Supply Chain Management student, won first prize in the 2023 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) student paper competition. She said her entry, “Waste Disposition Management: An Enabler to Achieve the United Nations’ SDG #3 Within the Pharmaceutical Industry,” was a real passion for her (read more on
Inside Jindal
).
The Chi Psi Chapter of the coed professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi has received three awards from the national organization. The chapter, which was established at the Jindal School in 2018, received the Chapter of Excellence Award and the Outstanding Alumni Relations Award for a College Chapter, presented to the collegiate chapter that most thoroughly integrates an aspect of alumni relations into overall operations (read more on
Inside Jindal
).
Reza Roshangarzadeh, a Ph.D. candidate in the Jindal School’s Management Science — Marketing program, was named an honorable mention in the 2023 MSI (Marketing Science Institute) Alden G. Clayton Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Competition. Read more about this recognition on Inside Jindal.
UTD INFORMS Chapter Gains National Recognition
Chapter Students
The UT Dallas student chapter of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences, the largest professional and academic association for decision and data sciences, recently won a national award, the 2023 INFORMS Student Chapter Annual Award, Summa Cum Laude.
“The award we won is through the sheer hard work of our team, because it’s a true team effort,” said Nikhita Agarwal, the current UTD club president who will receive both her MBA and master’s in marketing from the Jindal School this spring. “I’m really excited and thrilled. The core committee we had was really strong.”
Read more about this recognition on Inside Jindal.
Scholarship-Winning Jindal School Student Prepares for Career in Big-Four Firm
Sidrah Syeda
Sidrah Syeda, a third-year Naveen Jindal School of Management accounting senior, has received a $5,000 scholarship for minority accounting students from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She begins an internship with Big-Four accounting firm KPMG in January.
“UT Dallas is different than other universities,” she said. “The professors work closely with students to prepare them for exams, help them get internships, and pair them with mentors. They made me feel that I could stretch outside my comfort zone. I owe so much to the PPA (Professional Program in Accounting) program at JSOM.”
Mary Beth Goodrich, a professor in the Accounting Area at the Jindal School, described Syeda as “an exceptional student” in two of her courses.
“She is extremely hardworking and dedicated and has shown herself to consistently go above and beyond in her studies, asking additional questions and seeking resources to deepen her understanding of the courses,” Goodrich said.
Read more about this student and her accomplishments on Inside Jindal.
Alumni News
New Head Coach of UT Dallas Men’s Basketball Team is Jindal School Alumnus
Jared Fleming
Jared Fleming BS’09, MS’10, was named the head coach of The University of Texas at Dallas’ men’s basketball team this past July. His inaugural season at the helm coincides with the school’s transition to Division II of the NCAA, where they join the Lone Star Conference as a full member.
“It’s a great time for this program and I’m proud to be a part of it,” he said. “The data analytics field has grown in basketball. Even look at the emergence of something basic like true field-goal percentage — taking into account the player who shoots way more three-pointers than another. It’s a terrific moment for merging data and strategy.”
Read more about how Fleming’s management education from the Jindal School informs his coaching career on Inside Jindal.
JSOM Alumnus Named Board Chair of Health Care Organization that Serves 2 Million Patients
Scott Holliday
Dr. Scott Holliday, D.O., a 2011 graduate of the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s Alliance for Physician Leadership MBA program, has been named chairman of the board of directors of U.S. Anesthesia Partners Inc. (USAP). With more than 4,500 clinicians located in eight states, USAP is one of the nation’s largest physician-owned practice groups, serving more than 2 million patients annually.
“As a physician, I was interested in learning the language of business and management —accounting, finance, economics and operations,” he said. “I jokingly now say that I am bilingual, fluent in both business and medicine.”
Holliday chose to attend the Jindal School because of its strong academic reputation as well as the MBA program’s flexibility, including offering in-person and online classes as well as weekend modules.
Read more about Holliday’s appointment on Inside Jindal.
A new ranking of university supply chain management programs has put both the graduate and undergraduate programs from the Naveen Jindal School of Management among the very elite in the nation. Gartner, a business management consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut, released its biennial Gartner Supply Chain University Top 25 (registration required) June 26, placing the Jindal School’s Master of Science in Supply Chain Management (MS SCM) program at No. 4 and the Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management and Analytics (BS SCMA) program at No. 6.
Naveen Jindal, MBA’92, made a notable return to The University of Texas at Dallas, his first visit since the Naveen Jindal School of Management was named after him in 2011. During his recent trip in March, accompanied by his wife, Shallu, and their two children, Jindal attended the University’s Awards Gala, where he was honored with the University’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Jindal is recognized as one of UT Dallas’ most accomplished alumni. He is esteemed globally for his leadership in industry, his statesmanship in India, his advocacy for human rights, and his sporting achievements.
New rankings show that the master’s and bachelor’s degree programs in supply chain management at the Naveen Jindal School of Management are among the best in North America.
Gartner, a technological research and consulting firm, ranked the Jindal School’s Master of Science in Supply Chain Management STEM program No. 4 among North American universities.
The Naveen Jindal School of Management reached several noteworthy new milestones in the 2023 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s Best Business Schools Rankings — including its first time in the top 30 among U.S. business schools and first time in the top 10 among U.S. public schools.
Positive feedback from recent UT Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management graduates, alumni from years past and employers who have recruited them propelled the school forward four places — to No. 32 among U.S. schools — in the 2021-2022 Bloomberg Businessweek Best B-Schools MBA rankings.
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