1 Washington Park Journal November Issue 2 | Page 4
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Dean’s Advisory Council
Issue 3, November 2013
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Spotlight
Professor of the Month: Professor York
We’re halfway through the semester! I hope everyone’s continuing to do great in their classes. This month,
we shall get to know yet another professor. This time, I’ve interviewed one of the Supply Chain Management
Department’s great professors: Professor Thomas York. Let’s get to know him more as a professional and hear
his opinion about the Supply Chain Management career.
Professional Background
“My professional background is extremely diverse. I worked in a number of
industries and a number of different types of jobs but, let’s focus on the Supply
Chain. I worked in frozen food manufacturing, had a number of years in retail,
spent a lot of time in computer systems supporting retail and distribution, and then
I went into my own business doing consulting for about eighteen years. Working in
rail freight, chemical manufacturing, publishing, and a number of different
industries designing systems and improving process.”
What motivated you to switch to the academia? What continues to inspire you to be a Supply Chain
Management professor here in RBS?
“I love teaching, and even when I was in the corporate world, I did teaching. When I was consulting, most
places that I was consulting, ironically, I would end up with the name ‘The Professor’ because I would be
giving people instructions on how to understand their business better and things like that. I love teaching
because I enjoy the engagement with the students, particularly being in Supply Chain Management. I love
getting students excited about Supply Chain Management because most of them don’t even know what it is. I
also focus on two things that I think are important. One is the value of really learning and understanding
instead of just studying for exams and being able to translate that into a professional career. Along with that, I
love working with the students outside of class working on resumes, on interview skills, and even how to look
for a job and where to put their time and focus, so I spend a lot of time working with students on that as well.”
How has Supply Chain Management evolved as an RBS curriculum? What unique capabilities can a
student develop as a student under this major?
“Well, the first thing is you have to understand on this campus the degree program for supply chain
management is only 4 years old, and that on the New Brunswick campus it’s only something like 6 or 7 years
old. We’ve grown from 20 students to close to 600 students between the two campuses in that short period of
time. We have a number of students who started in another degree and take supply chain as a second degree
because they understand the value. They understand how it interplays with accounting or finance or
marketing, and makes them a stronger and a better problem solver for the business world. In terms of ‘Where
are we going?’ I’m working with corporations in trying to develop new opportunities for internship programs.
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