March 2010, Around the State
Northwest
UW-Eau Claire Business College named top IS school
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s College of Business is one of the top 100 colleges in the world for research in the field of information systems, and one of its IS faculty members is among the top 100 IS researchers worldwide, according to a study conducted by a professor at the University of Arkansas.
For 2007-09, UW-Eau Claire’s College of Business currently is ranked among the top 100 universities internationally for ongoing IS research, and Dr. Matt Germonprez, assistant professor of information systems at UW-Eau Claire, currently is ranked among the top 100 individual IS researchers. This follows a top 100 rating for 2006-2008.
“The ranking is another mark of excellence that distinguishes our IS program from others across the country,” Germonprez says, noting it also shows how the college is competing on a national level.
Dr. Viswanath Venkatesh developed the top 100 lists by tracking research articles published between 2007 and 2009 in six journals identified by the Association for Information Systems as the premier journals in the IS field. UW-Eau Claire’s IS department had four papers published in the journals during the study’s timeframe.
“Research always keeps faculty members involved in the practices of our field,” Germonprez says. “We are able to understand and explain emerging phenomena that don’t always make it into our textbooks. We are able to learn what new industry trends are and bring those to the classroom so we can best prepare our students for careers in their chosen fields.”
Only two other UW System business schools are currently in the top 100 list: UW-Milwaukee’s Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business and UW-Madison’s School of Business.
MOVERS
>> Joel Rueber is the new executive director for Aspirus Network Inc., based in Wausau.
>> Applied Data Consultants Inc. has created a new division, the Elite EXTRA Division. Heading up this new division will Ross Kleiner, business development manager and Lori Liddell, operations manager. In addition, Carrie Morrell has been promoted to manager of the firm’s GIS Technology Division.
>> Attorney Daneille M. Strong has joined the law firm of Weld, Riley, Prenn and Ricci in Eau Claire.
>> Edward Wittrock, vice president-regional system at Luther Midelfort Chippewa Valley, recently became a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the nation’s leading professional society for healthcare leaders.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
ST. CROIX COUNTY: The St. Croix Economic Development Corporation has named its top businesses for 2009. The emerging business of the year is NCCM Co. of River Falls; Baldwin Telecom Inc. is the small business of the year; and Scientific Molding Corp. Ltd. of Somerset is the business of the year.