Whitworth appoints proven leader, e-commerce expert as new business dean
March 16, 2010
Whitworth Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Le Roy announced the appointment of Bob Beatty as dean of the university's School of Global Commerce and Management. Beatty brings significant academic, business and military leadership experience to the position overseeing Whitworth's undergraduate, graduate and non-traditional business programs. He will begin on June 14.
"Dr. Beatty was selected from a strong and competitive pool of applicants, and he brings an excellent background to lead and build on Whitworth's commitment to global business education," Le Roy says. "He is an excellent teacher and scholar, particularly in the area of managing information systems. He's been in business, where he has managed change. He has a distinguished military career, so he understands leadership."
Beatty has taught at the university level for more than 15 years, managed systems and projects at billion-dollar corporations and served as a senior officer in the United States Air Force Reserves. He said he was attracted to Whitworth's mission and academic reputation as well as its strong focus on students.
"Whitworth University is a highly respected, highly ranked institution that combines an exceptional faculty with outstanding students and a committed staff," Beatty says. "I was looking for a university that was not afraid to integrate faith with the breadth of a traditional liberal arts education. But the first thing that struck me when I visited Whitworth's campus was the professors' personal interest in the students' education. It is this level of commitment that makes a Whitworth education such a unique and exceptional experience."
As dean of Whitworth's School of Global Commerce and Management, Beatty will oversee faculty and staff serving nearly 400 students in traditional undergraduate programs in accounting, economics, business management, international business and marketing; a non-traditional program in organizational management primarily serving working adults; and master's programs in business administration and international management. The school has developed a reputation for its faculty's expertise in international business and for the global focus of its programs.
"The Whitworth School of Global Commerce and Management is generally ahead of its peers in understanding the need to give students a global education," Beatty says. "I don't think any student should graduate from any business school without a clear understanding of the global economy. It makes sense to increase opportunities for students to gain international perspectives, whether that's through study abroad or guest speakers from local businesses engaged in international trade."
Whitworth School of Global Commerce and Management faculty members who served on the search committee were impressed with Beatty's record of outreach to the business community.
"Dr. Beatty has a strong commitment to creating bonds with businesses to place students in jobs and internships and seeking opportunities for the school's research and consulting resources to support the local business community," says Christie Anderson, director of Whitworth's Organizational Management program. "These relationships will be beneficial to all parties, and I'm excited to have him at Whitworth."
Beatty currently serves as associate professor of information systems in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University. He is responsible for teaching the core information systems courses in the undergraduate and graduate business programs. Beatty also is a proven academic scholar in the areas of e-commerce and strategic information systems. His research is published in leading academic and professional publications. Previously, he was recruited to Texas Christian University to help launch the first undergraduate program in e-business accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – the leading accreditation agency for business schools worldwide.
Prior to entering academia, Beatty served as project manager for the Amerada Hess Corporation's Tulsa, Okla., operation and as corporate systems manager for the Kellogg Company, in Battle Creek, Mich. For Hess, he led the specification, development and installation of a multimillion-dollar natural gas volume control and marketing application. Kellogg's Information Management Systems Team recruited Beatty to revitalize the company's global technology systems in order to facilitate information sharing with business partners within the organization's value chain.
In addition, Beatty is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Travis AFB in California. He commands a squadron of special agents that provide specialized investigative support to over 20 bases and installations in the western United States. From December 2005 to July 2006, he was deployed to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to oversee counter-intelligence operations. Beatty's leadership of a joint military operations team tactically assigned to the Army led to collection of high value intelligence in high-risk areas and earned him the Army Commendation Medal.
Beatty earned a doctorate of business administration, specializing in business information systems, in 1998 and a master of business administration in 1996 from Mississippi State University; a master of computer systems management from Creighton University in 1989; and a bachelor's degree in computer science from Texas Christian University in 1985.
He has been married for 23 years to Raynette Beatty and they have two children: Sean age 18 and Shelby age 20.
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Michael Le Roy, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3702.
Greg Orwig, director of university communications, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4580 or gorwig@whitworth.edu.
"Dr. Beatty was selected from a strong and competitive pool of applicants, and he brings an excellent background to lead and build on Whitworth's commitment to global business education," Le Roy says. "He is an excellent teacher and scholar, particularly in the area of managing information systems. He's been in business, where he has managed change. He has a distinguished military career, so he understands leadership."
Beatty has taught at the university level for more than 15 years, managed systems and projects at billion-dollar corporations and served as a senior officer in the United States Air Force Reserves. He said he was attracted to Whitworth's mission and academic reputation as well as its strong focus on students.
"Whitworth University is a highly respected, highly ranked institution that combines an exceptional faculty with outstanding students and a committed staff," Beatty says. "I was looking for a university that was not afraid to integrate faith with the breadth of a traditional liberal arts education. But the first thing that struck me when I visited Whitworth's campus was the professors' personal interest in the students' education. It is this level of commitment that makes a Whitworth education such a unique and exceptional experience."
As dean of Whitworth's School of Global Commerce and Management, Beatty will oversee faculty and staff serving nearly 400 students in traditional undergraduate programs in accounting, economics, business management, international business and marketing; a non-traditional program in organizational management primarily serving working adults; and master's programs in business administration and international management. The school has developed a reputation for its faculty's expertise in international business and for the global focus of its programs.
"The Whitworth School of Global Commerce and Management is generally ahead of its peers in understanding the need to give students a global education," Beatty says. "I don't think any student should graduate from any business school without a clear understanding of the global economy. It makes sense to increase opportunities for students to gain international perspectives, whether that's through study abroad or guest speakers from local businesses engaged in international trade."
Whitworth School of Global Commerce and Management faculty members who served on the search committee were impressed with Beatty's record of outreach to the business community.
"Dr. Beatty has a strong commitment to creating bonds with businesses to place students in jobs and internships and seeking opportunities for the school's research and consulting resources to support the local business community," says Christie Anderson, director of Whitworth's Organizational Management program. "These relationships will be beneficial to all parties, and I'm excited to have him at Whitworth."
Beatty currently serves as associate professor of information systems in the College of Business at Northern Illinois University. He is responsible for teaching the core information systems courses in the undergraduate and graduate business programs. Beatty also is a proven academic scholar in the areas of e-commerce and strategic information systems. His research is published in leading academic and professional publications. Previously, he was recruited to Texas Christian University to help launch the first undergraduate program in e-business accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – the leading accreditation agency for business schools worldwide.
Prior to entering academia, Beatty served as project manager for the Amerada Hess Corporation's Tulsa, Okla., operation and as corporate systems manager for the Kellogg Company, in Battle Creek, Mich. For Hess, he led the specification, development and installation of a multimillion-dollar natural gas volume control and marketing application. Kellogg's Information Management Systems Team recruited Beatty to revitalize the company's global technology systems in order to facilitate information sharing with business partners within the organization's value chain.
In addition, Beatty is a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force Reserves assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Travis AFB in California. He commands a squadron of special agents that provide specialized investigative support to over 20 bases and installations in the western United States. From December 2005 to July 2006, he was deployed to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to oversee counter-intelligence operations. Beatty's leadership of a joint military operations team tactically assigned to the Army led to collection of high value intelligence in high-risk areas and earned him the Army Commendation Medal.
Beatty earned a doctorate of business administration, specializing in business information systems, in 1998 and a master of business administration in 1996 from Mississippi State University; a master of computer systems management from Creighton University in 1989; and a bachelor's degree in computer science from Texas Christian University in 1985.
He has been married for 23 years to Raynette Beatty and they have two children: Sean age 18 and Shelby age 20.
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Michael Le Roy, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3702.
Greg Orwig, director of university communications, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4580 or gorwig@whitworth.edu.
