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Dennis named first Chambers Chair; chair named for Cisco Systems CEO
Aug. 23, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Alan R. Dennis, a leading researcher and teacher on groupware, system development, networking and the Internet has been selected as the first recipient of the John T. Chambers Chair of Internet Systems in Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
Dennis' primary research focus is groupware -- the design and use of computer technology to help teams work better, whether they are in the same room at the same time or working in different places at different times over the Internet. Within the general area of groupware, his research focuses on idea generation/creativity, information exchange in decision making, and individual cognition.
A native of Prince Edward Island, Canada, Dennis has published more than 80 journal articles, book chapters and conference papers and has received seven awards for outstanding theoretical and applied research. He recently was ranked seventh in the world in management information systems (MIS) research productivity and second in the world in groupware research productivity.
His research has appeared in MIS, management, computer science and psychology journals such as Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, Academy of Management Journal, Management Science, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Applied Psychology and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
Dennis also is a co-author of two best-selling books: Business Data Communications and Networking (with Jerry Fitzgerald) and Systems Analysis and Design (with Barbara Haley Wixom).
He is an associate editor at MIS Quarterly and a department editor at DataBase. He serves as a track chair for Internet technologies for the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences and developed the Internet-based paper review system for the International Conference on Information Systems.
Dennis comes to IU from the Terry School of Business at the University of Georgia, where he was a professor of management information systems. While there, he won four teaching awards including the Richard B. Russell Award, the university's top teaching award for faculty with less than 10 years of experience.
He holds a bachelor of computer science degree from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, and a master of business administration degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. After three years on the faculty of the Queen's Business School teaching statistics and management of information systems, he went on to earn a doctorate at the University of Arizona. He joined the Terry School faculty in 1991 and was promoted to full professor in 1999.
Friends and colleagues of John T. Chambers, president and chief executive officer of Cisco Systems and a 1976 IU MBA graduate, contributed more than $1.2 million to establish the endowed chair in his honor. Among top-tier business schools, the Chambers Chair is the only endowed chair dedicated exclusively to the study of the Internet.
Chambers has led Cisco, the worldwide leader of networking for the Internet, since 1995. Cisco Systems is among the leading high tech companies that have pledged their information technology engineers and architects to ensure that the Kelley School's new $34 million Corporate and Graduate Center will be at the leading edge of educational and communications technology.
The Kelley School of Business, through 80 years of innovation, continues to maintain its visibility as one of the country's premier business schools. Its undergraduate program is ranked among the top 10 in the country. Its MBA program has been cited in Business Week as one of the favorites of corporate recruiters looking for general managers, marketing talent and finance graduates.
Other definitive publications, including U.S. News & World Report, Money and Princeton Review, have recognized various Kelley programs as among the best. The school's doctoral program, which also contributes to overall teaching and research excellence, has sent more than 1,000 doctoral graduates to key positions in industry and academe.
(George Vlahakis (OCM), 812-855-0846, gvlahaki@indiana.edu or Margaret Garrison (Kelley), 812-855-3369, magarris@indiana.edu)