Alumni from the UO's operations and business analytics (OBA) concentration (formerly the information systems and operations management concentration) are excelling at firms around the globe. A recent update from Kerin Green "12, production control manager at Oracle Manufacturing in Hillsboro, is a testament to the impact our graduates make at organizations.

Green said that “Derek Papke "15 was hired this last summer from the OBA concentration, and he is doing great so far, accelerating through the training and onto more critical roles after only two months."

Meanwhile, she noted that David Nigro "14 serves as material planner/scheduler for Oracle's Exadata platform—a highly visible product. And Ian Watson "14 designed the company's Hillsboro manufacturing website. Watson is also the material planner/scheduler for various high-impact platforms, some of which support Oracle's cloud business.

“There are also many OBA graduates who we hired into my group and who have been promoted in the last year to 18 months," Green said.

They include

• Rob Gillin "13, master scheduler/factory materials planner, who is responsible for supply continuity over the fiscal quarter
• Alex Norum "13, a business process analyst
• Steve Witbeck "13, an analyst who also leads development of analytical tools for supply chain and operations
• Rodd Danpour "12, a supply chain and inventory analyst

“We appreciate the operations and business analytics department here at Oracle Manufacturing," added Green.

Green's update about the impact of Ducks at Oracle was prompted from the recent announcement detailing the change in name of our Department of Decision Science to the Department of Operations and Business Analytics.

“We are so pleased to see the tremendous traction our program is having in the real world," said Michael Crooke, Avamere Professor of Practice and Interim Associate Dean for Academic Programs.

The Department of Operations and Business Analytics name change and its corresponding undergraduate concentration in operations and business better convey to our students and the business community the value and importance of our course offerings, as well as the research conducted by our faculty. Although the name may be new, our foundational approach to good business is unchanged. Our graduates excelling at top manufacturers like Oracle is a testament to the education and career preparation the department has always offered.