Department of Decision Sciences is now Operations and Business Analytics
In order to 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, the Lundquist College Department of Decision Sciences is now the Department of Operations and Business Analytics.
Along with the department, our undergraduate concentration (formally information systems and operations management) is now also called operations and business analytics.
The updated department name better communicates the focus of our teaching and research: statistical modeling, operations management, and management information systems. Our integrated curriculum emphasizes statistical analysis, predictive modeling, optimization, supply chain, e-business, and technology, arming students with the critical-thinking skills and background needed to successfully manage the operations of an enterprise while processing ever-increasing amounts of data into information for better decision making.
Advances in digital technologies, the Internet, and mobile computing have led to the gathering of massive amounts of data (commonly referred as "Big Data"), which are often very unorganized, explained Sergio Koreisha, head of the Department of Operations and Business Analytics. The new department name imparts more accurately our commitment to arming students with the skills in managing and extracting value from these data.
Additionally, both "operations" and "business analytics" are terms significantly more well known and understood by students and business, Koreisha added.
"Being at the intersection of statistics, operations, and management information systems uniquely defines our approach to teaching and conducting our research in these important fields," he explained. "The name change will not only more aptly reflect what we do but, more importantly, point to new curricular and research directions we wish to pursue."