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Nine Poole College Jenkins MBA Students Awarded Supply Chain Fellowships

Nine students in the NC State Poole College’s Jenkins MBA program received 2012 Supply Chain Fellowships. The fellowships are administered through the college’s Supply Chain Resource Cooperative (SCRC), based in the college’s 2806 Hillsborough Street annex building.

“The analytic and leadership skills that supply chain professionals bring to their positions are highly valued by their employers, as reflected by their support of these fellowships,” said Dr. Rob Handfield, Bank of American Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at the NC State Poole College of Management and SCRC co-director.

The fellowship awards provide tuition support, financial stipends and benefits. The fellows also work with an SCRC partner company, applying their prior experience and classroom learning to complex supply chain projects. One fellow works for the SCRC itself, assisting with research and other projects, including managing the SCRC’s Bloomberg terminal training program which is open to Poole College graduate students.

“Companies love having an objective third party take a hard look at their challenges, bring to bear the research capability and resources of NC State and deliver innovative solutions,” Handfield said.

The students benefit from the professional experience they gain through their company projects and many fellows go on to full-time employment upon completing their MBA program.

“Every fellow graduates with at least one offer by the time he or she gets into the of the program. Some get multiple offers,” Handfield said.

This year group of fellows comes from a variety of backgrounds. Two are currently captains in the military, one has worked as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force, and others have had internships with leading companies, including Chevron, GlaxoSmithKline and BASF.

The fellows said that Poole College’s focus on applied learning and the strength of its supply chain program drew them to the Jenkins MBA program.

“I chose NC State because it actively seeks out opportunities to provide students with real world experience while in school,” said Samuel Kliewar, a fellow who will be working with Caterpillar’s Building Construction Products division in Clayton, N.C. during his fellowship

‘Supply chain is interesting to me; it requires problem solving that connects all functions of the organization and is a key component to increasing the velocity of globalization. Being a part of this movement is exciting for a young professional,” he said.

“The Jenkins MBA program provides a top 20 concentration in supply chain management. It offered me the chance to get more education while rounding out my professional experience in distribution and operations,” said Richard Merchant, a second-year fellow MBA student who will be working with the SCRC during his fellowship. One of his responsibilities for the SCRC is to coordinate certification training on the SCRC’s Bloomberg terminal, a tool that is available to the college’s students and faculty for research projects. All the fellows will be completing that certification program.

The Supply Chain Resource Cooperative also drew Mike Westrich, a second-year fellow student who is working on a practicum project with Lenovo, to the Jenkins MBA.

“I chose Poole College’s Jenkins MBA because of the SCRC, the opportunity to work for great companies, the emphasis on technology and the program’s low cost and high return on investment,” Westrich said.

As technology and globalization drive business, they also will drive demand for supply chain expertise, Handfield said. “Meeting such demand is a priority of the SCRC and our fellows program. Our strong industry partnerships, faculty, and talented students are helping us to continue leading the way to supply chain excellence.”

Following are Poole College’s 2012 Jenkins MBA Supply Chain Fellowship recipients and the companies they are working with this year fellow.

  • Michael Westrich, Caterpillar Building Construction Products (BCP), second year fellow
  • Chris Gibson, Duke Energy, second year fellow
  • Jeffrey Lorenson, Caterpillar BCP, second year fellow
  • Bryan Demotts, Caterpillar Logistics, second year fellow
  • Richard Merchant, SCRC, second year fellow
  • Caitlin Whalen, Caterpillar BCP, first year fellow
  • Weston Held, Caterpillar Logistics, first year fellow
  • Crista Wagner, Caterpillar Logistics, first year fellow
  • Samuel Kliewer, Caterpillar BCP, second year fellow

Photo
p. Sam Kliewer was not available for the photograph.