Michigan State University Provost Teresa K. Woodruff, Ph.D., is recommending Judith Whipple, interim associate dean for faculty and doctoral programs and Donald J. Bowersox and Robert W. Thull Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management in the MSU Broad College of Business, for the position of interim dean of the Broad College. Whipple currently serves as interim dean designee and will continue in that role until her appointment goes before the MSU Board of Trustees for consideration at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Whipple also serves as faculty director of the Master of Science in Supply Chain Management program, or MS-SCM, in the Broad College. Prior to this, she directed the Food Industry Management program at MSU. She has extensive teaching experience at the undergraduate and graduate levels, teaching in the Full-Time MBA, Executive MBA, MS-SCM and doctoral programs.
“I am confident in Dr. Whipple’s knowledge of the Broad College, her leadership background and her academic excellence as she steps into this role,” said Woodruff. “She knows the strengths of the Broad College’s faculty, staff and students as they strive to create and disseminate knowledge through collaboration.”
Whipple was awarded the MSU Teacher-Scholar Award for excellence in teaching and research, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Educators Conference Teaching Innovation Award, and various best paper awards. Her research interests include supply chain integration and collaboration, and her areas of expertise include buyer-supplier relationships, logistics, and risk and resilience. She has published work in numerous logistics, supply chain and marketing journals.
Whipple is active with various professional associations. She previously served on the board of directors at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, chaired its research strategies committee, and co-chaired its Supply Chain Innovation Award. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Institute for Supply Management.
“I am honored to serve the Broad College of Business in this capacity at a time of great momentum and growth for the college,” said Whipple. “The college is well positioned to advance the aspirations of our Broad 2030 Strategic Plan, focusing on key initiatives that will empower us to fulfill our mission of creating and disseminating knowledge through collaboration, while also developing transformational leaders who make positive impacts around the globe.”
Whipple earned her doctorate in business administration from MSU and her bachelor’s degree in management systems from General Motors Engineering and Management Institute.
Whipple succeeds Sanjay Gupta, who served as dean from June 2015 to August 2022. A search for the next leader of MSU’s Broad College of Business will commence this fall, with the anticipated seating of a new dean by July 2023.