蘑菇短视频

Barbara Jo White, professor of information systems in the College of Business at Western Carolina University, is recipient of the International Association for Computer Information Systems 2026 Ben Bauman Award for Excellence.

Named in memory of a longtime member, officer and director of the association and a retired professor at James Madison University, the prestigious Bauman Award recognizes a faculty member who has compiled an outstanding record of scholarship, teaching and professional service and who has made significant contributions to their university and profession over many years, said G. Daryl Nord, IACIS executive director.

In the nomination letter for the award, White is described as someone who has devoted her career to supporting a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to teaching in information systems, Nord said.

鈥淒r. White鈥檚 publishing and research interests are oriented toward volunteering, community development and service.  She has developed an impressive teaching and research agenda,鈥� he said. 鈥淒r. White was selected for this award from a group of outstanding candidates.鈥�

She is scheduled to receive the award in October at the annual IACIS International Conference in Pensacola, Florida.

A member of the 蘑菇短视频faculty since August 2005, White made it a personal mission shortly after her arrival on campus to foster a more collaborative culture working on articles and projects with multiple faculty members and students from across the disciplines, said A.J. Grube, dean of WCU鈥檚 College of Business.

鈥淪he has co-authored more than 40 publications with 30-plus different 蘑菇短视频colleagues and students, often working with new faculty and those without terminal degrees,鈥� said Grube. 鈥淭hroughout her career, she has followed a simple philosophy learned through her own volunteer service 鈥� identify a need, bring people together, build capacity, and make the community a better place, whether that community is where you live, worship or work.鈥�

Before arriving in Cullowhee, White served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1987 until 1989. In that role, she created the World Map Project, which brought volunteers and host country nationals together to hand-draw and paint large world maps on school walls. The project later expanded to U.S. schools through the creation of the "Monster Map," which won the Award for Outstanding Community Service from the National Council of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

She is a past recipient of numerous other awards in recognition of her commitment to teaching, engagement and collaboration. They include WCU鈥檚 Board of Governors Creative and Innovative Teaching Award in 2007, Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Service Learning Award in 2007, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Scholar Award in 2006, College of Business Excellence in Research Award in 2014 and College of Business  Engagement Award in 2019.

She also received a best paper award from the International Association for Computer Information Systems in 2022 and an article of the year award from the Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education in 2013.

White earned her doctorate in business administration from the University of Mississippi, where she was a graduate teaching and research assistant, and her master鈥檚 degree in business administration and English with a concentration in English as a second language from East Carolina University, where she was a lecturer. She received bachelor鈥檚 degrees in journalism and botany from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

She worked previously as a business analyst intern for the Johnston County Management Information Systems Department and program director for Trinity Center of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, where she in 1992 created the Sound to Sea program, North Carolina's longest running environmental education program.

White said that she considers it an honor just to be nominated for an award recognizing her efforts to improve collaboration at her university.

鈥淲hen I first arrived at WCU, what I saw was 65 to 70 faculty members who didn鈥檛 work together very often on research, especially across disciplines. Luckily, a colleague in my department, Rita Noel, worked with me in 2006 to publish my first paper in IACIS. I was fresh out of grad school. I was talking to a finance professor later that year, and she said no one wrote papers with her at WCU; she wrote with people from her grad school. I decided then and there that I would make it my mission to change the culture at WCU,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 really think it is a great way to get to know colleagues, and if we work together on papers, we are more likely to work together on other activities, too,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to say that, after 21 years, I do feel like the culture is changing. The dean and associate dean remind people to work together on research, and that didn鈥檛 happen in 2005. I would like to think that I have had a hand in making the College of Business more collaborative and more multidisciplinary, especially with respect to scholarship of teaching and learning articles.鈥�