CHARLES E. DOWNING

Operations Management and Information Systems Department

College of Business

Northern Illinois University

DeKalb, IL 60115

Phone: (815) 753-6381

Fax: (815) 753-7460

e-mail: cdowning@niu.edu

ACADEMIC POSITIONS

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY DeKalb, IL

Presidential Teaching Professor, (2010 - Present).

Walmart Professor in Enterprise Technology Innovation, (2007 - 2010).

Professor, (2006 - 2007).

Associate Professor, (2000 - 2006).

Research Interests: Information Technology as a business process integrator (Supply Chain and portals); Business Intelligence; the implementation and evaluation of Decision Support Systems which employ advanced analytical techniques; measuring the effectiveness of information systems; Information Technology choices in dissimilar cultures.

Courses Taught: OMIS 259 “Introduction to Business Information Systems” (undergraduate)

OMIS 351 “Information Systems in Organizations” (undergraduate)

OMIS 462 “Business Systems Development” (undergraduate)

OMIS 651 “Business Systems Analysis & Design” (MS)

OMIS 661 “Business Decision Support Systems” (MS)

BOSTON COLLEGE Chestnut Hill, MA

Associate Professor, with tenure (2000). Taught and researched Management Information Systems for the Operations and Strategic Management Department of the Wallace E. Carroll School of Management.

Assistant Professor (1994-2000).

Courses Taught: MC 240 / MC 340 “Management Information Systems” (undergraduate)

MD 021 “Management and Operations” (undergraduate)

MM 720 “Information Management and Analysis” (full time MBA)

MC 707 “Computing and Information Systems” (evening MBA)

MD 851 "Information Systems for Financial Services" (MBA)

Information Technology Management for Electronic Commerce (executive)

Spreadsheet Modeling for Decision Analysis (executive)

EDUCATION

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY Evanston, IL

1991 to 1994

Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, June 1994

Major and dissertation in Systems Analysis and Design, concentration in Information Systems Management

Dissertation Title: "Meta-Monitoring Systems: Tools in the Effectiveness Determination of Information Systems"

Minors in Statistics and Organization Theory

Teaching Assistant for the courses "Systems Analysis and Design", "Business Research Methods", "Engineering Management" and "Industrial Psychology". Responsibilities included lecturing, grading, tutoring and organizing between 15 and 160 students.

Outstanding Teaching Assistant for 1993-1994 school year, awarded by Northwestern Chapter of Institute of Industrial Engineers

Significant consulting experience in Information Systems Management to supplement dissertation

1991 to 1992

Master of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, June 1992

Cumulative grade point average 3.67/4.00

1982 to 1986

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mathematics, June 1986

Cumulative grade point average 3.58/4.00, Dean's List

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

CHICAGO TITLE AND TRUST COMPANY (1992 to 1994) Chicago, IL

Independent Consultant. Designed, programmed, and implemented a 12-line telephone interactive voice response system responsible for managing the Savings and Profit Sharing Plan informational needs of 10,000 internal employees. Created and managed the interface between this system and the corporate Client/Server network. Trained staff in the use and manipulation of the system, and directed evaluation of the system. Managed the roll out of interactive voice response to 250 external benefits clients.

ERNST AND YOUNG (1989 to 1991) Chicago, IL

Senior Consultant. National Director of microcomputer systems, networks and telecommunications for the Defined Contribution Group. Directed, programmed, and maintained the networked (Novell NetWare) personal computer environment. Pioneered interactive voice response technology within the benefits group. Formally instructed colleagues in software packages and programming languages.

THE NORTHERN TRUST CORPORATION (1987 to 1989) Chicago, IL

Allocation Specialist. Managed Defined Contribution plans for large corporate clients. Developed expertise in the management and administration of the COBOL-based computer information systems responsible for running the business. Educated bank officers in Lotus 1-2-3 and other software packages.

NAPERVILLE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL (1986 to 1987) Naperville, IL

Mathematics Teacher. Performed full-time secondary teaching responsibilities. Served as freshmen baseball coach and ticket manager for the athletic department.

REFEREED JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS / BOOK CHAPTERS

“Is Web-Based Supply Chain Integration Right for Your Company?”, Communications of the ACM, Volume 53, Number 5, 2010, pp. 134-137.

(with Chang Liu). “Using Cascading Style Sheets to Design a Fly-Out Menu with Microsoft Visual Studio”, Journal of Information Systems Education, Volume 21, Number 3, Fall 2010, pp. 275-282.

(with Chang Liu). “Does Web Site Usability Correlate with Web Site Usage?” Journal of International Technology and Information Management, Volume 18, Numbers 3/4, 2009, pp. 443-454.

(with Joy M. Field, Larry P. Ritzman, M. Hossein Safizadeh). “Uncertainty Reduction Approaches,

Uncertainty Coping Approaches, and Process Performance in Financial Services”, Decision Sciences, Volume 37, Number 2, 2006, pp. 149-175.

(with J. Gallaugher). "Portal Combat Revisited: Success Factors and Evolution in Consumer Web Portals", in A. Tatnall (Ed.), Web Portals: The New Gateways to Internet Information and Services, Idea Group, Inc., 2005, pp. 40-63.

“The Effects of IT Usage in the Supply Chain on Process Performance: A Field Study”, Communications of the IIMA, Volume 4, Issue 3, 2004, pp. 33-44..

(with B. Mackie). “Viability of Electronic Service Offerings: User Satisfaction in the Business-to-Employee Market”, International Journal of Services Technology and Management, Volume 5, Number 1, 2004, pp. 14-24.

(with J. Gallaugher and A. Segars). "Culture, Information Technology Choice and Empowerment: Revisiting the Interplay”, in G. Hunter and F. Tan (Eds.), Advanced Topics in Global Information Management: Volume 3, Idea Group, Inc., 2004, pp. 72-91.

“Examining the Present and Looking to the Future of DSS and Intelligent Systems”, Communications of the IIMA, Volume 3, Issue 2, 2003, pp. 37-52.

(with J. Field and L. Ritzman). “The value of outsourcing: A field study”, Information Systems Management, Volume 20, Number 1, Winter 2003, pp. 84-89.

(with J. Gallaugher and A. Segars). "Information Technology Choices in Dissimilar Cultures: Enhancing Empowerment," Journal of Global Information Management, Volume 11, Number 1, Jan.-Mar. 2003, pp. 20-39.

“A Simple and Effective Method for Teaching Information Systems Vocabulary and Concepts in a Large Lecture Setting”, Journal of Information Systems Education, Volume 13, Number 3, 2002, pp. 165-172.

(with J. Ringuest) “Implementing and Testing a Complex Interactive MOLP Algorithm”, Decision Support Systems, Volume 33, Number 4, August 2002, pp. 363-374.

“Performance of Traditional and Web-Based EDI”, Information Systems Management, Volume 19, No. 1, Winter 2002, pp. 49-55.

(with J. Gallaugher) "Portal Combat: An Empirical Study of Competition in the Web Portal Industry," Journal of Information Technology Management. Vol. 11, No. 1-2, 2000, pp. 13-24.

“System Usage Behavior as a Proxy for User Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation”, Information & Management, Volume 35, No. 4, April 1999, pp. 203-216.

(with A. Clark) "Groupware in practice", Information Systems Management, Volume 16, No. 2, Spring 1999, pp. 25-31.

(with Jeffrey L. Ringuest) “An Experimental Evaluation of the Efficacy of Four Multiobjective Linear Programming Algorithms”, European Journal of Operational Research, Volume 104, No. 3, February 1, 1998, pp. 549-558.

(with M. Hossein Safizadeh) “Bringing Decision Support to the Customer Level”, Information Systems Management, Volume 14, No. 3, Summer 1997, pp. 23-28.

(with A. Clark and D. Coleman) “Groupware at Big 6 Consulting Firms - How Successful Was It?”, in D. Coleman and R. Khanna (Eds.), Groupware: Collaborative Strategies for Corporate LANs and Intranets, Prentice Hall, 1997, pp. 533-561.

(with Jeffrey L. Ringuest) “Multiobjective Linear Programming with Context-dependent Preferences”, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Jul 1997, Volume 48, No. 7, pp. 714-725.

“Rhetoric or Reality? The Professed Satisfaction of Older Customers with Information Technology”, Journal of End User Computing, Volume 9, No. 1, Winter 1997, pp. 15-27.

(with Gustave J. Rath) “The Internet as Intranet: Moving Toward the Electronic Classroom”, Journal of Educational Technology Systems, Volume 25, No. 3, 1996-97, pp. 273-291.

PAPER PRESENTATIONS AND REFEREED PROCEEDINGS PUBLICATIONS

(with Chang Liu). “Doing More with Less in IS Education: Getting Students to Teach Each Other”, Proceedings of the 2011 Americas Conference on Information Systems, Detroit, MI, August 2011, http://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2011_submissions/139.

(with Chang Liu). "Assessing Web Site Usability in Retail Electronic Commerce" Proceedings of the Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC), 2011 IEEE 35th Annual, Munich, Germany, 18-22 July 2011, pp. 144 – 151.

“Macros in Excel Made Easy For You and Your Students”, Proceedings of the Midwest Decision Sciences Institute Conference, Chicago, IL, April 13, 2007, Information Technology and e-Business Track.

“Performance Benefits of Web-Based Supply Chain Integration”, Proceedings of the Southern Association for Information Systems (SAIS) Conference, Jacksonville, FL, March 9, 2007, pp. 75-80.

“Privacy, The Information Age, and Ethical Practices: What is Important to Consumers?”, Proceedings of the Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA) International Conference, “Privacy and Security Issues”, Chicago, March 15, 2006, pp. 40-49.

“The Effects of IT Usage in the Supply Chain on Process Performance: A Field Study”, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the IIMA, October 2004.

(with J. Field, L. Ritzman, & M. H. Safizadeh) "Does Customer Type Matter? A Comparison of Financial Services Processes with Internal versus External Customers", Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 2003.

“Examining the Present and Looking to the Future of DSS and Intelligent Systems”, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the IIMA, October 2003.

“Five Minutes to Learn with a Lifetime of Benefits: A Simple and Effective Method for Teaching Information Systems Vocabulary and Concepts in a Large Lecture Setting”, Proceedings of the Midwest Business Administration Association's Society for the Advancement of Information Systems and Quantitative Methods annual conference, February 2002, pp. 18-24.

“Viability of Electronic Service Offerings: User Satisfaction in the Business-to-Consumer Market”, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 2001, pp. 279-281.

(with J. Ringuest) “Graphical Decision Support to the Rescue: Testing a Complex Interactive MOLP Algorithm”, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 2000, pp. 468-470.

(with J. Gallaugher) “An Empirical Investigation Of Market Leadership In The Web Portal Industry”, Proceedings of the 1999 Workshop on Information Technologies and Systems, Charlotte, NC, December, 1999, pp. 8-13.

(with K. Irwin and A. Segars) “Information Technology Choices in Dissimilar Cultures: Achieving Empowerment”, Proceedings of the Global Information Technology Management and Global Electronic Commerce Mini Track of the 1999 Americas Conference on Information Systems, August 1999, pp. 289-291.

(with A. Clark) "Groupware in Practice: Accounting for Differences in Expected and Realized Benefits", Proceedings of the Northeast Decision Sciences Annual Meeting, March 1999, pp. 131-133.

“System Usage Behavior as a Proxy for User Satisfaction: An Empirical Investigation”, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 1998, pp. 746-748.

(with Jeffrey L. Ringuest and Samuel Graves) “Solving the Stochastic MOMP Problem”, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 1997, pp. 896-898.

"An Empirical Examination of User Satisfaction With an Information System Implementation", Proceedings of the 1997 Americas Conference of the Association for Information Systems, August 1997, pp. 826-828.

(with Jeffrey L. Ringuest) “An Experimental Evaluation of the Efficacy of Four Multiobjective Linear Programming Algorithms”, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 1996, pp. 966-968.

(with K. Irwin) “Empowerment Through IT: A Cross-Cultural Comparison”, Presented at the INFORMS Fall National Meeting, October, 1995. Revised work presented at The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management Works In Progress / Summer Seminar Series, August 1996.

“Toward a Practical Methodology for Evaluating Users’ Satisfaction with Information Systems: An Empirical Investigation”, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Meeting, November 1995, pg. 794.

(with Jeffrey L. Ringuest) “Multiobjective Linear Programming with Context-dependent Preferences: An Algorithm and a Decision Support System”, Presented at The Wallace E. Carroll School of Management Works In Progress / Fall Seminar Series, October 1995.

(with A. Segars) “Agora: A Marketplace of Voice, Data, and Video Technologies”, Proceedings of the 1995 Americas Conference of the Association for Information Systems, August 1995, pp. 211-213.

"Rhetoric or Reality? The Professed Satisfaction of Older Customers with Information Technology”, Proceedings of the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute 1995 Annual Meeting, March 1995, pp. 256-258.

TEACHING

Northern Illinois University

Received Lifetime Teaching Achievement Award from Operations Management and Information Systems Department, Spring 2005.

Operations Management and Information Systems Undergraduate Faculty of the Year (2000-2001, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009)

Operations Management and Information Systems Graduate Faculty of the Year (2003-2004).

Average section size: over 85 students per section

Average sections per semester: over 2

Average preparations per semester: over 2

Percentage of all students choosing the top choice, “Excellent”, on a 5 point scale to the question “Overall, the instructor’s performance in teaching this class was:”: over 71%

Percentage of all students choosing one of the top two choices on a 5 point scale to the question “Overall, the instructor’s performance in teaching this class was:”: over 95%

Supervised the following Independent Study projects:

· “Understanding and analyzing the effects of opening a new store on existing Walmart formats”, S. Travis Pierce, Fall 2009.

· “Creating a digital dashboard to provide Walmart’s Real Estate management with an automated and integrated view of key portfolio information across Real Estate and help in decision making across the portfolio”, Jon Tharnstrom, Spring 2009.

· “Managing and Delivering a system to manage the project approval process.”, Kate Denissova, Fall 2008.

· “Creating and Documenting an Industrial-Grade Web Server.”, Mike Grimes, Spring 2008.

· “Managing and Delivering an Electronic Closing Book system that allows better management of construction projects.”, Robert Fiedor, Spring 2008.

“Executing an anytime, anyplace client-server Web-based system to automate and streamline the appraisal processes of the Wal-Mart Realty Division”, Kelly Slattery, Fall 2007.

“Developing Web-applications in PHP”, Michael Liotus, Fall 2004.
“Building a Linux Server for PHP Administration”, Michael Liotus, Summer 2004.
“An Effective Migration from Visual Basic to .NET”, Brian Gillet, Summer 2002.

· “Creating and porting database driven web applications to the Internet”, Christie Pitzer, Spring 2001.

Served as Advisor on the following Senior Honors Thesis / Capstone projects:

· “Visual Basic.Net: Is it pervasive in the market yet, and has it increased productivity for businesses?” (Michael Zitella, completed 2004).

· “SOHO Networking: High Tech Fad or Potential Market for an Entrepreneur?” (Ian Seivert, completed 2004).

· “Information Technology For Small Museums: A Museum Management Tool” (Kasandra Lewis, completed 2003).

· “The outsourcing decision: Advantages, disadvantages, and an online tool.” (Melissa Wesley, completed 2002).

· “Systems Management at the DeKalb Community Center.” (Hadam Soliman, completed 2002)

· "Market and Traffic Patterns in Electronic Commerce" (Oscar Carlos, completed 2002)

Coached the following full-semester Experiential Learning Center student projects:

Walmart Realty Division, Spring 2009 (Project Team: 6 students). Twice weekly 1.5 hour classes were supplemented with knowledge gathering and mentoring, along with multiple face-to-face meetings with upper-level executives and a multi-day site visit to Walmart Corporate headquarters in Bentonville, AR. Created a digital dashboard to provide an automated and integrated view of key portfolio information across Real Estate and help in decision making across the portfolio.
Walmart Realty Division, Fall 2008 (Project Team: 7 students). Twice weekly 1.5 hour classes were supplemented with knowledge gathering and mentoring, along with multiple face-to-face meetings with upper-level executives and a multi-day site visit to Walmart Corporate headquarters in Bentonville, AR. Created a workflow system to manage the project approval process.
Walmart Realty Division, Spring 2008 (Project Team: 6 students). Twice weekly 1.5 hour classes were supplemented with knowledge gathering and mentoring, along with multiple face-to-face meetings with upper-level executives. Managed and Delivered an Electronic Closing Book system that allows better management of construction projects
Walmart Realty Division, Fall 2007 (Project Team: 6 students). Twice weekly 1.5 hour classes were supplemented with knowledge gathering and mentoring, along with multiple face-to-face meetings with upper-level executives. Executed an anytime, anyplace client-server Web-based system to automate and streamline the appraisal processes of the Wal-Mart Realty Division.

· Family Shelter Services (FSS) Project, Spring 2004 (Project Team, 5 students). Twice weekly 1.25 hour classes were supplemented with knowledge gathering and mentoring, along with on-site Client meetings in Wheaton. Built a Web-based system for the multiple locations and employees of Family Shelter Services (FSS), a domestic abuse shelter. As a not-for-profit, FSS had virtually no technology budget and was performing their core business processes mostly on paper and by courier. Our team changed that. Our Experiential Learning Center received the “Education Partner” of the year award from FSS, in large part due to this project.

· Ernst & Young Security & Technology Solutions Project, Fall 2002 (Project Team: 5 students). Twice weekly 1.25 hour classes were supplemented with knowledge gathering and mentor meetings including several full weekend days. Constructed and implemented an Information Technology framework to secure the many Web servers and computing infrastructure of the Experiential Learning Center.

Boston College

Average section size: over 40 students

Average sections per semester: 2

Average preparations per semester: 1.2

Percentage of all students choosing the top choice, “Excellent”, on a 5 point scale to the question “Rating Instructor Deserves as a Teacher”: 69%

Percentage of all students choosing one of the top two choices on a 5 point scale to the question “Rating Instructor Deserves as a Teacher”: 95%

Remainder omitted for brevity. Listing comparable to Northern Illinois University listing. Contact Professor Downing for complete list.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

Board of Advisors, Experiential Learning Center (2002-Present)

Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of End User Computing (1999-Present)

Board of Advisors, Fiber and Wireless Connectivity Fund (1999-2002)

Board of Advisors, Tresidder Networks (2000-2002)

MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Association for Information Systems (Charter Member)

Decision Sciences Institute

INFORMS

Society for Information Management

SERVICE TO PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (1999-Present)

Ad hoc reviewer, Journal of Organizational and End User Computing (1996-Present)

Ad hoc reviewer, Information Technology & People (1998-Present)

Ad hoc reviewer, Decision Sciences Annual and Regional Meetings (1996-present)

Ad hoc reviewer, Americas Conference for Information Systems (1997, 1999)

Track Chair, Ethics Track, International Information Management Association National Conference (2004).

Track Chair, Intelligent Systems Track, International Information Management Association National Conference (2003).

Session Chair, International Information Management Association National Conference (2003, 2004).

Session Chair, Decision Sciences Annual Meeting (1997, 1998)

Session Chair, Americas Conference for Information Systems (1999)

SERVICE TO NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY – UNIVERSITY LEVEL

Member, University Press Board (2004-Present): The University Press Board assures standards of high quality for all University Press publications. Specifically, this includes:

1. Making decisions concerning the establishment and maintenance of quality in journals published under University Press sponsorship;

2. Making decisions as to the acceptability of manuscripts to be published as books or monographs.

3. Determining the appropriateness of all other publications of the University Press.

Member, Committee on the Undergraduate Academic Environment (2009-Present). Committee responsibilities:

Promote a campus atmosphere which will be maximally conducive to learning and to stimulation of an appreciation for learning and for the arts, the humanities, the sciences, and the professions;
Monitor and evaluate the campus environment from the perspective of its compatibility with and support for the learning process and the development of an appreciation for learning and to recommend policies and programs to strengthen that environment;
Evaluate the interface between the curricular and extra-curricular aspects of campus life, and to recommend policies and programs to strengthen that interface;
Evaluate the impact of campus housing policies and facilities upon the learning environment, and, when necessary, to recommend policies and programs designed to make that impact more constructive to the learning environment;
Analyze the adequacy of the campus support facilities for the learning environment, and to make recommendations for their improvement;
Undertake such specific studies and analyses of the campus learning environment as may be prescribed for it by the UCC.

Member, Undergraduate Coordinating Council (2001-2004): Committee met monthly with one Sunday half-day retreat per year. The following are the responsibilities of the Committee:

Establish general policies for undergraduate study;
Coordinate the intercollegiate aspects of undergraduate education;
In consultation with the colleges, determine policy for undergraduate studies and baccalaureate programs, and semester-hour requirements for undergraduate majors and minors;
Foster high standards of undergraduate instruction;
Organize and direct the work of the standing committees of the Undergraduate Coordinating Council, receive reports from such committees, and render final decisions on the policy recommendations received from them;
Determine policy governing programs of study, and approve all such new programs of study. A program of study refers to any academic concentration which is reported on student transcripts.;
Encourage cooperation among departments and colleges concerning curricular matters and resolve any differences among the colleges.

SERVICE TO NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY – COLLEGE AND DEPARTMENT LEVEL

Member, Experiential Learning Center (ELC) Board of Advisors (2002-Present).

Chair, Graduate Faculty Committee, (2003-2006).

Curriculum Committee, (2001-2008, Chair 2003-2004, 2005-2008).

Member, Journal Quality Committee, (2003-2005).

Member, Grade Appeals Committee, (2003-Present).

Member, Assessment Committee, (2003-Present).

Member, Personnel Committee, (2004-2005, 2009-Present).

Member, Branding Committee, (2004-2007).

Coordinator, Graduate Colloquium Lecture and Seminar Series, (2001-2007).

Coordinator of OMIS 351, the core Information Systems class for all undergraduate Business majors, (2001-Present).

Member, OSA Advisory Board (Department student organization), (2001-2004)

Chair, OMIS Departmental Chair Search Committee (2001, 2008).

Member, MIS Program Committee, (2001-2007).

SERVICE TO BOSTON COLLEGE

Omitted for brevity. Listing comparable to Northern Illinois University listing. Contact Professor Downing for complete list.