The PhD Project Announces 2014 Inductees Into Hall of Fame

MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The PhD Project, an award-winning program to increase diversity in management, announced the 2014 inductees into its PhD Project Hall of Fame. They are: Dr. Laura L. Hall, Associate Professor of Management Information Systems, University of Texas, El Paso; Dr. Sandra W. Shelton, KPMG Professor of Accounting, DePaul University; Dr. Jerome D. Williams, Professor of Marketing, Rutgers University.

The PhD Project established the Hall of Fame in 2011 to recognize a select few who have inspired many. These individuals have sustained an unwavering commitment to The PhD Project's mission and their positive leadership has resulted in significant encouragement and impact within The Project's network of minority business doctoral students and faculty.

"We are pleased to present the 2014 inductees to The PhD Project Hall of Fame. Since our inception, these individuals have served The Project as presenters, mentors and advisors," said Bernard J. Milano, President of The PhD Project and the KPMG Foundation, the founder and lead funder of the Project.  "They have put forth great effort to create diversity in academia and through that, the business world."

As an underrepresented minority in the area of technology, Dr. Laura Hall has had a first-hand experience on the struggles to promote a higher percentage of minority business school professors; and, she has walked hand-in hand with The PhD Project, first as a doctoral student member in 1994 and now as a charter member, participating in almost every PhD Project conference to inspire others.

Dr. Hall has devoted her mentoring to students at UT El Paso and across the country that are on pathways to finishing their undergraduate degrees and entering graduate programs. Dr. Hall's minority recruitment efforts in the university are unparalleled by any other; this is demonstrated by her unwavering devotion to inspire students to continue their academic journeys. It is not surprising that in 2012, the University of Texas Board of Regents selected Dr. Hall to receive its prestigious Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award, the highest honor bestowed by the group across the Texas system. In her 18 years at UTEP, she has overseen over 350 community-based projects with her undergraduates. Dr. Hall earned her doctorate from Florida State University in 1997 and is the first tenured Hispanic female Professor in the field of Information Systems in the country.

Dr. Sandra Shelton has been involved with The PhD Project since its inception in 1994 when she served as a panelist on the Investment/Sacrifice Panel during the Annual Meeting. Sandra had just received her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin and was on faculty at DePaul University. She was the first person to be capped at the annual conference with a PhD Project Mortarboard and Tassel which has now become a tradition at the Annual Conference and the Doctoral Students Associations conferences. The next year, Sandra was invited back to serve on the planning committee for the Annual Conference and has been a member of that planning committee ever since. Dr. Shelton has been a member of The PhD Project Accounting Doctoral Students Association since 1994, serving in many roles, including presenter, planning committee member and as a faculty advisor to the planning committee. Throughout her academic career Dr. Shelton has made it her mission to serve as a role model to undergraduate, graduate  and doctoral students. As a faculty member at DePaul University she has worked to identify and recruit faculty of color through her relationships with the Accounting DSA and The PhD Project and DePaul now has the highest number of PhD Project members on faculty. Dr. Shelton is the first African American female promoted to Full Professor in the College of Business at DePaul.  She is the Director of the Internal Audit Program. Dr. Shelton received her Ph.D. in Accounting from The University of Wisconsin-Madison, MBA (Finance) from Indiana University, and BS (Economics) from Rhodes College. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (IL). In January 2012, she was appointed by DePaul to be the holder of the prestigious KPMG Professorship in Accounting.

Dr. Jerome Williams is such a vital part of The PhD Project and a trailblazer for the marketing discipline.  When Dr. Williams began his career in 1986, he was the only African American to receive a PhD in marketing.  He has and continues to use every resource to encourage people of color to pursue a career as a marketing academic.  Further, Dr. Williams has used his research as an opportunity to transform the lives of consumers and young scholars.  Dr. Williams and his work on racial profiling has been featured on many national outlets including Huffington Post and National Public Radio.  However, despite his busy schedule he always finds time to participate and help The PhD Project.  Dr. Williams has been instrumental in the lives of many PhD Scholars. He is a Distinguished Professor and the Prudential Chair in Business at the Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick (RBS) and currently serves as the PhD Program Director.  He was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Food Marketing and Diets of Children and Youth that authored the book Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? and was appointed by the U.S. Census Bureau to Chair the 2010 Communications Contract Academic Assessment Team. 

When The PhD Project was created, there were only 294 doctorally qualified African-American, Hispanic American or Native American  business professors in all U.S. business schools. Today, there are 1,253 minority business professors. Further, over 320  minorities are currently enrolled in doctoral programs, and will take a place at the front of the classroom over the next few years. The PhD Project provides direct access to these individuals, so companies providing funding at or above a certain level can connect with participants and their students to share information about careers, scholarships and other educational initiatives.

The PhD Project 2014 Hall of Fame's inductees will be honored at the organization's annual conference in November. A new class of inductees is selected annually, with supporters of The PhD Project and the public invited to submit nominations for each year's class. 

The PhD Project has succeeded in its mission thanks to its four founding organizations, KPMG Foundation, Graduate Management Admission Council, Citi Foundation, AACSB International, and the corporations, foundations and associations that are funding it in an effort to systemically change the face of corporate America. They include over 285 participating universities, AICPA Foundation, DiversityInc, The Merck Company Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, Rockwell Collins, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., American Marketing Association, John Deere Foundation,  CIGNA, ADP, Edison International (on behalf of the California State University System), Lincoln Financial Group, Aerotek/ TEKsystems (operating companies of Allegis Group), 3M, American Accounting Association, The Hershey Company, VMware  and Academy of Management.

For information visit: http://www.phdproject.org/fame.html. To view a video of the 2013 Hall Of Fame recipients, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49tHpdgcF4s. Connect with members at www.MyPhDNetwork.org; Visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thephdproject; Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ThePhDProject.

Contact:
Lisa King
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SOURCE The PhD Project