MONTVALE, N.J., Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The PhD Project, an award-winning program to increase diversity in management, announced the 2017 inductees into its PhD Project Hall of Fame. They are: Geraldine Rosa Henderson, Associate Professor, Loyola University Chicago; Fay Cobb Payton, Professor of Information Systems/Technology, North Carolina State University; and Thaddeus H. Spratlen, Professor Emeritus of Marketing, University of Washington.

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 2017 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, lead funder and administrator of The Project. "They have put forth great effort to create diversity in academia and ultimately, the business world."

Dr. Geraldine Rosa Henderson is an Associate Professor with Tenure in the Department of Marketing at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago. She has been an active contributor and ambassador of The PhD Project since its inception. Even as she advanced her research achievements and served as a role model for students of color in the classroom, she has also been a consistent contributor to The PhD Project's achievement and stature. She is the co-author of Consumer Equality: Race and the American Marketplace. She was previously the Chairperson and Associate Professor with Tenure of the Department of Marketing and the Associate Research Director for The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED) at the Rutgers Business School Newark/New Brunswick at Rutgers University. Her primary areas of research include: global marketplace diversity and inclusion, health disparities, public policy, consumption communities, and consumer networks (both cognitive and social). She has published over fifty articles, books, or book chapters. She is a recipient of the 2015 Kinnear Best Paper Award from the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

Dr. Fay Cobb Payton is a Professor of Information Technology/Systems with Tenure at North Carolina State University and was named a University Faculty Scholar for her leadership in turning research into solutions to society's most pressing issues. She is a Charter Member of The PhD Project Information Systems Doctoral Student Association (ISDSA). She served as the IS Doctoral Association chair and/or co-chair for five years and was a member of the charter planning committee. She was instrumental is involving founders of the discipline as well as Information Systems leading scholars in the doctoral association. Dr. Payton has been recognized as an inaugural member of The PhD Project ISDSA's Circle of Compadres. She received the North Carolina Technology Association Tech Educator of the Year and National Coalition of Women in Information Technology Undergraduate Mentoring Awards. She is a member of the NC State University Women in Science and Engineering Advisory and is an American Council on Education Fellow. She was awarded the first SAS Institute Fellow for her work in analytics and teaching in the IS/IT classroom, and as received two NC State University Alumni Extension Awards. She is an editor for Health Systems, an Associate Editor for Decision Sciences and an Associate Editor for DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal publications and conference proceedings. She worked in corporate IT and Engineering before joining the academy.

Dr. Thaddeus Spratlen is a Professor Emeritus (since 2002) of Marketing at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington. He has been involved with The PhD Project since its inception and has been an invaluable resource for doctoral students, young faculty and tenured faculty across the US, always willing to provide guidance and mentorship. He received his Ph.D. in Marketing in 1962 and was the first African American tenured professor at the Foster School of Business. Long before there was The PhD Project, he was the torch bearer for faculty of color in academia. He was the founding Faculty Director of the Business and Economic Development Center at the Foster School of Business. Prior to joining the UW faculty in 1972, he held regular appointments at Western Washington University (1961-69) and in the Graduate School of Management, UCLA (1969-72).  Professor Spratlen received his PhD, MA, and BS from The Ohio State University. His specialties are retailing management and strategy, marketing and urban enterprise development, social issues in business, government regulation and public policy in tobacco advertising and harmful products. He has over 80 articles in journals, conference proceedings and other edited publications.

The PhD Project was founded by the KPMG Foundation in 1994 then became a separate 501(c)(3) in 2005, and recruits minority professionals from business into doctoral programs in all business disciplines. Since its inception, The PhD Project has been responsible for the increase in the number of minority business professors from 294 to 1,409. Further, 270 minorities are currently enrolled in doctoral programs, and will take a place at the front of the classroom over the next few years. The Project attacks the root cause of minority under-representation in corporate jobs: historically, very few minority college students study business as an entrée to a corporate career.  Diversifying the faculty attracts more minorities to study business and better prepares all students to function in a diverse workforce.

The PhD Project 2017 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 received ongoing support from its sponsoring companies, participating universities and organizations, and supply alliance members. Its founding organizations in addition to the KPMG Foundation, are the Graduate Management Admission Council, Citi Foundation, AACSB International. Other leading corporations, foundations and associations funding it include:  298 Participating Universities, AICPA Foundation, DiversityInc, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, American Marketing Association, Rockwell Collins, John Deere Foundation,  CIGNA,  California State University System, Lincoln Financial Group, Academy of Management, American Accounting Association, City University of New York System, Aerotek/ TEKsystems (operating companies of Allegis Group), NASBA, OCWEN Financial Corporation, Thrivent Financial and American Express Foundation.

For more information on The PhD Project, visit: http://www.phdproject.org or contact Lisa King at 646-234-5080 or 180181@email4pr.com.

Connect with our members on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thephdproject; Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ThePhDProject.

Contact
Lisa King
646-234-5080
180181@email4pr.com

SOURCE The PhD Project

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