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Two decades ago, Temple University founded a new department at the Fox School: Management Information Systems (MIS). The timing was prescient; the following two decades would bring seismic technological changes that put IT front and center in the business world.

For 20 years, the program’s innovative curriculum, research, and thought leadership have empowered graduates to thrive in the modern digital economy.

To mark the twentieth anniversary of MIS, an invitation-only Digitization 20 conference took place on November 7. Experts from academia and industry alike spoke about how digitization will change business, education, and society in the next 20 years.

“Prediction is hard. Still, the thought-provoking format of the Digitization 20 conference provided useful ideas on how to drive business forward to a better future,” says Sunil Misra, president of Emtec, Inc. and a member of the IT advisory board.

“It was great to have such illustrious colleagues and friends in academia and industry participate in the celebration,” says David Schuff, professor and department chair. “Breaking from tradition, we successfully tried a new format to bring the different voices together.”

Richard Watson, Regents Professor and J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Chair for Internet Strategy at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, spoke at Digitization 20. “I talked about the most important digital transformation, the transformation to a digital electricity grid system,” he says.

He was most excited about the abbreviated talks. “We heard so many different perspectives in a single day,” he says. “Quite a few people talked about AI and the potential impact on the job market, and I’m still thinking a lot about that.”

Jason Thatcher, professor and MIS endowed faculty fellow at the Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama, says he’s never seen industry and academia mix like this in his career. “Normally, with a high-profile person from industry, they come in with a handler, give their talk, and then they leave. But we all sat together and had conversations throughout the day,” says Thatcher, who presented on the dangers of big data.

Bruce Fadem, chair of the IT advisory board and retired VP and CIO of Wyeth, also noted the unusual blend of industry and academia. “The speakers, participants, and ideas at the Digitization 20 conference were excellent. The conference further demonstrates the expertise of the MIS department in integrating academic and industry perspectives,” says Fadem.

John Shain, president of Automated Financial Systems and the chair of the Fox School’s board of visitors, echoes that sentiment. “It was wonderful to participate and speak at the 20th anniversary celebration conference of the MIS department. It is inspiring what the department has achieved in 20 years,” he says.

Digitization 20 was co-chaired by David Schuff, Laurel Miller, and Munir Mandviwalla.

This semester, the Association for Information Systems (AIS) took the organization’s longstanding commitment to community service to the next level. In partnership with Steppingstone Scholars, AIS President Chinmay Muttur and Treasurer Kevin Publicover created a new coding club at Tanner G. Duckrey Elementary — a K-8 school right in Temple’s backyard.

Each week, half a dozen middle schoolers develop their skills through hands-on practice with block coding that’s presented in a fun, engaging way. Each session also includes a short presentation about a career in the coding field and a self-reflective closing circle about a topical subject, such as Black History Month.

“I like the dance party code program that we do,” says one Duckrey student. “You get to pick your own music and set up who your characters are. I like that it’s a small group, so we get more done in a small amount of time.” 

“One goal we had going in was to spark interest in at least one student and we’ve been successful in that mission,” says Publicover, who created the club’s curriculum and teaches it with fellow AIS members Sean Boyer, Emily Gindele, Jessica Ladzenski, Kyra Lloyd, and Connor Ross in coordination with Steppingstone’s Jhanae Mahoney and Hannah Clements. “A couple of students have shown a passion for coding this session.”

“We’ve been able to take what we do in MIS at Temple and turn it into something we can spread around North Philadelphia,” Muttur says. “It’s amazing how much a middle school student can grasp coding if it’s presented in a way that’s fun.” According to Muttur and Publicover, AIS is already making plans for next semester and beyond.

The coding club was born after AIS identified an opportunity for growth in volunteerism and community service, according to Steve Sclarow, faculty advisor for Temple AIS. “The AIS team saw this as an opportunity to provide value for the neighborhood while reinforcing their own skills,” he says. “You learn as much by teaching as you do by doing.”

Steppingstone has been impressed by AIS and hopes to use the partnership as a model for engaging other student groups across the university with their after school programs, says Chris Avery, vice president of programs for Steppingstone Scholars, a college access program started in 1999. “Working with AIS helps us create a pipeline to build continuity and replenish support after the current MIS students graduate,” he says.

One of Steppingstone’s goals is to see its students continue developing their coding skills through high school and go into STEM fields after college. “That spark can start in elementary school when students are given skills around coding by engaging role models from AIS,” Avery says.

When Juhi Ghosh (MS ’07) came to Temple with a computer science degree from India’s Pune University, she was committed to furthering her MIS education while mixing in finance and marketing courses to help her succeed in the fintech industry. “I did a lot of research before I picked MIS,” she said. “It’s one of the few MIS programs offered at a business school and it had the right balance of business and technology management.”

While earning her M.S., Ghosh interned at Goldman Sachs as a software developer and after graduation, returned to New York City to work for the firm. She then spent seven years at Elliott Management Corporation and now is a product manager at Arcesium, a post trade technology company providing solutions for alternative asset managers.

Rachael Voluck (BBA ’14) transferred to Temple from Penn State in search of a diverse student body, a campus connected to urban life, and a major that would make her competitive in the job market.

She found just that with MIS. “MIS is an innovative program that prepares you for the workplace and connects you to potential employers,” she said. “Temple instilled a solid work ethic in me that’s proven very helpful.” That work ethic was evident during her time at Temple – in 2013, Voluck received the Cara and Niraj Patel Scholarship for high performing MIS students.

The Montgomery County native started her career at Vanguard before shifting gears to work for startups in the fintech, insurance tech, and advertising tech fields. Today, she works in San Francisco at Square, a leading financial services and mobile payment company. As a technical product manager on the communication platform team, she builds enterprise software including email, SMS, push notifications, and in-product messages.

While at Temple, Voluck was president of Net Impact, a sustainability and corporate social responsibility organization at Fox. She also co-founded the Rad Dish Co-op Cafe with a group of fellow students. “As the only person from business school involved, I wrote the business plan and handled the economics of menu pricing,” she said. “I helped show that business fundamentals are really important no matter what you’re doing.”

She’s energized by hearing that more women have joined the MIS program in recent years, saying “I like the idea of more women learning about tech and getting out there and doing it.”