October 28, 2004 (Atlanta) - Richard J. Welke, professor of computer information systems and director of the Center for Process Innovation at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, has been appointed as 'Cor Wit professor 2005' at the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management of Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands).
The Cor Wit chair is awarded annually to internationally-renowned researchers in the field of telecommunications and informatics who focus on research questions at the interface of technology and society. The Cor Wit chair was established in 2003 by the Cor Wite Foundation to honor the former CEO of Royal KPN N.V., who oversaw the privatization of the Dutch telephone company (the former State Telegraph Service in the Netherlands).
Since arriving at Robinson, Welke first served as the chairman of the department of Computer Information Systems (1992-99), initiated and directed the eCommerce Institute and served as the director and chair of the Global eManagement EMBA program (an international consortia of the leading business schools). At the behest of the then-dean, he served as interim-Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Law Companies Group, Inc. (the largest engineering and environmental services company in the US). He is the author of more than 40 books and published papers on information systems. Prior to Robinson, Welke was a "hoogelaar" (professor) at Erasmus UniversityÕs Rotterdam School of Management (NL) and had owned and managed several software companies in the US and Canada.
Welke succeeds Peter Keen (Chairman, Keen Innovations and Research Fellow at the University of Maryland), who held the Cor Wit chair in 2004. Prior to Professor Keen the first Cor Wit chair was held by Lang Tong (Professor in Telecommunications, Cornell University).
The J. Mack Robinson College of Business is one of the world's best business schools. The College's Flex (part-time) MBA program has been listed in the top ten by U.S. News for the past nine consecutive years and its undergraduate business program is ranked among the top 50 in the nation. The College's Executive MBA program is ranked among the 50 top programs worldwide by The Financial Times and BusinessWeek magazine ranks it 24th in the world. Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business has an enrollment for more than 8000 students and is located in downtown Atlanta.
