Bell and Chyz Awarded Professorships in Supply Chain and Accounting

July 2, 2019

John Bell and James Chyz were recently appointed to two named professorships in the Haslam College of Business.

Bell has been named the new Jerry & Suzanne Ratledge Professor of Supply Chain Management. Bell’s teaching and research interests are in logistics and supply chain management, vehicle routing, facility location selection, hazardous material transportation and supply chain strategy and risk. He has received numerous honors and awards for his teaching and research. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Business Logistics, Transportation Journal, OMEGA, Computer & Operations Research, and Advanced Engineering Informatics. He also serves as an associate editor for several leading journals in the field. Bell is a frequent presenter at national and international meetings of the DSI, POMS, INFORMS and other professional societies.

Jerry (HCB, ’65) and Suzanne Ratledge endowed the professorship in Supply Chain Management. Ratledge is a former corporate executive and current owner of Several, a private investment firm that specializes in multifamily housing and commercial real estate equities, fixed income, and commodities and options. 

James Chyz has been chosen as the Pugh Professor of Accounting. His research, which has been published in The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting and Economics, and Journal of Financial Economics, examines the causes and consequences of corporate tax policy choices and the effect of taxes and accounting information on asset prices and investing and financial reporting decisions. He has won several awards and honors and presented at many conferences and symposiums.

Gifts from Pugh CPAs, which was founded by Will J. Pugh (HCB, ’61), made this professorship possible. One of Knoxville’s longest-established firms, Pugh CPAs marks its 50th anniversary this year. From 1969 to 2019, its business has grown to include specialized services in audit and assurance, tax planning and compliance, business valuation and litigation support, small business services and consulting services.

The college extends its congratulations to Bell and Chyz on these honors and expresses its gratitude to the donors who are supporting teaching and research through these generous gifts.