The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business has announced Yemisi Bolumole as the first Ryder Endowed Professor in Supply Chain Management. The endowment, which Ryder made earlier in 2021, was matched with funding from the $40 million gift the Haslam family presented to the college last year. 

Chad Autry, associate dean for faculty and research and FedEx Corporation Endowed Professor of Supply Chain, believes the new, endowed professorship will raise the department’s profile and strengthen its capacity to attract and retain top-notch talent. He also hailed the college’s ongoing association with the transport company as mutually beneficial.

“We appreciate Ryder’s generosity in funding this endowment,” he said. “Ryder is highly regarded in supply chain, and this professorship will allow us to enhance our position in the field. Also, having a top talent like Yemisi Bolumole in this professorship will enhance our ability to provide the next generation of supply chain leaders the skills and training they need to start contributing to companies like Ryder from day one on the job. Yemisi’s reputation for producing leading-edge research that has immediate application in supply chain management and her recognized creativity in the classroom make her an ideal choice for the inaugural holder of this professorship.”

Bolumole comes to UT from the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University. Previously, she served as the director of the transportation and logistics program in the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida. Before entering academia, Bolumole worked in the oil/gas and third-party logistics sectors in operations management and business development. She earned her doctorate in logistics and supply chain management from the United Kingdom’s Cranfield University in 2001. 

Her research focuses on third-party logistics and transportation outsourcing, transportation policy and human resource management’s talent development in supply chain management. Bolumole has written more than 40 publications, including book chapters, reports and articles in publications such as the Journal of Business Logistics, the International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, the Transportation Journal and Supply Chain Management Review, among others. 

She has been honored with several awards, including the Bernard J. LaLonde Prize for Best Paper Published in the Journal of Business Logistics, the AT&T Instructional Technology Award for Best Hybrid/Flipped class at Michigan State University and the University of North Florida’s Outstanding Teaching Award.

Bolumole said she was deeply honored by the appointment.

“I started my career in supply chain on the shop floor of a warehouse as a supervisor … to have that lead to this professorship? It’s a humbling feeling,” she said. “I am grateful to Ryder. In this position, my desire is to address things that matter. I hope that my approach to work and Ryder’s sponsorship of this professorship can be a marriage made in heaven.”

In further professorship appointment news, the college announced that John Bell will assume the Gerald T. Niedert Professorship in Supply Chain Management, a designation previously held by the late Mary Holcomb. Stephanie Eckerd was appointed to the Jerry and Suzanne Ratledge Professorship in Supply Chain Management, which Bell previously held, while Matthew Serfling was chosen to be the Truist Professor in Finance.

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CONTACT:

Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu