Randy V. Bradley, associate professor of supply chain management and Haslam Family Faculty Research Fellow, has a passion for helping others succeed. In the Haslam College of Business, he uses this drive to serve students through teaching and coaching. As a researcher, he works to create positive change for industry.

This passion has garnered him several awards and recognitions this year. Most recently, Bradley received a distinction from his alma mater, when he was named Harbert College of Business Auburn University Outstanding Black Alumnus of the Year. For Bradley, this award highlights skills attained while at Auburn University and the University of Tennessee. Bradley uses these abilities to affect the future of supply chain management.

“This recognition says to me that the impact we can have on industry, as academics, is broad,” Bradley says. “Sometimes, there is the notion that academics are isolated or isolate themselves from corporate America, but this recognition shows that we can have a positive impact beyond the classroom.”

In Haslam, Bradley works to share this influence across various areas of supply chain management. His research, focusing on emerging technology and healthcare, showcases his thought leadership.

“I see myself as a visionary,” Bradley says. “As an academic, you are trying to chart the path for people to follow, and there is a sense of responsibility for what you are guiding executives and other leaders to do. It’s important to support what I say with evidence. My research is data-driven and guides how I interact with industry and what I put in the marketplace to be consumed by practitioners.”

Bradley also works to shape industry by guiding the next generation of corporate professionals. He says his most rewarding work often happens outside the classroom, where he serves as the lead coach and advisor for several of Haslam’s national graduate case competition teams.

“Seeing students mature in their thought process and critical thinking, which have to take place in order to excel in a national case competition, is gratifying,” Bradley says. “Preparing for these competitions is all about how to think and how to read and analyze people. I’m teaching them how to own the room and control the space. At the end of the day, in competition, the students will answer the questions, solve the problems and face the executive panel of judges. To see them shine in that environment is most rewarding.”

Bradley has also dedicated himself to diversity in academia and industry. He was recently inducted into the PhD Project’s Hall of Fame. This award highlighted his 19 years of service to the organization and its ideals, an initiative with the goal of promoting diversity in industry by increasing diversity of business school faculty. Within Haslam, he sees diversity as the key to the college’s innovation.

“There is an entrepreneurial spirt in Haslam,” Bradley says. “It’s a spirit that says we’re not tied to the status quo. We do things differently not just for the sake of doing things differently, but because we believe if we are going to have the best, we need to do our best and recruit, attract and retain the best at every level — student, staff, faculty and leadership. The creativity and innovation that exudes from Haslam is the result of a diverse faculty and workforce, something Haslam embraces.”

Investing in a diverse faculty and staff for the Haslam College of Business is something Bradley says will increase the college’s positive impact.

“It’s important to understand that when you invest in talented and industry-minded faculty, it’s not done in lieu, and at the peril, of other college initiatives,” Bradley says. “It’s done to positively affect the overall success of the college and its stakeholders.”