ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Our nation’s service men and women proudly display the colors of their respective branches of service, and many are boasting maize and blue as their second-favorite color combination. The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is providing outstanding members of the US Armed Forces with graduate programming that is preparing them for careers in operations and manufacturing once their military service is through, and also providing them with cross-disciplinary, action-based training that applies to those still on active duty as well.

Commander James "Jaime" Murphy, Director of the Cruiser/Destroyer/Frigate (CRUDES) Integrated Weapons Support Team (IWST) for the United States Navy based in Mechanicsburg, PA, chose the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and Tauber over several other prestigious schools. With family members’ encouragement, he attended the “Go Blue Rendezvous” orientation weekend and was sold on the program. “It was there that I sensed the strong feeling of teamwork and the emphasis on community at Michigan,” he said.

As supply officer with a background in logistics, Murphy received some guidance that it would be advantageous to sharpen the focus of his MBA. “I saw an opportunity with Tauber to leverage my experience to make myself an expert in the field. Tauber’s unique internship/team projects sealed the deal,” he said.

His summer project at Dow Chemical in Midland gave him a glimpse of the corporate world as it compared to his military service. “It was eye opening, and at the same time encouraging because of the similarities. Dow follows a similar chain of command system and its people are focused on missions and objectives. It wasn’t as foreign to me as I might have thought.”

“I had some apprehension -- being out of school for 10 years -- over cracking text books open again. And it was intimidating coming to Michigan. I knew it would be challenging. But I had no problem fitting in with the section and the Tauber fold. People are there to help each other and that collaboration helped,” said Murphy.

His professional story is still playing out as he is planning a full career in the Navy before transitioning to a civilian career. The knowledge and experience he gained at U-M and Tauber are currently being put to use for our country as Murphy’s team interfaces with the fleet to make sure ships have what they need to be combat ready.

Murphy, a third-generation Navy man, serves on the Tauber Student Advisory Board mentoring officers who are looking for similar graduate study opportunities. “We are trying to highlight the benefits of potentially getting officers through the MBA program in one year, thus getting them back to the Navy faster,” said Murphy.

When Tauber-trained officers return to their post, they’ll bring unique skills and experience with lean manufacturing and Six Sigma to their duties and to their staff. “The things I learned at Tauber have a lot of direct applications -- things like supply chain analytics, core operations and management courses have prepared me well for the two tours I’ve had since taking them. I call on those skills when dealing with inventory control points, decisions on what to buy, how to best use taxpayers money wisely to support our efforts to keep the fleet ready for any mission that’s assigned,” said Murphy.

Current Tauber Student Perspective

David Chudy is currently serving our nation as a member of the United States Army. He is also a member of the Tauber Institute for Global Operations Class of 2014, but wearing both hats is not as difficult as it might seem.

While pursuing his undergraduate degree at Michigan Tech, Chudy joined the Army ROTC program. He has been serving for the past 10 years. “My number one concern about going back to college was about relating with other students whose job and life experiences were potentially so much different than mine. These concerns have proven to be completely invalid though. My classmates have been some of the most intelligent people I have met and I have had no problem relating my experiences to a non-veteran, since most of the key takeaways from our experiences can be applied across all job spectrums,” Chudy said.

Chudy said his first choice for graduate school was always UM. “When combining my desire to go to UM with Ross’s reputation as a top MBA program, I knew it was the right place for me. I want to stay in operations post-military, and the Tauber Institute was the perfect way to reach that goal. Tauber’s reputation was unmatched, and I have been very excited about my experience so far,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to his Tauber team project next summer.

Chudy and his wife, also a member of the military, took advantage of the built-in support system U-M provides for veterans, such as setting up veteran-only job fairs and networking events in addition to providing resume writing tips on how to best translate military experiences to potential employers. “The University of Michigan has been fantastic during mine and my family’s transition to school from the military. My wife and I have dealt with both the UM Student Veteran Association (SVA) and the Ross Armed Forces Association (RAFA) and both organizations have been instrumental with helping us get into contact with any Veteran’s Affairs organizations, as needed. The university’s registrar’s office has been incredibly easy to work with, especially for veterans to apply their GI Bill benefits.”

The University of Michigan participates with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program (Yellow Ribbon Program). The University and the VA cover unmet tuition needs for individuals entitled to the maximum benefit rate of the Post 911 GI Bill (CH33). For more information, visit vets.umich.edu for the Veteran and Military Services Program website.

About Tauber Institute for Global Operations
The Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a joint venture between the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business and the College of Engineering, and many industry partners to facilitate cross-disciplinary education in global operations management. In addition to broad array of core and elective courses, the innovative LeadershipAdvantage^SM Program provides students with the tools to ascend to major operations leadership roles. Well-designed and managed team projects form the cornerstone of the Tauber Institute experience and allow students to apply their knowledge to real world settings. The Tauber Institute is an inaugural recipient of the UPS George D. Smith Prize for effective and innovative preparation of students to be good practitioners of operations research, management science, or analytics. http://www.tauber.umich.edu

Contact:
Theresa Ceccarelli 734-647-0308 [email protected]