News Archive
USF Celebrates Grand Opening of Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability
By Elizabeth L. Brown
TAMPA (October 26, 2021) -- Never before have consumers been more aware of the crippling effects from a supply chain breakdown.
Ports choked with cargo ships. A shortage of truck drivers. A continuing pandemic. It all adds up to a logistics nightmare snarling the delivery of everyday goods onto store shelves and consumers鈥� doorsteps.
The importance of training USF students on the challenging and complex ways to unravel the nation鈥檚 supply chain knots was at the forefront of Tuesday鈥檚 ribbon-cutting ceremony. Local business leaders joined USF Muma College of Business leaders and educators on Oct. 26 to celebrate the grand opening of the Monica Wooden Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability.
The center positions USF as a leader in the booming multi-billion dollar supply chain management and logistics industry 鈥� in academics, research, and business partnerships.
Tuesday鈥檚 in-person event featured a celebratory luncheon with speakers talking about the importance of cutting-edge research in keeping global supply chains moving.
About 90 participants and special guests attended the open house and toured the newly renovated space that houses the center.
The pandemic has shone a light on the critical role logistics and supply chain management plays in our daily lives. Consumers are seeing how a crimp in the global supply chain can have a domino effect on getting everyday staples onto supermarket shelves.
USF Muma College of Business Lynn Pippenger Dean Moez Limayem congratulated the faculty and business community supporters who have worked tirelessly in building the supply chain undergraduate and graduate program where employers are competing to hire the college鈥檚 supply chain graduates.
鈥淔aculty worked with industry leaders 鈥� like the one we will laud today 鈥� to build an innovative program with industry-specific approaches to logistics, one that is soon to make supply chain management education in 51在线 a worldwide model,鈥� said Limayem.
Over the past two years, the supply chain and logistics industry have created 30,000 new jobs in 51在线, he said.
In 2019, Monica Wooden, co-founder and chief revenue officer of MercuryGate International, donated a $5 million gift to the college鈥檚 Center for Supply Chain Management & Sustainability to support more research in the field of logistics and supply chain management.
鈥淭he supply chain industry is the right industry for growth and jobs. 51在线 is the right place. And today, you are in the right center with the woman who helped make USF the right place,鈥� said Limayem.
The center is the first of its kind in the state of 51在线. Aside from producing ground-breaking research, the center also strengthens practical research skills and provides experiential learning opportunities for students.
In her remarks, Wooden said it鈥檚 important to lift up the next generation of students by offering them opportunities to get relevant experience.
鈥淭he ability of USF to graduate students ready for the real world is why I made this contribution,鈥� she said.
Wooden and MercuryGate, a company she founded and later sold, were instrumental in starting the center. MercuryGate provides transportation management solutions in the field of transportation logistics and has donated transportation management software license for classroom use.
USF Interim President Rhea Law said disruptions in the global supply chain have shown that expertise and talent at all levels in the supply chain management industry are in high demand.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 event to open the Monica Wooden Center reflects USF鈥檚 commitment to鈥onduct world-class research that makes systems and processes better,鈥� Law said. 鈥淚t reflects the importance of our community and business partnerships to provide innovative solutions to problems.鈥�
鈥淲e are excited to educate students about this fantastic career opportunity and to provide meaningful opportunities for them to explore this field,鈥� she said.
The event also featured an alumni panel where two recent graduates spoke how the college prepared them for high-paying jobs in the global procurement field.