Barbara Denison may have left the classroom, but the classroom hasn’t completely left her. Since retiring from the Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management in 2011, Denison still engages with the educational community and advocates for the importance of lifelong learning.
“Volunteer work is a big thing,” says Denison, who currently serves as president of the board of advisors for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Dayton. Denison enjoys taking classes there and even teaches an annual class on exploring New Zealand, where she typically spends one month each year visiting her son and his family.
Denison also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Washington-Centerville Public Library. Her tenure on the board comes during a particular exciting time for the library as they completing the expansion and renovation of Woodbourne Library in Centerville.
Along with community service, Denison is also passionate about supporting scholarships for Wright State University students. There's a need for scholarship funds she witnessed time and time again while serving on several committees during her 35-year career at Wright State.
“Every year, there were always more students that had more needs than we could fulfill with our department and college funds,” Denison explains. “I certainly saw that need, and my husband shares my interest in education.”
In 2014, Denison and her husband, Carl, established the Barbara and Carl Denison Endowed Scholarship for students majoring in management information systems or supply chain management.
“I certainly admire the Wright State students that are working extremely hard, balancing families and school and work,” Denison says. “We’re happy to help in a small way.”
Since their scholarship is awarded annually, the Denisons have enjoyed meeting some of their scholarship recipients.
“So many people establish scholarships as a memorial, which is a wonderful thing,” says Denison. “But it’s nice to award it while I’m alive. We hope to grow it over time.”
Denison can take pride in knowing that she helped build a program that produces top-quality, talented graduates who are ready for the workforce.
Denison first came to Wright State in 1976, when she was hired to teach to an introduction to data processing course, COBOL, and some statistics courses. She previously worked in customer support education, teaching programming, and other computer-related jobs at NCR.
Over the years, Denison worked with other faculty to establish Wright State management information systems program. She also served as the department chair from 1995 to 2003.
“The technology changed enormously,” Denison recalls. “There was always something new. So, you were constantly learning. You were constantly training yourself, getting more education, talking to others. That was always very challenging.”
During Denison’s time at Wright State, the department launched two online master’s degree programs in information systems and logistics and supply chain management. Those programs have been ranked among the top 20 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
“I’m really proud of what the department has accomplished,” says Denison, who helped write the report for the program’s first ABET accreditation. “We were the first college of business in the state to get the information systems program accredited.” She also saw the program reaccredited right before her retirement.
For Denison, the greatest reward make sure students knew the opportunities available to them and helping students develop the knowledge and skills for successful careers.
“We tried to focus on the student as a whole,” she explains. “We had an active management information systems club. We established the digital mixer—which is still going—an annual networking event where students can meet with business people and talk with them in a less-pressured environment. We’ve had wonderful students who have gone on to become successes and live all over the country and all over the world.”
