September 11, 2009
Mykytyn is new management department chair
.CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Peter P. Mykytyn Jr. is the new chairman of the Department of Management for Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s College of Business.
A professor in the management department, he joined the SIUC faculty in 2001. He also served as interim chair of the management department September 2005 to August 2006. While on sabbatical from SIUC, he was a visiting professor at RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany, during the fall 2007 semester.
In Germany, he taught students from around the world about intellectual property/management information systems issues and about managing information systems. He also conducted a research project involving companies from Germany and beyond applying for and obtaining computer research patents from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He researched reasons why companies outside of the United States would spend the time and money to seek American software patents.
Mykytyn’s experience also includes 16 years at the University of Texas at Arlington where he served as assistant professor, associate professor, information systems field coordinator, acting chair of the information systems and management sciences department, professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies. He was also a visiting professor in the information systems department at Agder College in Kirstiansand, Norway, during the first half of 1998.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing at John Carroll University in Cleveland in 1963, his MBA in 1981 and his doctorate in 1985, both in computer information systems, at Arizona State University.
His research focus is a bit unusual in the United States, Mykytyn said. He studies the relationship between information systems strategies and competitive advantage and the interactions of them with the law, paying special attention to intellectual property issues involving software patents, software copyright and trademarks.
With previous administrative experience both at SIUC and the University of Texas at Arlington, Mykytyn notes that he’s not a newcomer to an administrative post.
“Administration is challenging because there are always so many ongoing issues affecting students and faculty which, as chair, are my biggest constituents, so to speak. Budget issues are also a challenge in terms supporting faculty and students. Also, our department has a large doctoral program which involves close interaction with Ph.D. students, helping to develop their research and publishing,” Mykytyn said.
He noted that the department offers diverse specializations at the undergraduate level. Along with a bachelor’s in management with a general management specialization, he said the department also offers the very timely specializations of entrepreneurship, supply chain management, global e-business, personnel management and management of health care enterprises.
Extensively published, Mykytyn has also served in a number of editing positions for various journals in his field. He also is the recipient of several awards for his writing and research.
Mykytyn fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Gregory White, who served as department chair 2002-2005 and 2007-2009. White came to SIUC as an assistant professor in 1978 and held a number of faculty and administrative positions within the College of Business before retiring this summer.