Heinz College Professor Awarded Industry Award for Literature
Michael D. Smith, professor of information technology and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University’s (CMU) Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, has been awarded the Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature for his book, The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World.
“To be recognized by UPCEA, the leader in online and professional continuing education, is truly an honor,” said Smith. “I’m grateful to be a member of the higher education community and to have my work recognized by an organization representing thousands of my peers is profound.”
The award, named in honor of the late Phillip E. Frandson, former Dean of the University of California, Los Angles and UPCEA president, is presented by UPCEA, the Online and Professional Education Association. It recognizes an author and publisher of an outstanding work of continuing education literature.
Books nominated for the Phillip E. Frandson Award are reviewed by the UPCEA Frandson Award Committee, which is comprised of scholars and practitioners in the field of professional, continuing, and online higher education. The award is reserved for extraordinary works that make significant contributions to the field. It is not always given each year. The winning book must be important to the theory or practice of professional, continuing, and online higher education while exemplifying originality and a superior quality of prose.
“UPCEA is pleased to present this esteemed award to Michael for his book The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World,” said Bob Hansen, UPCEA CEO. “We appreciate his fresh perspective on higher education and examining the role digital technologies can play to improve the system.”
In The Abundant University: Remaking Higher Education for a Digital World, Smith examines the current higher education system and how it perpetuates social injustice and socioeconomic stratification. He argues the only way to create a financially and morally sustainable higher education system is to embrace digital technologies to create abundance in access to resources in higher education.
Smith previously worked in the telecommunications and information systems industries, first with GTE in their laboratories, telecommunications, and satellite business units and subsequently with Booz Allen and Hamilton as a member of their telecommunications client service team. While with GTE, Smith was awarded a patent for research applying fuzzy logic and artificial intelligence techniques to the design and operation of telecommunications networks.
Smith’s research uses economic and statistical techniques to analyze firm and consumer behavior in online markets — specifically markets for digital information and digital media products.
He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and his M.S. in Telecommunications Science from the University of Maryland and received his Ph.D. in Management Science and Information Technology from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
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About Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy
The Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy is home to two internationally recognized graduate-level institutions at Carnegie Mellon University: the School of Information Systems and Management and the School of Public Policy and Management. This unique colocation combined with its expertise in analytics set Heinz College apart in the areas of cybersecurity, health care, the future of work, smart cities, and arts & entertainment. In 2016, INFORMS named Heinz College the #1 academic program for Analytics Education. For more information, please visit www.heinz.cmu.edu.