Jessica Slay MIS Honors Graduate
Jessica Slay graduated with Honors in Management Information Systems in the Fall 2017 UCA graduation ceremony. Graduating with Honors in MIS requires faculty invitation, a cumulative GPA of 3.25, and completion of a significant project or research endeavor. Jessica completed her research project in November 2017, under the supervision of Dr. Mike Ellis and with another student, Geet Tanna. With Dr. Ellis, they team-authored a study on the design and implementation of data analytics programs in post-secondary settings, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The study is entitled “Business Analytics Program Requirements: Analyses and Recommendations”; it will be submitted to both a conference this spring and to a peer-reviewed journal. Their work is already reaping benefits to the MIS Department, as it is using the findings to implement two new data analytics programs, one at the undergraduate level and one a graduate certificate. This work will be impactful for years to come.
Jessica Slay is from Harrison, Arkansas, and is a 2017 graduate from the University of Central Arkansas. She earned two degrees (double major) in Management Information Systems (Business Analysis Concentration) and in Management, with an emphasis in Supply Chain. She graduated with Honors in MIS (3.64 cumulative GPA). She held a summer internship in the Transportation department of the country’s number one LTL trucking company, FedEx Freight. In addition, she served as President for the business student organization, Phi Beta Lambda. Going forward she plans to utilize these accomplishments to pursue a career in data analytics.