Advisory Board

Our Advisory Board was formed to build a strong foundation of support and communication between industry, government, and Mason's Systems Engineering and Operations Research department. The board works with SEOR to help us achieve a position of academic excellence and national prominence.

Members include highly respected leaders in industry, government, and academia from a wide spectrum of organizations that are strongly involved in the application of systems engineering and operations research

Advisory Board Members

Dennis Buede, Executive Vice President, Innovative Decisions
Robert Bisson, Vice President, Electric Systems Development, NOVEC
Brian Burke, Senior Analytics Specialist, ESPN
Steven M. Charbonneau, Program Delivery Manager, NCI, Inc
Steven H. Dam, President, SPEC Innovations
Colette De La Barre, Director, Mission Assurance, Information Solutions, Boeing
Cindy Dupree, Department Head/SE of Agile Systems, Systems Engineering Technical Center, MITRE - Center for Connected Government
Joshua R. Icore, Client Executive, Engility Corp.
Jack Levis, Senior Director of Process Management, UPS
Paula Lewis, Assistant Administrator for Regions and Center Operations, FAA
Frank Stein, Director, A3 Center (AI, Analytics, and Automation) IBM Federal

Advisory Board Charter

The board provides advice and counsel for the overall academic program of the Volgenau School of Engineering, as well as guidance in teaching and research. They act as an industry link and add their perspective for school plans, curricula, issues, and strategies. The objectives of the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department and Advisory Board partnership are to:

Promote academic excellence.
Ensure the highest level of local and national recognition of SEOR programs.
Ensure continued accreditation.
Advance student and faculty involvement with industry partners.
Provide review and guidance on the SEOR curriculum.
Provide guidance in development of new education and research programs in emerging areas of regional and national relevance.
Promote SEOR's efforts in securing the resources it needs to achieve its goals.

The Advisory Board is comprised of senior executives from leading national organizations. Members are appointed to a three-year term and can be reappointed to one additional term. To maintain continuity, approximately one-third of the membership will be appointed each year. Two alumni — including one from the BS program and one from the MS or PhD programs — will also serve on the board. Alumni representatives are appointed to a one-year term and can be reappointed to one additional term. The maximum board size is 16 members.

The board will elect a chair each year, who shall:

Provide leadership in helping the board achieve goals and objectives.
Work with the department chair to prepare meeting agendas.
Coordinate board meetings.

The board conducts business at an annual meeting held on the GMU campus, if possible. The annual meeting is in October, after which chair submits a short summary report of board recommendations to SEOR. When business dictates, the board chair and SEOR department chair can convene an additional meeting in March.