Arkansas Alumni Association Honors Shook and Grover with Faculty Awards

At the 78th Alumni Awards Celebration, the Arkansas Alumni Association honored Carole Shook and Varun Grover, faculty members in the Department of Information Systems at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, recognizing them for distinguished achievement. Held Oct. 20 at the Fayetteville Town Center in Fayetteville, the event recognized several faculty members, including Shook and Grover, along with exceptional alumni. 

Carole Shook, Ed.D., received the Faculty Distinguished Achievement in Service Award for her extensive professional and public leadership roles. 

“It is wonderful to see Carole’s extraordinary service to the ISYS (information systems) Department, to the Walton College and to the University of Arkansas recognized with this prestigious award,” said Shaila Miranda, chair of the Department of Information Systems. “Beyond the extensive, visible service roles she performs, Carole regularly empowers the people around her. She is selfless in opening doors and creating opportunities for them and is perceptive about and responsive to people’s needs. In fact, every interaction with Carole is like a warm hug.”

Shook, a teaching associate professor of information systems, has served as a past member of the Education Task Force Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy, Education Task Force Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy and the conference session chair for the International Academy of Business and Public Administration Disciplines, among others. She has acted as the auditor for several pageants, including the Miss University of Arkansas, Princess Pageant, Miss Northwest Arkansas, Miss Dogwood and the Miss Heart of the Ozarks. Shook has also worked as the faculty adviser for the registered student organizations SOOIE, Student Affairs and the Arkansas Academic Advising Network. 

Currently Shook represents Walton College as a member of the Faculty Senate at the U of A, a member of the Teaching Council, an adviser to the Sigma Chi Mu Tau Honors Society and faculty adviser to the Chinese Students and Scholars Association.

Shook holds an Ed.D. of Higher Education, an M.B.A. with a focus in accounting and marketing, and a bachelor’s in management from the U of A.

Varun Grover, Ph.D., was presented with the faculty Distinguished Achievement in Research Award. Grover, a distinguished professor and holder of the George & Boyce Billingsley Endowed Chair, is consistently ranked as a top business and management researcher globally based on number of publications in the top academic journals, as well as citation impact.

“I am truly delighted to see Varun’s accomplishments acclaimed with this award. Varun is a tremendous asset to the ISYS Department, to the Walton College and to the University of Arkansas,” Miranda said. “His research profile elevates our global reputation. Between his own intellectual prowess and his reputation for mentorship across the information systems field, his presence on our faculty greatly enhances our ability to attract talented colleagues and Ph.D. students. His work with them contributes to the continued excellence of ISYS scholarship and of our Ph.D. program.”

Grover’s research focuses on the role of information systems (IS) and digitization in the creation of business value, including the areas of IS sourcing, IS strategy, e-business, cybersecurity, knowledge management, re-engineering and innovation. In addition, he examines the effect of information technology on the individual in influencing their identity and stress.

Grover has served as an editor with several premier information systems journals including the MIS Quarterly, MISQ Executive and the JAIS section on path-breaking research. Among other international recognitions and accolades, he is a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems and has received the highly prestigious LEO Award for Lifetime Exceptional Achievement in Information Systems.

Grover received his Ph.D. in management information systems from University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.