Frazier Family Professorship in Computer Information Systems
College of Business and Public Administration
The Frazier family has a long history of educational, civic, and charitable involvement in Louisville.
Amelia Brown Frazier is an example of that tradition. Her vision and support have nurtured such diverse institutions as the Frazier Rehab Center for the rehabilitation of disabled persons and the Louisville Science Center which is visited by thousands of area school-children each year.
Mrs. Frazier, granddaughter of the founder of Brown-Forman Corporation, has handed down the tradition of civic leadership to her two sons, Harry S. Frazier Jr. and Owsley Brown Frazier.
Harry S. Frazier Jr., chairman of the board of HFH Inc., specializes in real estate sales and management. A University of Louisville graduate with B.A. and M.B.A. degrees, his many posts include director emeritus and past president of the National Kidney Foundation of Kentucky, past member of the organization's national Executive Committee, former member of the Civil Service Commission of the City of Louisville, past chairman and board member of Louisville's Walden School, member of the Executive Board and New Camp Committee of the Old Kentucky Home Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Owsley Brown Frazier, vice chairman of Brown-Forman Corporation, attended Centre College and holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Louisville. He serves on many boards, including the University of Louisville International Center, Bellarmine College, and the Kentucky Economic Development Corporation. He is a director and past chairman of the University of Louisville Board of Overseers, and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of Kentucky Country Day School.
The Frazier Family Professorship is another example of the family's interest in and commitment to education and educational institutions in this community.
Increasing competition and dramatic reductions in the costs of information technologies (IT) have led firms to rapidly increase their investments in IT. Today, IT investments account for approximately 50 percent of all capital expenditures in Fortune 500 firms, However, senior managers are growing increasingly concerned about the efficacy of these investments. As a result, there is a real need to better manage information technology resources.
Because of the generosity of the Frazier family, a renowned expert in Computer Information Systems is now working at the University of Louisville's College of Business and Public Administration (CBPA).
Dr. Brian L. Dos Santos brings extensive academic and business experience to his position as the Frazier Family Professor of Computer Information Systems (CIS). He has held academic appointments at the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University; the Graduate School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. In addition, Dos Santos has held professional positions in MIS, in private and public sector organizations, and has extensive consulting experience, having dealt with problems in the areas of information technology, investment justification, development of information systems and decision support systems, and implementationof new technologies.
"The College of Business and Public Administration and the Kentuckiana business community offer exciting opportunities to develop programs that will have a lasting impact on information technology management practice. The infrastructure is in place to turn opportunities into reality. I plan to play an active role in making this happen." Dr. Brian L. Dos Santos, Frazier Family Professor in Computer Information Systems
Professor Dos Santos is internationally known for his work in the management of information technology resources and the development of decision support and expert systems. He has published numerous papers in these areas in top MIS journals and has written many book chapters on these subjects. His work on the impact of early investments in ATMs received international coverage in the business press and on national radio programs. Dos Santos' current research deals with problems that arise in the evaluation of IT investments, the design of decision support and intelligent systems, and in system development methodologies.
Dos Santos received a B. Tech. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India; an MBA from McMaster University, Ontario, Canada; and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
As the Frazier Family Professor of Computer Information Systems, Dos Santos' major goals are to:
Founded in 1953, the College of Business and Public Administration is one of the newest and fastest growing schools at the University of Louisville and is housed in one of Belknap Campus' most attractive and functional facilities.
Of the nation's 1,200 business schools, U of L is one of the elite 20 percent granted full national accreditation for its business undergraduate and Masters of Business Administration programs by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The undergraduate accounting program also is accredited by the AACSB and is one of only two schools in Kentucky with this distinction.
The curricula has been broadened and improved to ensure the best possible graduates and future economic leaders. Communication skills and liberal arts are integrated into the curricula, complementing the existing business curricula and creating more disciplined and creative graduates. Students are exposed to computers in many of their classes.
In coming years, the College of Business and Public Administration will increase its interaction with the community, serving as a training center for future leaders and current practitioners.
The University of Louisville is the educational, cultural, medical, and research center for Kentucky's largest metropolitan area.
In the tradition of great city-based universities, the university pursues its "urban mission" through scholarship in the arts, the sciences, and the professions.
In addition to generating research knowledge and direct community service, the university contributes to society by educating needed professionals in health and medicine, law, engineering, education, business, the natural sciences, and the social sciences.