Dr. Ian Stuart Memorial PhD Award
Dr. Ian Stuart was a Professor of Supply Chain and Operations Management, with specialties in strategic supplier alliances, service quality, supply chain management and productivity and process improvement.
His research focused on the process of designing services to achieve memorable customer experiences and on the optimal mix of inter-organizational supply relationships that improve supply chain performance and strategic success. His most current research focused on the transformation of the wine industry in Canada and the United States from being a product based supplier of wine to a provider of superior customer experience through the development of integrated service experiences.
Ian's research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Bureau for International Education Innovation, Industry Canada, and Business Horizons. He authored and co-authored work in Journal of Operations Management, Business Horizons, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Sloan Management Review and Ivey Business Journal.
Over Ian's 26 years in academe, he taught and held administrative positions at Bowling Green State University, UVic (where he was one of the founding members of the original Service Management group from 1992-2005), Monash University, University of Bath, St. Francis Xavier University and UBC Okanagan. He led and developed executive education for a variety of firms and organizations, including LG in South Korea, CMA Alberta, Purchasing Management Association of Canada and Aerosols International. He performed contract research for the UK Department of Trade and Industry Canada, where he investigated lean implementation challenges in Canadian manufacturing firms.
Prior to obtaining a PhD, Ian worked for 11 years in the government and private sector where he was actively involved in new product development projects and strategic planning at Computing Devices of Canada, Atomic Energy of Canada and Esso Resources/Imperial Oil.
Sadly, Ian died on September 2, 2017 at the age of 66 of aggressive prostate cancer.
In 1986, when Ian returned to university to do his PhD, he and his wife Jennifer had three children under the age of five. A fourth child was born ten days before Ian defended his dissertation.
Balancing the demands of a rigorous PhD program with those of supporting a family was difficult, yet ultimately very worthwhile. It is the hope of lan's family that this award will help to ease the financial burden of a PhD student in the Sardul S. Gill Graduate School at the Gustavson School of Business who has a dependent child or children.
The Dr. Ian Stuart Memorial PhD Award is donated by Ian's family in memory of an energetic, generous and authentic man; a man who had a sharp analytical mind, business savvy and a wonderful sense of humour.
- PhD, Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario (1989)
- MBA, Ivey Business School, University of Western Ontario (1980)
- BSc, Engineering and Applied Mathematics, Queen's University (1973)