SCMA and HEC Montréal announce a new Professorship to be held by Professor Jean Nollet
June 11, 2015
The Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) and HEC Montréal announce today that a new SCMA Professorship with an endowment of almost $750,000 will be held by Professor Jean Nollet at HEC Montréal until May 2019. Professor Nollet previously held the Chair in Supply Management at HEC Montréal and will now continue his work in the new SCMA Professorship.
In 2000, the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), which later amalgamated with the Supply Chain and Logistics Association Canada (SCL) to become the SCMA, approached nine Canadian universities to submit an application for the establishment of a Chair in supply chain management. Professor Nollet and HEC Montréal were chosen and the announcement of the original initiative was made official on June 4, 2004. The funding provided on that date was $100,000 from the Canadian Purchasing Research Foundation (CPRF), plus an additional $15,000 every three months for the following four years for a total of $340,000.
“We are very pleased to continue working with Professor Nollet and HEC Montréal. He has a long history of collaboration with SCMA, through the former PMAC, that goes back to 1985 and HEC Montréal has long been an advocate of the importance of SCM education, as shown by the inclusion of a procurement course in both their bachelor of commerce and masters programs already in 1976,” said Cheryl Paradowski, SCMA president and CEO.
Through a joint fundraising effort between CPRF and HEC Montréal, an additional $250,000 was obtained from another foundation. A former HEC Montréal graduate also made a donation that brought the total amount committed to the SCMA Professorship to almost $750,000.
“I am elated at the opportunity to work more closely with the SCMA members and I want to thank the Supply Chain Management Association for their commitment,” said Professor Nollet. “Supply chain management has become a key enabler to an interconnected world. This is a great opportunity for HEC Montréal to further its expertise in a critical business area.”
The conversion of the Chair in Supply Management to an SCMA Professorship was driven in part by the current objectives of HEC Montréal to establish closer ties with professionals in supply chain management, with an emphasis in this case to develop more collaboration with SCMA. This change provides more flexibility for the holder of the Professorship to engage in activities related to SCMA and its members, as well as other professionals in the field. However, Professor Nollet will continue performing cutting-edge research in the field, so that the academic and professional worlds can both benefit from his innovative work.