ANN ARBOR—The newly renamed Joel D. Tauber Institute for Global Operations at the University of Michigan continues its mission to train outstanding operations and manufacturing professionals.

Formerly known as the Tauber Manufacturing Institute, the Tauber Institute for Global Operations is a partnership between industry and the U-M’s Ross School of Business and College of Engineering. Created in 1993, it balances the benefits of a multidisciplinary education with the expertise and insights of industry experience to develop strong business leaders who understand complex operational issues and technical aspects of production.

“From the onset, the institute defined manufacturing very broadly as the entire manufacturing enterprise, from product concept through production, customer delivery and, more recently, end-of-life issues,” said Roman Kapuscinski, co-director of the Tauber Institute and associate professor of operations and management science at the Ross School.

“The decision to change our name allows us to better describe the realm of industries and projects with which the institute is and has been involved. Also, our activities have always targeted projects relevant for global companies, and the new name puts an additional emphasis on the global dimension, which we perceive as critical.”

Tauber’s Industry Advisory Board, made up of leading manufacturing executives, recently recommended that the institute expand its list of companies involved in its summer team projects to include health care, retail and logistics, and to focus on supply chain improvements, lean manufacturing implementations, strategic studies and other operational challenges.

“Joel Tauber, the deans of the Ross School and College of Engineering and our executive committee and Industry Advisory Board all believe that the new name is needed to sustain and enhance the institute’s reputation for excellence in operations engineering and management,” said Yavuz Bozer, co-director of the Tauber Institute and professor of industrial and operations engineering.

In addition to Kapuscinski and Bozer, retired Ford Motor Co. executive Robert Culver, an alumnus of both the Ross School and College of Engineering, serves as a co-director of the Tauber Institute.

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