At the Seventy-Eighth 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 advisor 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
University of Arkansas, a member of the Teaching Council, an advisor to the Sigma
Chi Mu Tau Honors Society, and faculty advisor to the Chinese Students and Scholars
Association.
Shook holds an Ed.D. of Higher Education, an MBA with a focus in accounting and marketing,
and a bachelor’s in management from the University of Arkansas.
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.
Since 2013, Lori McLemore has served as the marketing and communications officer for
the Sam M. Walton College of Business. In this role, she writes press releases and
features articles to promote the work of students, faculty and staff. 
