John A. White, Jr.

Brief Biography

Born in Portland, near the southern border of Arkansas, John A. White Jr. graduated from high school in Harrison, near the northern border of the state. He is a former President of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and long-time university administrator who has received a number of engineering education, research, and publication accolades. White studied industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas prior to pursuing graduate work at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the Ohio State University. He received a PhD from the latter in 1969.

White taught at the Georgia Institute of Technology as Professor of Industrial Engineering from 1975 to 1991. That September, he was named Dean of the College of Engineering, holding that position for nearly six years. White left his position as dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering to become chancellor at the University of Arkansas in 1997.

In his numerous textbooks, White has touched upon a wide array of industrial engineering and operations research topics. Principles of Engineering Economic Analysis (1977), currently in its sixth edition, teaches engineers to properly and methodically evaluate their work on an economic basis. His most recent book, Fundamentals of Engineering Economic Analysis (2013), provides streamlined topical coverage of the topic with a more modern presentation. The text, co-authored with Kellie Grasman, Kenneth Case, Kim Needy, and David Pratt, features real-world vignettes to reinforce how engineering students can use economics in their future careers. White has also published books on queueing systems and facilities planning.

As Arkansas chancellor, White worked on shifting the university’s academic focus towards research and knowledge-based careers that could help the state thrive in the global economy. White’s “Campaign for the Twenty-First Century” funded the creation of one hundred and thirty-two faculty positions and more than seventeen hundred scholarships and fellowships. In 2012, the engineering building at Arkansas was renamed the “John A. White Jr. Engineering Hall” in honor of his contributions to the university and the state.

White served as President of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) from 1983 to 1984. He is the recipient of numerous honors from that organization including the IIE/Joint Publishers Book-of-the-Year Award, IIE Outstanding Publication Award, Dr. David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award, and Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award. The year after his presidency, he was elected an IIE Fellow. White is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and an inaugural Fellow of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences.

White left the chancellor’s office in 2008 but has remained at the university as a professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering. 

Other Biographies

Wikipedia Entry for John A. White