Army Materiel Command, UAH collaborating on supply chain management certificate program

UAH President Robert Altenkirch and USAMC Deputy Commanding General Lt. Gen. Patricia McQuistion shake hands as UAH College of Business Administration Dean Caron St. John looks on.

Michael Mercier | UAH

The U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC) and The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) announced today the first for-credit graduate certificate program in supply chain management.

AMC and UAH's College of Business Administration are reviewing applications now for the three-semester program that will start this month and end in December 2015.

The collaboration between AMC and UAH will train the Army civilian workforce beyond Army specific-logistics to the greater supply chain management process using best practices from industry.

"This program directly supports AMC's strategic priorities, particularly optimizing the global supply chain and developing adaptive Army leaders," said Clay Bradley, LOGTECH Program Manager of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. "We expect individuals to become more innovative in developing and sustaining readiness solutions through the world-class supply chain management practices explored in the program."

The program will go beyond traditional logistics and focus on developing critical thinking skills in order to understand the whole process and develop solutions before problems form.

"We want people to have a better understanding of the end-to-end supply chain and see the problems or gaps to correct those before they become an issue," said Bradley. "By investing in AMC's human capital, we ensure the workforce, organization, and the Army is equipped to meet future readiness challenges."

This offering of a supply chain management certificate program is designed as a "work-share" initiative and all course content provides academic credit for those who enroll. At the conclusion of the AMC-UAH certificate program, the academic credit earned in the graduate certificate program may then be applied to a M.S. in Supply Chain and Logistics Management for those candidates who choose to continue their studies on their own.

"The collaboration that exists among the Army, Redstone Arsenal and UAH has been built on decades of trust and quality results," said UAH President Robert Altenkirch. "Our faculty understands the important role that UAH has with its academic and research partners, and they work extremely hard to ensure the success of our graduates, as well as the value our alumni bring to the workplace by making immediate contributions to the workplace."

Caron St. John, dean of the university's College of Business Administration, said UAH is ideally suited to provide the quality instruction needed by the Army and contractors in the region. She cites the college's extensive capabilities and experience in supply chain management.

"Our college has deep research capability in supply chain and logistics management and experience working with AMC on supply chain matters. Also, we have been involved in supply chain and logistics education for many years, with particular focus on working professional graduate students," St. John said. "These capabilities, coupled with our accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International) prepare us to be a strong collaborator with AMC on the custom delivery of this graduate certificate."

AMC officials said this certification program will be focused on, but not limited to, Army DoD civilian career programs - supply management, materiel maintenance management, transportation and distribution management, as well as ammunition management.