Nancy Lea Hyer

Associate Professor of Operations Management Associate Dean MBA Programs

Subject Area(s): Operations Management

Professor Nancy Lea Hyer’s work in academic and business communities has focused on cellular operations, quality and process improvement, and project management. Before joining the Owen faculty, Professor Hyer served as Operations Research Manager at Hewlett-Packard's Network Measurements Division where she worked as a project manager responsible for leading teams focused on operational and strategic improvement. She was also an Associate Professor of Business at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.

At Owen, Professor Hyer served as Associate Dean for Academic Programs from 1992-2001. Professor Hyer has consulted and led executive seminars for a number of organizations including Community Health Systems, Cigna Insurance, Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Genesco, Ingram Barge, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Hancor, Performance Food Group, Baptist Hospital, Black & Decker, and the U.S. Army. Professor Hyer's book Reorganizing the Factory: Competing through Cellular Manufacturing, written with Urban Wemmerlov of the University of Wisconsin - Madison, won the 2003 Shingo Prize for Research in Manufacturing. The award is given "in recognition of outstanding contribution to the body of knowledge in the field of manufacturing excellence."

Professor Hyer is also the author of Managing Projects: A Team-Based Approach, with Karen A. Brown of the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Professor Hyer has served as the President of the Operations Management Association and on the review boards of a number of academic journals.

Education: B.A., History & Russian Studies, University of Richmond, 1977 M.B.A., Operations Management, Indiana University, 1981 Ph.D., International Business & Operations Management, Indiana University, 1982

Research Interest(s): Cellular Operations, Lean Production, Project Management, Law Practice Operations, Legal Project Management

Area(s) of Expertise: Cellular Operations, Lean Production, Project Management