Mary Lacity facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mary Lacity
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| Born | May 27, 1963 |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
| Occupation | David D. Glass Chair and distinguished professor of Information Systems |
| Employer | University of Arkansas London School of Economics Washington University University of Oxford |
| Known for | Automation, Blockchain and Outsourcing Research |
Mary Cecilia Lacity, born on May 27, 1963, is a very important professor at the University of Arkansas. She teaches about Information Systems, which is all about how computers and technology help businesses.
Before joining the University of Arkansas, Professor Lacity taught at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She also visited and taught at other famous universities like the London School of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Oxford.
Her main research areas are automation, outsourcing, and blockchain. These topics are about how technology can make things happen automatically, how companies hire outside help, and new ways to keep digital records safe.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mary Lacity was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She went to Pennsylvania State University and earned her first degree in 1985. She studied something called Quantitative Business Analysis, which uses math and data to solve business problems.
Before becoming a professor, she worked as a consultant for a company called Technology Partners International. She was also a systems analyst for Exxon, helping them with their computer systems. In 1992, she earned her PhD in Information Systems from the University of Houston.
Professor and Researcher
Teaching at Universities
Professor Lacity started teaching at the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 1992. She worked there for 26 years, moving up from an Assistant Professor to a full Professor. She taught classes on how to do research and understand science in the world of information systems.
In the early 2000s, she worked with Leslie Willcocks from the London School of Economics. They researched outsourcing, which is when a company hires another company to do some of its work, like managing computer systems.
After her time at the University of Missouri, Professor Lacity moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas. There, she became a professor at the University of Arkansas, Sam M. Walton College of Business. For five years, she also led the Blockchain Center of Excellence, focusing on new digital record-keeping technologies.
Other Important Roles
Professor Lacity has had many other important roles. She was a visiting scholar at the MIT Center for Information Systems Research. She also visited and taught at the London School of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis, and University of Oxford.
She is also a Certified Outsourcing Professional, meaning she is an expert in how companies use outsourcing. She helps edit important journals like MIS Quarterly Executive and Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases.
Awards and Publications
Mary Lacity has received many awards for her work. She is part of the IAOP Outsourcing Hall of Fame. She also won the World Outsourcing Achievement Award in 2000 and the Gateway to Innovation Award in 2008.
Her research has been published in famous magazines like Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review. In 2020, she became a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems. This award recognizes people who have made amazing contributions to the field of information systems through their research, teaching, and service. She is also a Fellow of the British Blockchain Association.
Books
Professor Lacity has written many books about her research. Here are some of them:
- Information Systems Outsourcing: Myths, Metaphors and Realities (1993)
- Beyond The Information Systems Outsourcing Bandwagon: The Insourcing Response (1995)
- Inside Information Technology Outsourcing: A State-of-the-art Report (2000)
- Global Information Technology Outsourcing: In Search of Business Advantage (2001)
- Netsourcing: Renting Business Applications and Services Over a Network (2002)
- Outsourcing: All You Need to Know (2004)
- Service Automation: Robots and the Future of Work (2016)
- Robotic Process Automation and Risk Mitigation: The Definitive Guide (2017)
- A Manager's Guide to Blockchains for Business (2018)
- Blockchain Foundations For the Internet of Value (2020)
- Blockchain Fundamentals for Web 3.0. (2022)
- Blockchains and the Token Economy: Theory and Practice (2022)
