Thomas Parker, assistant professor of practice engineering technology, earned a PhD in Business Administration with an emphasis on Operations Management from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  He also has an MBA from the University of New Hampshire and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Evansville.   He has over fifteen years of industrial design and manufacturing experience in the automotive industry and was an assistant professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Indianapolis.  His research interests include, corporate downsizing, buyer supplier relationships, and just in time inventory practices.