Faculty/Staff Directory

Degrees

D.B.A. 1987, University of Memphis with a management major and minors in marketing and economics
M.B.A. 1984, University of Memphis
B.B.A. 1982, University of Memphis

Biography

  

DR. MARILYN M. HELMS serves as the Dean and Sesquicentennial Chair and Professor of Supply Chain Management at Dalton State College’s (DSC) C. Lamar and Ann Wright School of Business (WSOB) in Dalton, Georgia.

 

As Dean, Dr. Helms led the WSOB through a successful AACSB Business Program Accreditation Continuous Improvement Review in 2019.  In addition, she coordinated the $10 million renovation and expansion of Gignilliat Hall located on the DSC Campus and home of the WSOB.  She works closely with the Dalton Innovation Accelerator (DIA) and the Believe Greater Dalton Entrepreneurship Committee.  She serves as judge for the area DIA Pitch Competitions and mentors nascent business start-ups. Dr. Helms is a member CHI Memorial (Hospital) Board of Directors. 

 

Dr. Helms joined the DSC faculty in 2000 and works closely with the area business community and has served as Dean since 2017.  Dr. Helms previously taught  Introduction to Operations and Supply Chain Management, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management.  She currently teaches the junior-level Professional Development class and presents sessions on interviewing skills, business attire, and etiquette. Area business leaders assist the class with mock interviewing and participation during networking events.

 

Dr. Helms has also taught graduate supply chain/operations management in the Kennesaw Coles College of Business MBA Program on the DSC campus.  She frequently speaks to groups regarding international business, entrepreneurship, strategic planning and supply chain management. Her consulting work includes strategic planning development, crafting mission statements, facilitating conferences and meetings, and leading focus groups in strategic management.

 

From 1987 to 2000, Dr. Helms held the UC Foundation and George Lester Nation Professor of Management at the University of Tennessee (UTC), Chattanooga, TN, and directed UTC’s Institute for Women as Entrepreneurs (IWE) where she advised entrepreneurs in developing start-up ideas as well as the process for new venture creation.

 

Prior to assuming the role of Dean, Dr. Helms Chaired the Assurance of Learning Committee within the School of Business at Dalton State College for the AACSB accreditation process. She was a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) reaffirmation compliance certification team assessing the institutional mission and Chairs the DSC Campus-Wide Program Review Committee. 

 

Dr. Helms holds a Doctor of Business Administration Degree (as well as an M.B.A. and B.B.A.) from the University of Memphis (TN).  She is a Certified Production and Inventory Management Fellow (CPIM-F), Certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution Fellow (CLTD-F), a Certified Integrated Resources Manager (CIRM), and a Certified Supply Chain Professional Fellow (CSCP-F) of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).  Dr. Helms chairs the APICS (International) Basics of Supply Chain Certification Exam committee and works with international practitioners, academicians, and consultants who author certification exam questions and oversee the exam content and study materials for the APICS Part I (CPIM) professional exam. Dr. Helms is a Certified Quality Manager/Organizational Excellence (CQM/OE) as awarded by the American Society for Quality (ASQ).

 

She has published numerous journal articles in periodicals including the International Journal of Business and Management Research;; International Journal of Management; Journal of Small Business Strategy; Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship; Competitiveness Review; Journal of Business Strategy; Journal of Small Business Strategy; Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship; Journal of International Business & Entrepreneurship; Quality Progress; Journal of Education for Business; the Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies; and the Thunderbird International Business Review.  Her paper entitled “Can Traditional Procedures Used in Accounting and Purchasing Reduce Today’s Healthcare Costs?” with Dr. Doug Smith and Dr. Jim Byrd was selected as one of the best articles in Strategic Finance for 2015 and won the Lybrand Award from the Institute of Management Accountants.  Dr. Helms authors business cases and instructor’s notes as well.

 

She has been a business contributor for the Dalton Daily Citizen newspaper and other regional publications.  She has received grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the Coleman Foundation, and the Southern Regional Education Board to develop new international business curricula and outreach programs. She serves on the editorial board of several academic peer-reviewed journals and is a frequent manuscript reviewer and has authored study guides and ancillary teaching materials.

 

Dr. Helms has directed and taught study abroad programs for business students at Manchester Business School, Manchester, England and at Kings College-Kensington (London); Cairns and Sydney, Australia; Monterrey, Mexico; Dublin and Galway, Ireland; Lima and Paracas, Peru, and Brussels, Belgium and Paris, France.  She has participated in faculty study abroad programs in Salta and Buenos Aires, Argentina and Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.  She was awarded the Fulbright Teaching and Research Award and taught at the University of Coimbra, Portugal in 2000. During her 2000 sabbatical she also taught in Tokyo, Japan for Temple University. In summer 2010 with State Department approval, she studied nascent entrepreneurship in Havana, Cuba.

 

Dr. Helms holds membership in numerous business professional and academic organizations.  Her current research interests include quality, customer service, and supply chain management. Dr. Helms has local and regional consulting experience and often speaks to local, national and international groups including the Decision Sciences Institute, the American Production and Inventory Control Society, and the Academy of Management. 

 

Dr. Helms received the 2007 Regents’ Teaching Excellence Award from the University System of Georgia for Two-Year and State Colleges. In 2006, she received the Dalton State College Foundation Teaching Excellence Award. In 2012, Dr. Helms received the DSC campus-wide Excellence in Professional Development award.

 

Dr. Helms enjoys digital photography, landscaping, and international travel. She is a member of Dalton’s Carpet Capital Camera Club and has won several “shoot-out” photography awards. She has served as a volunteer teacher and board member for Junior Achievement as well as the leading fundraiser and winner of the 2016 Dancing Stars of North Georgia Competition to benefit Alzheimer’s research. She is a member of the Creative Art Guild in Dalton, GA and is active in community and professional organizations in the Chattanooga, TN and Northwest Georgia.  Her husband, Lee Tubbs, is owner/operator of Enviroguard Pest Solutions, Inc. (www.egpest.com), home of the giant roadside mouse mascot at Exit 345 off I75. Dr. Helms holds pest control licenses in both Georgia and Tennessee and assists Enviroguard Pest Solutions with strategic planning and policy.  She is also the CEO of Ringgold Rental Property, Inc. Her mother, Evelyn Helms, was a classmate of Elvis Presley at Milam Jr. High School in Tupelo, MS.  A full CV can be downloaded from the website:  https://dscweb.daltonstate.edu/faculty-staff/mhelms

Course Name/Overview

Course Name	Course Overview
BUSA 3701

Downloads

• Professional Vita