News
Marilyn Helms Named Dalton State Business Dean
09/07/17
Dr. Marilyn Helms, a professor of supply chain management at Dalton State, has been named dean of the College’s Wright School of Business.
The announcement was made Wednesday by Dr. Pat Chute, chief academic officer and provost for Dalton State. Helms joined the Dalton State faculty in 2000 as Sesquicentennial Chair and Professor of Supply Chain Management. She succeeds Dr. Larry Johnson as dean following his retirement in August.
“We could not have found a better candidate had we done a national search,” Chute said. “Dr. Helms brings years of experience and a leadership style that will identify the C. Lamar and Ann Wright School of Business as one of the best in Georgia and add another jewel in Dalton State College's crown.”
Helms teaches a variety of management and supply chain courses including Principles of Management, Introduction to Operations Management and Supply Chain, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management. In addition, she presents sessions on interviewing skills, business attire, and networking to professional development classes in both the Wright School of Business and Dalton State’s School of Education.
She is the 2007 recipient of the 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, and in 2012, Dr. Helms received the DSC campus-wide Excellence in Professional Development award.
Prior to joining the faculty at Dalton State, Dr. Helms taught at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, and directed UTC’s Institute for Women as Entrepreneurs where she advised entrepreneurs about their start-up ideas as well as the process of new venture creation.
She has also taught graduate supply chain/operations management at Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business MBA Program on the Dalton State campus. She frequently speaks to groups about 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.
Helms holds a Doctorate of Business Administration degree as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from the University of Memphis in Tennessee. She is a Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management; certified in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution; a Certified Integrated Resources Manager; and a Certified Supply Chain Professional of the American Production and Inventory Control Society. Helms chairs the APICS Basics of Supply Chain Certification Exam committee and works with practitioners and consultants to write exam questions and oversee the exam content and study materials for the APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management professional exam. Helms is a Certified Quality Manager/Organizational Excellence of the American Society for Quality.
She has published numerous journal articles in periodicals including the International Journal of Business and Management Research; Thunderbird International Business Review; 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 and Entrepreneurship; Quality Progress; Journal of Education for Business; and The Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies. 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 a Lybrand Award from the Institute of Management Accountants.
Helms has been a business contributor to The Daily Citizen-News 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.
She has directed and taught study abroad programs for business students in England, Australia, Mexico, Ireland, Peru, Belgium, and France. She has participated in faculty study abroad programs in Argentina and Russia and 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.
In her spare time, Helms enjoys digital photography, landscaping, and international travel. 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 Dalton’s Creative Art Guild and is active in community and professional organizations in the Chattanooga and Northwest Georgia area. Her husband, Lee Tubbs, is owner/operator of Enviroguard Pest Solutions, Inc. They live in Ringgold.