Faculty Profile: Dr. Henry Emurian

“I like being available to our online students pretty much around the clock.”

Henry Emurian, associate professor, has been involved in the online MSIS since its inception. In fact, he pilot-tested the first online course for UMBC’s Department of Information Systems, and has since co-authored two other courses. With degrees in both clinical psychology and computer science, Emurian feels it was a natural transition for him to start teaching information systems at UMBC. "I wanted to combine the two disciplines and I wanted to be in an academic environment."

He presently teaches the Capstone Project course, IS 699. This course provides students with the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned to an independent, research-based investigation of a topic or evaluation of a program project proposal. "I teach them to be independent seekers of information," says Emurian. Although some students are at first unconvinced that this kind of academic research and writing is relevant to their work lives, Emurian strongly believes this skill is inherently practical because "they are learning to be good learners. They are seeking information and solving problems." And, as Emurian has noticed, "once my students get excited about an idea and realize there is literature out there, and solutions, they produce some first-rate projects. The papers are publishable."

Henry Emurian has developed a reputation of being highly accessible and responsive to students, and says, “One of my greatest contributions to the program is my time. Personally, I like being available to our online students pretty much around the clock. It exemplifies being connected to a living, learning community." He admits, jokingly, "I do find time to sleep, though."

Additional information about Henry Emurian can be found at http://nasa1.ifsm.umbc.edu/.