About our author Robert (Bob) A. Donnelly, Jr. was a professor at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware, with more than 25 years of teaching experience. He taught classes in statistics, operations management, spreadsheet modeling and project management at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Bob earned an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, after which he worked for several years as an engineer with the Diamond Shamrock Corporation in a chlorine plant. Despite success in this field, Bob felt drawn to pursue a career in education. It was his desire to teach that took him back to school to earn his MBA and PhD in Operations Research, also from the University of Delaware. Bob also teaches in the MBA program at the International School of Management in Paris, France. He thoroughly enjoys discussing research methods and business statistics with both his French and American students.Bob's working experience gathered prior to his teaching career has provided him with many opportunities to incorporate real-life examples into classroom learning. His students appreciate his knowledge of the business world as well as his mastery of the course subject matter. Many former students seek Bob's assistance in work-related issues that deal with his expertise. Typical student comments focus on his genuine concern for their welfare and his desire to help them succeed in reaching their goals.About the special contributors Serina Al Haddad, PhD is a visiting assistant professor in the business department at Rollins College, where she teaches classes in business statistics. She taught classes in business statistics and analytics at Stetson University for three years and received the “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” Award in 2017. Serina also taught undergraduate and graduate classes in statistics and decision analysis at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She completed her doctorate from UCF in industrial engineering and management systems. She has over 14 years of experience working in both academia and industry. Serina held multiple positions in statistical quality control, customer relationship management, institutional development, and business process reengineering. She is a freelance consultant and trainer. Serina is one of the main authors of Excel Grader projects in Pearson MyLab Statistics. She has worked with many organizations including State University of New York and other USAID programs. Her research interests include statistics, business analytics, innovation, and organizational development. Serina is a member of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering (IISE). She served as president of the IISE Student Chapter at her undergraduate university, for which she was a founding member.Stefan Ruediger, PhD is a clinical associate professor in the economics department in the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, where he teaches classes in business statistics, managerial economics, and principles of macroeconomics. He taught classes in economics at the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point from 2008-2013 and received the School of Business and Economics Teaching Excellence Award in 2012. Stefan also taught undergraduate classes in economics at the University of Wisconsin Parkside and at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. He completed his doctorate from UWM. He has over 15 years of experience working in academia. His research is focused on Economic and Statistics Education, Economic Development, and Financial Economics. He has several publications in these areas and won awards for his research. Stefan has worked in collaboration with colleagues from ASU on developing new adaptive courseware tools, in-class instructional materials, instructional videos, and teaching modes to improve student success, student retention rates, and decrease withdrawal rates at ASU. These projects have been supported by grants from the Gates Foundation and the APLU. In addition, Stefan was a track and field coach at UWM for 5 years and a member of the German Bobsledding national team for 4 years. His athletic background always provides a good basis for fun conversations with students and is a source of great economics and statistics examples.
