April 6, 2022, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Dr. Matheta Muraa-Righa has a passion.
“I have a passion for learning, and I want the best for my students and the whole community,” said Muraa-Righa, an assistant business professor at Grand Rapids Community College.
That passion is what prompted Muraa-Righa to research and create a new Supply Chain Operations Management certificate curriculum in 2019 at the college.
She designed the program in collaboration with leading employers in West Michigan to address the growing demand for people with entry-level management skills in supply chain operations, including production, inventory, transportation, warehouse operations and logistics.
Students who earn this 30-week certificate can often start in the workforce as production, planning and expediting clerks. They also may apply the credits they earn toward an associate degree in business or other programs, or pursue bachelor’s degrees in supply chain management or logistics.
Muraa-Righa began researching the potential scope of the program in 2017, consulting several universities and local companies including Meijer, Spartan Nash and GE.
Since its debut, more and more students are flocking to it – including an online cohort of two dozen Meijer employees under Muraa-Righa’s coordination.
Interest in the program is due, in part, to COVID-19 and the way it upended supply chains around the globe. Even now, hardly a day goes by without supply chain concerns in the news.
“Three years ago, the average person didn’t really know about supply chains. But once their Christmas presents got stuck on a ship in the ocean, people started realizing the way so many products come from the other side of the world every day,” Muraa-Righa said.
But the certificate’s popularity is also because Muraa-Righa believes in its importance – and conveys that to GRCC students.
Kara Nearanz was one of the first students at GRCC to earn her Supply Chain Operations Management certificate.
“This certificate gave me the skills and confidence to succeed at any position I choose,” said Nearanz, a research assistant at Spectrum Health Office of Research and Education.
Anyone interested in the Supply Chain Operations Management Certificate program should contact GRCC's Business Department at business@grcc.edu or (616) 234-4220 or professor Matheta Muraa-Righa at mrigha@grcc.edu
This story was reported by Beth McKenna.