Furkan Oztanriseven, or “Oz,” as he likes to be called, joined the Whitman School’s finance department this fall as an assistant teaching professor of business analytics, bringing 10 years of experience researching and teaching the subject, along with an enthusiasm for continuing to expand what is a relatively new major at the Whitman School to ensure students are prepared for the evolving world of business.

Although he describes himself as a “disrupter, in a good way,” Oz intends to first learn about the culture, the people and the inner workings of the Whitman School.

“I think it’s important to make an impact, but it’s more important to first learn as much as I can about Whitman and find out how things work here,” he says. “I can’t wait to teach and get to know my students by name. I want to learn from other professors and see how I can tweak what I do in the best interest of the Whitman School.”

For the past decade, Oz has been just down the road at Le Moyne College, where in 2022 he was named associate professor and program director of business analytics at the Madden College of Business and Economics. The program is highly ranked, and Oz had no intention of going anywhere until a neighbor told him about an opening at the Whitman School that “was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Despite a background in engineering, Oz always intended to make his mark in the business arena, but in his native Turkey most of the opportunities were in medicine or engineering. “I don’t like the sight of blood, so I pursued industrial engineering at Istanbul Technical University, a prestigious R1 school that is known as the oldest technical university in Turkey,’” he explains.

With the goal of coming to the U.S. to continue his education, he was accepted into a master’s degree program in industrial and systems engineering at Colorado State University-Pueblo. The university’s Hasan School of Business also offered an MBA program, and Oz asked the dean if he could earn both degrees simultaneously. They agreed that if Oz could maintain an outstanding GPA in his engineering program the first year, then the university would not only allow him to pursue the MBA but also give him the funds to do so.

He succeeded in earning both degrees—and the satisfaction of finally having a formal business education—before earning a Ph.D. in industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas, also a R1 research school. His research focused on economic decision analysis, transportation and logistics modeling, disruption response, homeland security and sustainability. In addition, Oz received funding for his research from prominent government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Today, he is eager to concentrate on teaching prescriptive analytics, financial analytics and machine learning, as well as sharing his knowledge with Whitman students. He notes that he quickly felt welcomed by the administration and faculty and was impressed with the wide variety of students from all over the world who, like him, have come to the United States to pursue their education.

“Data and business analytics have become essential in decision making in every kind of business environment, and there is only going to be a greater demand for people with these types of skills,” Oz says.

“I look forward to working with others on the Whitman faculty to see this major evolve and help the program here continue to rise in the rankings. And I am eager to use my expertise to connect students with colleagues working in business analytics for networking, internships, projects and, ultimately, jobs in a field that seems to have endless possibilities.”