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Considered the most prolific researcher in Information Systems, Jason Thatcher has won awards for teaching, research and service—but he’s most proud of his work with PhD students.

He didn’t come to Boulder for the views or an insatiable love of the outdoors. Jason Thatcher joined the Leeds School of Business this past January because he saw a chance to make a real impact.

“It was the opportunity to build something here. This is one of the few Information Systems (IS) departments that combines leadership and human behavior with information systems—the fit with my research interests was ideal,” says Professor Thatcher, the Tandean Rustandy Endowed Esteemed Chair at Leeds.

With a long history of accolades in academia, and funding from organizations like National Science Foundation and IBM, Thatcher’s reputation as a juggernaut in IS research precedes him. So much so, that he was hired into the newly established endowed chair position at Leeds created by Tandean Rustandy (Fin’87), a ���������� alumnus and generous donor.

A ‘modest’ start

Thatcher started his first semester with a bang, fresh off winning the Best Paper award at MIS Quarterly for his collaborative work on how bots disseminate information on social platforms.

“It’s about how bots make things go faster and how they alert people if something’s going on, and how they can change online conversations,” he explains. “I was surprised it won Best Paper. You never expect to win anything,” he says.

He gives the lion's share of credit to his co-authors, one of whom was a former PhD student he had previously mentored. “I truly learned by trailing along and watching [my co-authors] craft a masterpiece,” he said on LinkedIn.

In truth, his modesty belies his accolades.

Kai Larsen, a Leeds professor in the division of OLIA and chair of the hiring committee for Thatcher’s appointment, lists off a few of his impressive accomplishments:

• Recognized as the most productive researcher in the IS discipline.
• Has been published in journals such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Journal of Management Information Systems, Journal of the AIS, the European Journal of IS and other Financial Times listed business journals.
• Has served as president of the Association of Information Systems and on the editorial boards of top journals listed on the UT-Dallas list.
• Has won countless awards for teaching, research and service.
• Collaborates with teams around the world on cutting-edge research.