Dr. Ghriga has been with Long Island University since 1994, when he joined the faculty of the Computer Science department. In 2005, he was appointed dean of the business school, at which more than 1000 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled.

What motivated you to establish an SSME program at Long Island University?

My motivation was to formulate a strategic position for the role of the Department of Computer Science in the School of Business to add value to a management education using technology. With the decline in enrollment in the Department of Computer Science, the faculty was asked to examine the relevance of the computer science curriculum and its partnerships with the various programs and departments. When the discussion started, we had absolutely no idea about the destination or the journey. This period was characterized by a complete divergence of opinions, views and assessments of the role of technology. We realized that we needed an external perspective, and IBM Academic Initiative staff and IBMers served as our external consultants. Soon thereafter, we were able to form a very productive, collegial and collaborative environment that led to our views of SSME and its relevance to our students and corporations in the New York City metropolitan area.

Why the need for a new interdisciplinary academic field in service science?

I find that the new discipline is the ideal vehicle to create a unifying and concrete context for all disciplines. Relevance to the real world is inherent to the new field. It provides for an integrated framework to explore all disciplines, especially computer science and information technology. One would conjecture that such an approach will provide for meaningful ways to impact student retention and student engagement in business and computer science. Moreover, the breakdown of silos will assist the faculty to fulfill their aggregate responsibility to focus on student outcomes to meet assurance of learning standards.

What advantage will graduates of your program have over those entering the job market without the SSME background?

"Service Is Front Stage: We Are All in Services ... More or Less!" is the title of a primer on services by [INSEAD professor] James Teboul. The title says it all. A graduate with a service management background can easily conceptualize his or her role within the corporation or organization of choice for employment. With such skills, one has the proper context for improved communication skills, improved problem solving and analytical skills (through modeling), and improved opportunities for using his or her entrepreneurial skills in bringing innovation within the scope of his or her responsibilities. This applies to all discipline areas, such as accounting, IT, finance, et cetera.

Who's right for the program? Describe the ideal SSME student.

The person who is right for the program is our traditional applicant for the MBA program with aspirations for advancement or career change. This is the case because we built our SSME program based on our strong foundation in management and moved toward introducing technology and computer science topics that enable the traditional MBAer to acquire the appropriate set of technology skills. This approach was the most appropriate venue for us considering the high demand for our MBA in comparison with the MS or BS in Computer Science.

Is the curriculum primarily real world/case study based, or theoretical? Can you give us some examples?

The curriculum is a combination of all of the above. For example, some of the class listings are:

• Service sector management
• Network services, management and security
• e-services management
• Business and customer relationship management in the service sector
• Service modeling

Case study analysis is used as well.