Who We Are

Dr. Biagio Palese

Biagio Palese is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Operations Management and Information Systems.

Biagio earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems at Louisiana State University. He also has an undergraduate degree in Economics and master’s degree in International Business and Economics from the University of Pavia (Italy).

Biagio's teaching and research interests embrace information systems, data analytics, artificial intelligence, creators' economy, systems beyond firms control and customer service.

Biagio's research has appeared in journal such as: MISQ Executive, International Journal of Information Management, European Journal Of Information Systems, Information & Management, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, and International Journal of Hospitality Management.

Moreover, he published and presented in many of the top conferences in the Information Systems field, including among the others, the International Conference of Information Systems (ICIS), the Americas Conference of Information Systems (AMCIS), and the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS). The potential of his research has been recognized with the selection at the ICIS Doctoral Consortium (2018).

Biagio's teaching has received recognitions over the years including the following awards: Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award ( E. J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University, 2019), AIS Award for Innovation in Teaching (International Conference on Information Systems, 2020), and Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award ( NIU College of Business - OM&IS department, Northern Illinois University, 2021).

Biagio is extremely passionate about his teaching and research and loves to involve students in his research projects. Over the years he has supervised and worked in very diverse and interdisciplinary teams. He considers these experiences as key elements of his academic and personal growth, and he is open to new ones in the future.

Russ Devereaux

Russ Devereaux is the most positive and energetic performer. The passion that Russ exudes while on stage can only be rivaled by the cherished impact his message has on every listener. He ushers his audience through the most essential moments of life with a spectacular mixture of imagination, humor, and creativity.

Russ Devereaux has dedicated his adult life to writing, educating, and performing about the intangible abilities everyone has locked inside. In the most recent of years, Russ has been traveling around the Midwest performing his unique version of motivational Spoken Word and Slam Poetry. His audiences have included colleges, non-for-profit organizations, and corporations, leaving the largely diverse groups of listeners inspired to unleash their own greatness upon the world. Russ also brings insight into diversity, specifically, aspects that deal with members of society living with physical and mental disabilities.

Russ is the author of multiple poetry collections including his newest, A Place Called Home, which has received positive reviews. As a playwright, Russ has written and directed four original world premieres. He is also a National Poetry Slam poet and 2019 Rockford Certified Poetry Slam Champion. All of Russ’ passion was discovered while completing his Bachelors and his Masters degree in psychology from National-Louis University. Currently, Russ is the Associate Director and Program Advisor to the Department of Operations Management & Information Systems at Northern Illinois University.