Ritu Agarwal

Ritu Agarwal is the Robert H. Smith Dean’s Chair of Information Systems and founding director of the school’s Center for Health Information and Decision Systems (CHIDS). She has published more than 100 papers in top academic journals, testified before government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Health, and collaborated with Fortune 500 companies such as Cisco Systems, Johnson and Johnson and Pfizer. Since arriving at Maryland Smith in 1999, Agarwal has taught at every level and received all of the school’s major teaching awards. Prior to her appointment as interim dean, she served as Senior Associate Dean for Faculty & Research.

Her current research focuses on the use of information technology in healthcare settings, health analytics, and artificial intelligence applications in health. In addition to publishing her research in journals such as Information Systems Research, MIS Quarterly, Management Science, Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association and Health Affairs, Agarwal has made presentations at a variety of national and international conferences. She has been the National Science Foundation ADVANCE Professor for Maryland Smith and won the university's Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award. In 2017 she was appointed as a Distinguished University Professor, Maryland’s highest academic honor.

Agarwal recently completed a six-year term as editor-in-chief of Information Systems Research, one of the world’s top academic journals in information systems. Previously she served as senior editor at MIS Quarterly and associate editor for Management Science. She has been a leader in all of the major professional associations, a fellow of the Association for Information Systems, and a Distinguished Fellow of the Information Systems Society of INFORMS.

In 2010 Agarwal started the annual Conference on Health IT and Analytics (CHITA). This conference is a leading research forum at the intersection of technology, analytics and health. CHITA attracts international scholars, policymakers and business executives who work in healthcare reform. Agarwal is deeply passionate about using her research capabilities and advocacy to improve the practice and delivery of healthcare.

Awards

• Distinguished Fellow, Information Systems Society, Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), 2013.
• Schoeller Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Theo and Friedl Schoeller Research Center for Business and Society, Nuremberg, Germany, 2013
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Krowe Teaching Award for Excellence, 2013.
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business NSF ADVANCE Professor, 2012-13.
• Fellow of the Association of Information Systems, 2011.
• University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher Award, 2011-2012.
• Finalist for 2012 Diana Forsythe Best Paper Award, American Medical Informatics Association.
• Best Paper Award, Information Systems Research, 2009.
• Top 15% of Professorial Faculty in Teaching, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Fall 2009, Spring 2011.
• MISQ Executive, Two articles in Top 10 articles published in the journal up to 2004.
• Service Recognition Award, INFORMS, 2006.
• University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Krowe Teaching Award for Excellence, 2004.
• University of Maryland Graduate Research Board Research Grant, 2003.
• University of Maryland, Outstanding Woman of Color Award, 2003.
• Appreciation Award, University System of Maryland Human Resources and IT Staff, 2001.
• Top 15% of Professorial Faculty in Teaching, Robert H. Smith School of Business, Fall 2000.
• "Rookie of the Year Award," MBA Student Association, University of Maryland, 2000.
• 1st Place, Most Valuable Mentor Award, The William R. Jones Foundation, 1999.
• 1st Place Award, Society for Information Management International Paper Competition, 1998.
• Florida State University Research Grant, 1998.
• Best Research Paper, Academy of Management OCIS Division, 1997.
• Best Research Proposal, Academy of Management MED Division, 1990.