UNS – Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta bids farewell to Professor Wisnu Untoro, M.S., a senior professor in Strategic Management at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UNS, as he enters the emeritus period. The Academic Farewell Ceremony for Professor Emeritus was held both offline and online in Meeting Room 2 of the dr. Prakosa Building, UNS, on Thursday (25/4/2024).

The Chair of the Professor Council, Prof. Drs. Suranto Tjiptowibisono, M.Sc., Ph.D., in his remarks, described this professor emeritus ceremony as a tradition to appreciate the contributions of professors at UNS. “When lecturers become professors, they are praised, but when they retire, it’s like they are thrown away. We don’t want that to happen in our culture,” Prof. Suranto explained.

Prof. Suranto added that Prof. Wisnu has extraordinary experience both as a lecturer and in managerial roles. “Prof. Wisnu’s track record is remarkable. He has served as the Dean at FEB UNS and has been appointed to manage the UNS Hospital. His expertise is widely utilized in the community. To this day, he serves as a Commissioner in one of the BPRS. He has also authored many books,” he added.

On behalf of the Chair of the UNS Professor Council, Prof. Suranto expressed his utmost gratitude for Prof. Wisnu’s contributions and dedication during his time as a lecturer and leader at FEB UNS.

Meanwhile, the Vice Rector for Planning, Cooperation, Business, and Information UNS, Prof. Irwan Trinugroho, S.E., M.Sc., Ph.D., representing the Acting Rector UNS, Dr. Chatarina Muliana, S.H., S.E., M.H., described Prof. Wisnu as a role model among FEB UNS lecturers.

“All lecturers at FEB want to emulate him. He has also contributed significantly to my achievements. I express my gratitude to Prof. Wisnu for many things. His dedication and integrity are extraordinary, beyond doubt,” he added.

The event continued with an honorary oration by Prof. Wisnu titled “Reflecting on the Role of Publicness in Operational Strategy: Thoughts”. Before delivering the oration, Prof. Wisnu shared his academic journey, which faced various challenges because, initially, he did not have a passion for becoming a lecturer.

In his oration, he mentioned that operational management controls 70 percent of an organization’s budget. He gave examples and compared the differences in marketing, operations management, and finance activities in three businesses.

“I compared the differences in marketing, operations management, and finance activities in three businesses: airlines, manufacturing, and banking. This shows that operations management is something strategic,” he explained.

Prof. Wisnu also stated that publicness is important to consider alongside the 10 decisions in studying operational management.

“Implementing operational management with 10 decisions needs to consider publicness. Implementing 10 decisions is not enough,” Prof. Wisnu continued.

He then addressed the lack of interest among undergraduate students in addressing publicness in their theses. Additionally, Prof. Wisnu also urged young colleagues to incorporate operational management and publicness into their various research projects.

“Group research in operational management should not prioritize interest but rather the learning material. It is part of the responsibility of young colleagues to follow up on this,” Prof. Wisnu concluded.

After the oration, the event proceeded with the handing over of the relay baton from Prof. Wisnu to a younger colleague, Dr. Hidajat Hendarsjah, S.Si., M.M., as the successor to continue the journey of service at UNS. Humas UNS