HOUSTON — At a time when the economy is driving employment and sales of industrial goods down, it might seem odd that a university is hiring more professors and expanding its curriculum in industrial distribution. But that's not how professors at the University of Houston see it.

In fact, now is the time to build a stronger, broader class curriculum, said Robert Seaker, assistant professor at the school's College of Technology. Because the industrial distribution program is already strong in logistics and information technology, UH is poised to offer a hybrid discipline involving complex supply chain management, he said. The curriculum reflects the critical relationship between data and supply chain performance.

"It is during economic downturns that academic programs must compete all the more to keep up enrollments," Seaker said. "In the same spirit as industry, programs must change and update or become stale."

The program is offered at the College of Technology. It has been broadened over the years so that now students can take the traditional industrial distribution track or a broader path that encompasses all elements of the supply chain. Examples of course requirements are: Distribution Technology, Global Distribution, Industrial/Consumer Sales and Business Law.

The university's relatively small program graduates students that are already connected to supply chain employment in some way because most high schools "do not promote distribution and the supply chain as a career path," he said. Many students are employed in the industry, have family members in the business or learn about the degree program after matriculating.

Joy Lloyd is visiting associate professor of industrial technology and program coordinator for industrial distribution. One of the benefits of adding faculty and courses is that students are better prepared for real-world employment because they gain technical and analytical skills on top of operational skills, Lloyd said.

"Wherever you happen to be working within the supply chain, knowledge of what's occurring both upstream and downstream will help drive optimal performance," she said.

Students can now prepare for employment that includes tariff and tax laws, foreign business practices and legal issues.

In addition to adding new faculty, the school is building an information laboratory that will simulate the huge amount of real-time data streaming into and out of supply chain settings. Since all the variables — product design, consumer demand, global traffic, etc. — are constantly changing, study of the supply chain and its management is a complex, dynamic curriculum, Seaker said.

Finding errors and exceptions in the variables is critical to all facets of distribution, including managing inventory, transportation, production schedules, capacity and customer service, he said.

"The key to managing [the supply chain] is that all variables must be continually coordinated so that it performs both efficiently and effectively," he said.