The Wisdom’s Torch Fund was established in 2009 to support faculty teaching and learning in the College of Business. The fund was founded by retired faculty, staff, and others who wanted to honor faculty and staff who retired from the college.
Funds are used to support teaching and learning. Recipients must be a College of Business faculty or staff member. Applicants explain what funding is needed and how it will be beneficial to projects within the college.
Niharika Dayyala received the Wisdom’s Torch Fund in 2020. She joined the college as an assistant professor at ISU in 2017. Dayyala teaches data analytics, database management, information systems, business application programming, and statistics. Her research interests include the diffusion of technologies, software sourcing, software project management, and data analytics applications.
The funding supports Dayyala’s teaching and scholarship. She has learned about cutting-edge data analytics tools and technologies. She plans to add these skills and knowledge to her courses, which will increase her student’s marketability. They will also be a benefit as she continues her research on the application of data analytics.
“The idea of Wisdom’s Torch is inspiring,” Dayyala said. “Because the funds are pooled through the staff, administrators, and faculty to support teaching and learning, this comradeship makes me more responsible for the betterment of the college.”
The name of the fund, Wisdom’s Torch, comes from the last line of the University Hymn: “So shalt thou in years increasing send they grads of honest worth, forth to bear with zeal unceasing wisdom’s torch throughout the earth.”
