Irma Becerra Fernandez

Becerra received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami. She received a doctoral degree from Florida International University, also in Electrical Engineering.[3]

Becerra took office as the seventh President of Marymount University in Arlington, Va., on July 1, 2018.[4] In her first six months in the role, she launched the University’s new Strategic Plan, “Momentum,” which is guiding the University over the five-year period from 2019 to 2024. The plan calls for Marymount to achieve national and international recognition for innovation and commitment to student success, alumni achievement and faculty and staff excellence.[1][5]

After two years as President, Becerra has introduced several initiatives in support of Marymount’s mission and vision for the future. This includes adding market-driven academic programs that prioritize career preparation,[6] overseeing the transition to a new academic structure,[7] acquiring The Rixey luxury apartment building next door to Marymount’s Ballston Center[8] and improving the university’s IT infrastructure through the implementation of the state-of-the-art enterprise resource planning application, Workday.[9] She has also navigated the school community through the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][10]

A Cuban-born American, Becerra immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was an infant, living in Puerto Rico through high school. She earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Miami and went on to become the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Florida International University (FIU).[1]

Prior to Marymount, she served as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., from 2014 to 2018. In those four years, she led the expansion of academic offerings, launching 19 new market-driven degrees that included Nursing and Cybersecurity. Other initiatives included the development of fully-online programs, the establishment of the University’s Student Success Center and the implementation of structural changes and new technology.[11]

Before St. Thomas, Becerra spent three decades at FIU in a variety of positions that include Vice President, Vice Provost, Entrepreneurship Center Director and tenured professor in Management Information Systems. She founded FIU’s Knowledge Management Lab and led major projects as principal investigator at the National Science Foundation, NASA (Headquarters, Kennedy, Ames and Goddard Space Flight Centers) and the Air Force Research Lab. She was also a Sloan Scholar at MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research.[1]

Becerra has authored four books and numerous journal articles in the areas of knowledge management and business intelligence. Her original research has also spanned such areas as enterprise systems, disaster management and IT entrepreneurship.[1]

• Becerra-Fernandez, Irma (2014-12-05). Knowledge management : systems and processes. Sabherwal, Rajiv (Second ed.). New York. ISBN 9781317503033. OCLC 897810646.
• Rajiv., Sabherwal (2011). Business intelligence : practices, technologies, and management. Becerra-Fernandez, Irma. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. ISBN 9780470461709. OCLC 465681797.
• Becerra-Fernandez, Irma (2008). Knowledge management : an evolutionary view. Leidner, D. E. (Dorothy E.). Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, Inc. ISBN 9780765623744. OCLC 471133953.
• Becerra-Fernandez, Irma (2004). Knowledge management : challenges, solutions, and technologies. González, Avelino J., Sabherwal, Rajiv. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0131016064. OCLC 52877851.

• Beath, C., Becerra-Fernandez, I., Ross, J. and Short, J. (2012) “Finding Value in the Information Explosion” Sloan Management Review. 43(4). 18-20.[12]
• Xia, W., Becerra-Fernandez, I., S Gudi, A. and S Rocha, J. "Emergency Management Task Complexity and Knowledge Sharing Strategies" Cutter IT Journal, January 2011.[13]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Elam J., and PSP Clemmons, S. “Reversing the landslide in Student Enrollments in Computer-Related Degree Programs” *Communications of the ACM. 53 (2) 127-133.[14]
• Hoffman, R., Ziebell, D., Fiore, S., and Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2008) Knowledge Management Revisited, IEEE: Intelligent Systems, 23(3) 84-88.[15]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I. and PS PGudi, A. An Experiential Approach to Teaching Knowledge Management. (2008) International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies (IJTCS), special Issue on: "Teaching Knowledge Management: Integration into Curriculum, Teaching Strategies and Teaching Case Studies”, 1 (3), 171-188.[16]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Cousins, K., Weber, R. (2007) Nomadic Context-Aware Knowledge Management Systems: Applications, Challenges, and Research Problems. International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation, 1(2) 103-121.[17]
• Kumar, K. and Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2007) Interaction Technology: Speech-Act Based Information Technology Support for Building Collaborative Relationships and Trust. Decision Support Systems, 43(2), 584-606.[18]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2006) Searching for Experts on the Web: A Review of Contemporary Expertise Locator Systems. *ACM Transactions on Internet Technology. 6(4), 333-355.[19]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Del Alto, M. and Stewart, H. (2006) A Case Study of Web-based Collaborative Decision Support at NASA. International Journal of e-Collaboration. 2(3), 49-63.[20]
• Sabherwal, R. & Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2005) Integrating Specific Knowledge: Insights from the Kennedy Space Center. *IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 52(3), 301-315.[21]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Wang, T., Agha, G., PSP Sin, T. (2005) Actor Model and Knowledge Management Systems: Social Interaction as a Framework for Knowledge Integration. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 3782, 19-31.[22]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Murphy, K., and Elam, J. (2005) Successfully Implementing ERP: The IBM Personal Systems Group Experience. International Journal of Internet and Enterprise Management, 3(1), 78-97.[23]
• Becerra-Fernandez I. and Sabherwal R., (2005) Knowledge Management at NASA-Kennedy Space Center. International Journal of Knowledge and Learning. 1(1/2). 159-170.[24]
• Zanakis, S. and Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2005) Competitiveness of Nations: A Knowledge Discovery Examination. *European Journal of Operational Research, 166(1), 185-211.[25]
• Elam, J. and Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2003) MetalSpectrum: A Virtual Marketplace for Brick-and-Mortar Products. Journal of Information Systems Education (JISE), 14 (3), 285-292.[26]
• Sabherwal, R. & Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2003) An Empirical Study of the Effect of Knowledge Management Processes at Individual, Group, and Organizational Levels. *Decision Sciences, 34 (2), 225-261.[27]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Zanakis, S., & Walczak, S. (2002) Knowledge Discovery Techniques for Predicting Country Investment Risk. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 43(4), 787-800.[28]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., & Sabherwal, R. (2001). Organizational Knowledge Management Processes: A Contingency Perspective. Journal of Management Information Systems, 18(1), 23-55.[29]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2001) Identifying Potential Markets for the Intellectual Property at Kennedy Space Center and Initial Results. International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation 1(1/2/3), 1-16.[30]
• Welty, B., & Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2001). Managing Trust and Commitment in Collaborative Supply Chain Relationships. *Communications of the ACM, 44(6) 67-73.[31]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., & Stevenson, J. M. (2001). Knowledge Management Systems and Solutions for the School Principal as Chief Learning Officer. Education, 121(3), 508-518.[32]
• Weber, R., Aha, D.W., & Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2001). Intelligent Lessons Learned Systems. Expert Systems with Applications, 20(1), 17-34.[33]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2001) Locating Expertise at NASA – Developing a tool to leverage human capital”. Knowledge Management Review, 4(4), 34-37.[34]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I. (2000). The Role of Artificial Intelligence Technologies in the Implementation of People-Finder Knowledge Management Systems. Knowledge Based Systems, 13(5), 315-320.[35]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Taylor, A., Buckingham, G., Brown, D., Entessari, A., & Kinney, F. (2000). The NASA/Florida Minority Institution Entrepreneurial Partnership - An Infrastructure to Enable Technology Transfer to Small Businesses. Journal of Technology Transfer, 25(2), 193-203.[36]
• Becerra-Fernandez, I., Murphy, K., & Simon, S. (2000). Integrating ERP in the Business School Curriculum. *Communications of the ACM, 43(4), 39-41.[37]

• Saluted as one of the Top 35 Women in Higher Education by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, 2020.[38]
• Recognized in the Washington Business Journal's (WBJ) Power 100 Class of 2019.[39]
• Selected as one of the Washington Business Journal's (WBJ) "Women Who Mean Business," 2019.[40]
• Educator of the Year by the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2015.[41][42]
• Bronze Medal Award by the Miami Today Newspaper, 2014.[43]
• 2013 Educator of the Year by HENAAC Great Minds in STEM[44][45]
• In the Company of Women Award for Education and Research, a Women's History Month Celebration, with support from The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade, the Office of the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, March 2012.[46]
• The Association of Cuban Engineers' Engineer of the Year Award for outstanding contributions to the profession, 2011.[47]
• Kauffman Entrepreneurship Professor, Florida International University Pino Center for Entrepreneurship, March 2007.[48]
• Selected for initiation into the professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, for academic achievements and continued interest in the profession, April 2006.
• Florida International University Torch Award for Outstanding Faculty (presented by the FIU Alumni Association), 2004.[49]

• CNN en Español Interview
• Americas Venture Capital Conference Interview
• Omega College Commencement Speech