Diversity: Through the Faculty’s Eyes

 

By: Ava Larsen, Senior, Marketing and Digital and Social Media Business Applications

Diversity is at the heart of marketing. The Kelley Marketing Department exemplifies this idea not only through traditional ideas of diversity such as gender, race or nationality. The community here is also broad in many different ways, including the opportunities, experiences and paths each individual encounters. In order to explore the immense amount of diversity that the Kelley Marketing Department offers, we reached out to our award-winning faculty to get their take. 

Marketing Faculty Speaks to Our Diverse Diversity

Joshua Gildea

Fettig/Whirlpool Distinguished Lecturer, Marketing Department

“I see diversity in our students. Yes, we are diverse in our gender, our ethnicities, and the places we come from. But where I see diversity on full display is in the way that our students see the world. Many students come to Kelley to kick off successful careers in business. But the story of what motivates our students is so much deeper. Some students come to Kelley to discover their inner talents and capabilities. Others come to Kelley so they can create social change in the world. And some come to Kelley to develop deep relationships and friendships.

Every student is different and unique. Each has a story to tell and a vision for how, where, and why they will make a difference in the world. Whether our students come from southern Indiana, the suburbs of Chicago, or Shanghai, Kelley is a place where they can bring their diverse motivations and desires to build the colorful fabric of our school.”

Beth Fossen

Assistant Professor of Marketing

“We have incredible research breadth in our marketing department, exhibiting substantial diversity in the research topics that we study. You can find an expert on almost any marketing topic among our faculty.”

Dennis Spahr

Lecturer, Marketing Department

“I first became aware of the diversity of the Marketing Department when I interviewed here in the Fall of 2017.  I was impressed with and excited about the opportunity to join a group of professionals who came from different countries, different backgrounds, different ethnicities and different academic studies.  We have faculty from around the world and who attended and/or taught at some of the top schools in the world.

An example of our diversity that really stands out to me is when I attended the University’s new faculty picnic in 2018.  I sat at a table with new faculty and some existing Marketing faculty.  There were eight of us at the table and we came from six countries – China, India, Turkey, Iran, Brazil and US.  What a wonderful testament to the global language of Marketing!  While we came from different countries and different cultures, we had so many similarities – families/children, questions about moving to Bloomington, ideas on what restaurants were the best, etc.  I don’t think we talked about “work” all evening.  We were just people from diverse backgrounds with diverse experiences, all enjoying each other’s company in Bloomington.”

Shanker Krishnan

Nestle-Hustad Professor of Marketing

“Other than the two big areas of gender and race diversity, I also see other aspects of diversity: students who are Hoosiers and from all over the world, large cities and small towns less than 10k people, conservatives and liberals. These differences play out in my classes where we have intense discussions between students who may have different views on a topic. This kind of exchange is the purpose of a world class education, to expose young minds to a range of viewpoints and being able to passionately, respectfully and professionally debate and form new ideas.

This same type of diversity exists in the interests of our faculty. We have faculty who are more interested in strategy, others in quantitative analysis, yet others in understanding consumers. These areas have different philosophies, methods, and practical applications and the faculty have intense discussions about the merits of their areas. This benefits students as well because we have a broad set of course offeringsthat prepare students for careers in very different areas of marketing.”

Shibo Li

John R. Gibbs Professor, Marketing Department

“The department is diverse in many forms.

1. We have a great variety of faculty and students with different race, gender, age, and cultural backgrounds.
2. Our faculty are doing wonderful research in very different areas with different skills sets.
3. The department offers a large variety of programs to students in person or online.
4. The marketing faculty and staff engage with many professional and local communities and national organizations.
5. The marketing faculty conduct research by collaborating with other scholars at many other institutions or organizations in the U.S. and internationally.
6. The three centers within the marketing department have a diverse set of companies in the advisory board and offer a variety of services to students and faculty.”

Whether it is through the students, faculty, programs, beliefs or skill sets, there is no shortage of diversity found in the Kelley Marketing Department. Each and every day diversity is nurtured and explored throughout Hodge Hall, allowing the department’s students, faculty and alumni to bring together their experiences and beliefs to flourish as a community. Bottom line, our diversity spans across numerous channels, and it is one of the many things that makes the Kelley Marketing Department so very special and unique. We are so many, but together, we are one.

Learn more about the department’s faculty here!