At the Best of Direct celebration this past December, the 2015 DMAW/EF O’Hara Leadership Award was bestowed upon Dr. Theresa Clarke, Ph.D. A Professor at James Madison University (JMU), Dr. Clarke teaches marketing to undergraduate and MBA students. She has been actively involved in online marketing since the mid-1990s and pioneered the development of five interactive marketing courses at JMU and Old Dominion University.
Soon after winning her award, Dr. Clarke kindly agreed to an extensive interview with me. In this first of a three-part series, Dr. Clark talks a bit about the O’Hara Award and what it has meant to her. In future articles, Dr. Clarke will share her insights about the state of marketing in universities today.
Q. What impact has winning the DMAW/EF’s O’Hara Leadership Award had on you, your curricula, your teaching, and your students?
This is a very recent award. I just received it a couple of weeks ago. But, so far, personally, I can’t describe in words how it made me feel— honored and … oh, I don’t know what the word is … just grateful because professors often toil quietly behind the scenes. We only have 40 hours of classroom time for every course we teach. We work very hard to make a strong impact on students in that limited time. We spend many more hours behind the scenes, preparing lectures and class projects. We often don’t know the impact we have because students take a class and move on. This award helped validate for me that I’m making a difference. That was nice to hear and encourages me to do more. Validation from the industry is very meaningful. The University did a story about this award, and the students who saw it felt good about studying under me, and at JMU, but also about studying in this field.
Q. What is the value of the DMAW Educational Foundation’s programs to you as an educator? And what is the Foundation’s value to your students?
I have participated in the Professors Institute a few times and I’m coming back in January 2015. The Institute provides an avenue for like-minded professors to come together, collaborate, and share best practices in teaching and research. The best benefit is that it’s not a huge expense to us. The Professors Institute is so appreciated because it lets me add to the resources I have.
And, I’m definitely going to get more involved in the Collegiate MAXI competition. It’s such a great opportunity for students to take their passion and excitement for the field to the next level. Marketing is a highly competitive field, where we compete for consumers’ attention, dollars, votes, and so on. A competition like the Collegiate MAXI Awards pulls all that together. In short, the DMAW Educational Foundation’s programs are a nice toolbox available to us.
Q. Anything you’d like to add?
As a professor, I’d be interested in what direct and interactive marketing companies are looking for in college students today. Is it specific skills and proficiency with certain mathematical equations? Or is it more general, for example good writing ability and communication skills? And, does passion for the industry outweigh someone’s math skills?
Scott Huch is president of The Delta Group. He is secretary of the DMAW/EF Board of Directors.