Innovision Fall 2019

30 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE NEW FACULTY Where were you before accepting your position here at KU? What was your role there? How long did you work there? Pros? Cons? Prior to starting at KU, I was a full-time graduate student working on my Ph.D. in Business Administration with a marketing concentration at the University of Memphis. Not only is the marketing Ph.D. program at the U of M high-quality, they are also known to be accepting of mature students. I am truly grateful for the experience as I made life-long friends and colleagues there. What responsibilities do you fulfill in your new position as Associate Professor? As an associate professor in theDepartment of Business Administration, my duties are similar to many other professors here. Our pillars are teaching, research and service to the students, university, our college, and our department. Why did you say yes to KU? I enjoyed meeting and interviewing with the Department of Business Administration representatives while at the Summer AMA (American Marketing Association) conference last year in Boston. Later, I had a great campus visit – the final interview – last fall and that’s when I truly felt that I had a place here at KU. Being close to family & friends in upstate New York, as well as the Lehigh Valley’s proximity to so many cultural and recreational opportunities within a couple of hours’ drive certainly tipped the scales in favor of KU. What do you like the most about KU? Hands down, the people here. There is a lot for a new faculty member to learn: from navigating the proper channels and contacts to learning how to be an effective student advisor. Not only have my colleagues in the marketing discipline been invaluable to me, but other faculty members, administrators, and staff throughout the department and the College of Business, have always been extremely helpful with my many, many “newbie” questions. I’ve found this to be a genuinely supportive environment where everyone tries their best to help everyone else out. It may sound cliché, but at Kutztown University, it really feels like “we’re all in this together.” Tell me the story of how you got here. With over 30 years of business experience after I earned my Bachelor’s degree, I have had many varied jobs in different industries. All of my jobs were customer-focused. From computer memory chip sales, to managing flight attendants onboard international flights for a major airline, to owning a retail business, consulting, and finally doing sales, marketing, and management consulting for a major financial company, I had quite an interesting résumé! When I decided to leave my last corporate position six years ago, I had the opportunity to teach part-time at my undergraduate alma mater – hired in the Marketing Department by the chair who was originally my teacher for several marketing classes thirty years prior! I truly enjoyed the challenges and the rewards of teaching at the college level, and the students really appreciated the real-world experience that I brought into the classroom. Many people urged me to pursue a Ph.D. so that I could become a full-time tenure-track professor. I can’t tell you how many times I said “no way!”. But I finally bit the bullet and moved to Memphis, Tennessee to pursue my Ph.D. Four years later, here I am at Kutztown University! What makes you excited for the future at KU? What are you looking forward to accomplishing? I’m looking forward to future semesters after I’m more settled into the position and can take a step back to strategically look at how to improve my teaching and better engage my students. I firmly believe in continuous improvement and in trying new things. Already, students may tell you that I have high expectations – but I have them for myself first and foremost. I hope to have a positive and long-lasting impact on the students who take my classes and on the Department of Business Administration here at KU. GERARD “JERRY” KELLY Associate Professor, Marketing Discipline