Professor Mary Anne Raymond, students shine at global marketing event

Department of Marketing faculty and students made the College of Business proud at a recent Society for Marketing Advances annual conference in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Mary Anne Raymond, the College of Business’ Thomas F. Chapman ’65 Distinguished Professor of Leadership, received the international association’s coveted Axcess-Capon Distinguished Teaching Award. And, marketing students were given presentation positions at the international conference not normally bestowed on undergraduates.

Raymond, who also serves as the college’s director of corporate relations, is the first professor to win the SMA distinguished teaching award the first time he/she was nominated.

Finalists are selected based on submitted packets, including a statement of teaching philosophy, a condensed CV, and supporting evidence of teaching experience. Each finalist makes a presentation at SMA’s annual conference, then answers questions from the judges. Raymond was recognized in a special awards ceremony at the West Palm Beach Marriott.

“I am truly honored to be nominated and recognized for this incredible award,” Raymond said. “Making an impact on students is what’s important and so rewarding. Having students and colleagues at the final presentation and the award ceremony makes the recognition even more meaningful.”

“The leading roles our students played in the SMA annual conference, and Mary Anne Raymond’s distinguished teaching recognition, reflect the level of quality the College of Business has come to expect from its educators and students,” said Wendy York, business school dean. “As word of achievements like these spreads, more and more people are realizing the caliber of business education at Clemson.”

Seven current and recently graduated marketing students made presentations on their Creative Inquiry research projects at the conference, including real-world research with Siemens on the company’s transfer of knowledge from retiring baby boomers to millennials entering the workforce.

Unique to Clemson University, the innovative Creative Inquiry program combines engaged learning and undergraduate research that are spawned by a professor’s challenge, or from a real-world business problem. Currently, marketing students are finding solutions to challenges presented by two multi-national companies, Siemen’s International and McLaren Automotive.

Helen McDowell, Bailey Hack, and Tanner Parsons presented their Creative Inquiry work on Knowledge Transfer in the Workplace, a three-year project with Siemens International, one of the largest manufacturing and electronics companies in the world.

The students also presented in the Teaching Moment segment of the conference, which detailed how the students used their summer internships to collect ethnographic data for that project.

Four others, Hannah Maisel, Madison Allen, Lauren Stabler and Melissa Nenninger, presented their work on Extraordinary Consumption Experiences.

“It’s been thrilling to watch these students take an interest in research and develop it into a strength over the last year and a half,” said Anastasia Thyroff, assistant professor of marketing. “Presenting at a conference like SMA is an incredible feat for the team, and a well-deserved reward for the high quality of work they delivered.”

Added Jennifer Siemens, associate professor of marketing, “the presentation positions at the SMA’s annual conference are generally filled by marketing faculty.  “So, our students being selected to present their research speaks well of the uniqueness of Clemson’s Creative Inquiry program and the caliber of our marketing students.”

The Society for Marketing Advances (SMA), a premier marketing association, hosts an annual conference that brings together marketing educators and professionals from throughout the United States and abroad. The Society evolved from the regional Southern Marketing Association to an international association that includes members from more than 34 countries.

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