Marketing Professor Receives 2011 Outstanding Faculty Award

Gary Cornia, dean of the Marriott School, welcomes honorees and their family members to the annual event.PROVO, Utah – Mar 29, 2011 – The Marriott School of Management presented Michael Swenson, Ford Motor Company Professor of Marketing, with its highest distinction — the 2011 Outstanding Faculty Award — at the annual Marriott School Awards Night held March 9. In addition to Swenson, 14 others were recognized for their dedicated service to the school.

"We are grateful for the outstanding leadership, examples and contributions of faculty and administrators to our students, staff and profession," says Gary Cornia, dean of the Marriott School. "Their efforts are noticed daily and appreciated always."

Swenson was honored for his accomplishments in teaching, research and professional service. For most of his career, he taught the MBA core marketing management course and presently teaches the marketing management course for business minors, where he has more than 700 students per year. Swenson has received multiple honors for publishing more than 50 articles as well as a book written with colleagues Gary Rhoads and David Whitlark.

Michael Swenson, 2011 Outstanding Faculty, notes in his speech the complexity of some research titles. Swenson prefers a simpler approach—something that has helped his research gain renown.Being a university professor is "a loophole in society," says Swenson. It is his dream job where he can teach and research what he loves — and get paid to do it. But according to him, it is the students that have kept him smiling on his drives to and from work for more than two decades.

"It's the light in their eyes that's one of the real joys and blessings of teaching at BYU," Swenson says.

Other faculty, staff and administrators were also recognized at the event for their outstanding administration, teaching, research and citizenship.

Pamela Castillo, Marriott School controller, received the N. Eldon Tanner Award. The Tanner award, first presented last year, is the business school's highest honor presented to an administrator who embodies the integrity, leadership, humility and stewardship of the late N. Eldon Tanner. Many colleagues commented on Castillo's character and dedication to her responsibilities.

"Pamela is meticulous in her work and has done extensive training for our department secretaries in financial matters," Cornia says. "She has great respect from her colleagues in the administrative offices."

Staff, administrators and faculty were honored at the event: Back row, from left: Kim Smith, Gary Cornia, Michael Swenson, Ramon Zabriskie, and Stephen Liddle. Front row, from left: Todd Mitton, Jeffrey Wilks, Pamela Castillo, Elizabeth Kanell, and Yvette Anderson.The Teaching Excellence Awards for outstanding instruction were presented to Todd Mitton, associate professor of finance, and Jeffrey Wilks, associate professor of accounting. Mitton teaches courses in financial management at the undergraduate level and is known for his creative style, even inviting his 13-year-old daughter to teach a lesson or singing songs to help students remember complex formulas. Wilks teaches accounting policy and research at the graduate level. Students often describe his course as the hardest they've ever taken but among the top three most valuable courses in the School of Accountancy.

Ramon Zabriskie, associate professor in the department of recreational management and youth leadership, was honored with the Scholarly Excellence Award for his work published in top journals such as the Journal of Leisure Research, Therapeutic Recreation Journal, Adoption Quarterly and Marriage & Family Review. A recent study identified Zabriskie among the top 2 percent of researchers in his field.

Stephen Liddle, academic director of the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, received the Citizenship Award, an honor that recognizes faculty's exceptional commitment to students, faculty and programs. Liddle has assisted in the growth of the Rollins Center and mentored many budding entrepreneurs through its programs.

The Marriott Award is given to those with outstanding contributions to Marriott School spirit. This year, Kim Smith received the honor. Smith, who serves as managing director of the H. Taylor Peery Institute of Financial Services and as a professor of finance, advises undergraduates in the Investments Academy and Freshmen Academy and leads hundreds of students on excursions to meet with companies in New York City and other financial centers.

Yvette Anderson, MBA admissions coordinator, and Elizabeth Kanell, secretary in the department of finance, both received Excellence Awards for their superb management, professionalism, character and initiative. In the last year, the MBA admissions office was short three employees, but Anderson graciously took on the extra work in addition to her own tasks. Similarly, Kanell is known for her pro-active approach, foreseeing potential needs and challenges and providing solutions so faculty stay focused on teaching and research.

The event also recognized retiring and departing faculty and administrators, thanking them for many years of service: David Alcom, director of the institute of marketing; Eldon Bott, adviser in the business career center; Donald Livingstone, teaching professor in the department of finance; Stephen Nadauld, professor of finance; Norman Nemrow, teaching professor in the School of Accountancy; and William Sawaya, associate professor of global supply chain management.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems and entrepreneurship. The school's mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School's graduate and undergraduate programs.