Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of Kent State University’s College of Business Administration, has been named a 2021 recipient of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Marketing for Higher Education Special Interest Group (Higher Ed SIG) Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Higher Ed SIG Lifetime Achievement Award honors a marketing scholar who has demonstrated distinct accomplishments and dedication to the area of higher education in the marketing discipline.
Spake is dean of the College of Business Administration and professor of marketing at Kent State. She serves on the Initial Accreditation Committee for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), co-created the Seminar for New Associate Deans offered by AACSB and regularly chairs or serves on AACSB peer review teams. She has previously served as president of the MidAmerican Business Deans Association and past executive director of the Society for Marketing Advances. She has contributed to higher education research on topics related to university branding, student satisfaction and service learning. Spake’s research has been published in leading academic journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Service Research, Journal of Business Research and Journal of Brand Management.
Spake is receiving the 2021 award along with Victoria L. Crittenden, D.B.A., professor of marketing and Peter M. Black Endowed Faculty Scholar at Babson College. Spake and Crittenden will be presented with the award at the AMA Summer Educators’ Conference in August.
“I am honored to be recognized along with Dr. Crittenden by the AMA Higher Education Special Interest Group for achievements in higher education leadership and marketing research,” Spake said. “The Lifetime Achievement Award was a surprise, and I am pleased to join the ranks of prior winners who have been recognized for their work in this area of our discipline.”
About Kent State University’s College of Business Administration
Kent State University’s College of Business Administration is among the fewer than 1% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in both business and accounting. The college boasts 11 undergraduate majors, 14 minors, three graduate certificates, an undergraduate Professional Sales Certificate program; master’s degrees in accounting, business administration, business analytics and economics; as well as a Ph.D. program with concentrations in accounting, finance, information systems, management and marketing. For more information about Kent State’s College of Business Administration, visit www.kent.edu/business.
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Media Contact:
Joni Bowen, jbowen1@kent.edu, 330-672-1279