for initiating the program’s 50-year
tradition of excellence. “Because I have
been so involved in doctoral education,
I’ve been asked to organize multiple
doctoral consortiums.”
Beatty was a founding co-chair of
the first two Academy of Marketing
Science Doctoral Consortiums (held
in Oslo, Norway and Reims, France),
and also served as a co-chair of
the Inaugural 2015 AMS Doctoral
Consortium in Denver.
Her extensively-published research
has propelled her to positions on
multiple editorial review boards,
where she has won numerous best
reviewer awards. As her career winds
down she has received several recent
awards recognizing her scholarly and
service contributions to the marketing
discipline. Last fall, her colleagues
awarded her the prestigious
Distinguished Fellow Award from the
Society of Marketing Advances for her
professional contributions to the field,
while this past May she received the
2015 Academy of Marketing Science
Harold W. Berkman Distinguished
Service Award.
In academia, such honors spotlight
not just the individual, but the
researcher’s colleagues and college.
As a result of her ongoing work
and involvement with the Society of
Marketing Advances, the Academy of
Marketing Science, and the American
Marketing Association that are
important international professional
organizations in her field, Beatty has
helped build the Culverhouse brand
and will continue to do so.
“I’m recognized around the
country as someone who cares about
doctoral education, and that rubs off
on our marketing program and the
University,” she says. “They know
it’s a great doctoral program, a great
tradition started by Morris Mayer, and
fostered with great marketing faculty.
We also have a great tradition of people
who have done a wonderful job in their
own careers, all contributing to this
success.”
As this Florida native completes her
last teaching year before retirement,
she is reminded of the many roles
she has played for her mentees as
she hosted events in her home, led
students on travel abroad and served
as both coach and counselor. One
student from China even named her
second child after her.
“I don’t have any children, so all
these kids are my kids,” says Beatty.
“I think being a doctoral coordinator is
a very nurturing role. I love the kids,
and I love seeing them go out and be
successful. And a lot of our former
students have students of their own,
bettering the business environment
throughout our world.”
“I DON’T HAVE ANY CHILDREN,
SO ALL THESE KIDS ARE MY KIDS.
I THINK BEING A DOCTORAL
COORDINATOR IS A VERY
NURTURING ROLE. I LOVE THE
KIDS, AND I LOVE SEEING THEM
GO OUT AND BE SUCCESSFUL.”
—Sharon Beatty
For 28 years, Sharon Beatty has
invested her intellect and energies in
the Culverhouse College of Commerce
marketing doctoral program. Now she is
also investing financially, establishing a
doctoral scholarship fund.
“It is always a struggle to get adequate
funding for doctoral students. They are
paid while in the Ph.D. program to teach
or do research, but the stipend we get
is pretty low, and we have to draw from
several scholarships and fellowships,
just to try to get it close to a reasonable
wage.
“If I can’t get them enough money for
them to have a living wage, they may go
to another Ph.D. program,” Beatty says.
“So I designed my scholarship so that
every dollar goes to supplement the
stipends our marketing Ph.D. students
can get.”
Beatty has seen many doctoral
candidates make incredible sacrifices
to study at Culverhouse. As she retires,
she hopes her gift can help them change
their world.
