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Students

Ph. D. Forms

Many of these are also available on the Graduate School Website.

* Submitting the Doctoral Plan of Study: The Graduate School policy now requires that the Plan of Study be filed no later than the semester during which the student will complete 30 semester hours of UA and/or transfer credit toward the doctoral degree. Otherwise, a hold will be placed on future registrations.  Effective date:  Fall 2007

Current Students

Entering 2008 Ph.D. Students

  • Frank G. Adams earned his M.B.A. with a concentration in supply chain and operations management from The University of Alabama.  Frank’s undergraduate degree is from Mississippi State University.  Before returning to school for his M.B.A., Frank held management positions with PhotoMedex Inc. and Sandstone Medical Technologies.  Most recently, he worked as a graduate intern in materials management for Energen.   Frank has served in the U.S. Army Reserve in two states. 
  • Tim D. Butler received his M.S. in Marketing from The University of Alabama.  His undergraduate degree is in Philosophy, Politics, and Law from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.  Tim’s past work experience includes several retail management positions in which he supervised sales and customer service personnel.   In addition to his work within the retail industry, Tim has designed and implemented marketing research plans for an engineering consulting firm. 
  • Woojung Chang comes to us with a M.S. in Marketing as well as an undergraduate degree in German and Literature from Korea University in Seoul, Korea.  Woojung has co-authored several different research papers in various conference proceedings, including the AMA Summer Marketing Educators’ Conference Proceedings and the Joint Conference on Business Administration Proceedings (in Korean).  Prior to returning to school for graduate work, Woojung worked as a junior account manager in the banking industry. 
  • Stephanie T. Gillison received her M.S. in Marketing from The University of Alabama.  She also received her undergraduate degree in Management from Alabama.  During her time at the university, Stephanie has received numerous awards and honors.  She was named a Presidential Scholar, accepted into the University Honors Program, and inducted into the Business Honors Program as well as many other honor societies.  Stephanie has worked as a teaching assistant for the Introduction to Marketing course and served as an ambassador for the Capstone Business Academy. 
  • V. Myles Landers did his graduate as well as his undergraduate work at Berry College in Mount Berry, Georgia.  He has presented his research on extreme sports and sports marketing at various marketing conferences, including the National Sports Marketing Association Conference and the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators’ Conference.  Myles completed an internship for Climbing magazine in Carbondale, Colorado where he managed marketing research projects for the magazine.
  • Hyunju Shin earned her M.S. in Marketing from The University of Alabama and her undergraduate degree from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, Korea.  While an undergraduate student, Hyunju was awarded several leadership scholarships and grants.  Before starting her Master’s degree, Hyunju worked as a marketing research associate for a Korean consulting firm.  Most recently, she completed a marketing research internship for Panelpina, an international freight company. 

Entering 2007 Ph.D. Students

  • Paul T. Bryant received his Master of Science both in Electrical Engineering (1994 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute) and Industrial Administration (1992 from Carnegie Mellon University). He has held numerous positions in various technology companies; most recently he was the Business Manager of Mazin Integrated Products, and the SiliconSwitch Product Marketing Manager at Pericom Semiconductor. He has also completed several academic projects in the Departments of Engineering, Management, Humanities and Arts.

  • Carolyn (Casey) Findley comes to us from Auburn University – Montgomery, where she was an instructor in the marketing department. Casey received her MBA with an emphasis in marketing from Auburn University Montgomery in 2006. She has also been published as a co-author in the International Journal of Sports Marketing and Management and the Berkshire Encyclopedia of Extreme Sport. While teaching at AUM, Casey developed a new course, Sports Marketing, co-authored two articles and two proceedings, along with reviewing for Atlantic Marketing Association, Society for Marketing Advances, and the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators. 

Entering 2006 Ph.D. Students

  • Shiri D. Vivek comes to us from India with a master of arts in psychology, Jai Narain Vyas University; M.B.A., Mohanlal Sukhadia University; and even a Ph.D. in management from Gurukul Kangadi University in India. She has held several teaching positions in management at universities in India. Shiri has numerous publications throughout the USA, Europe, and Asia, including invited reports and book chapters. In 2000, her paper entitled “Teleworking: Opportunities for Indian Women” received the Swedish Council of Work Life Research Award.

Entering 2005 Ph.D. Students

  • Vivek Dalela comes to us from India where he received an M.B.A. with a marketing concentration from the University of Lucknow in 1996. He also earned an M.S. in physics from the same university. Since that time, he has held many teaching positions. He most recently served as Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Institute for Integrated Learning in Management in New Delhi. Vivek’s publications can be found in various journals including Journal of Insurance and Risk Management, Business Perspectives, and The 2003 Report on New Working Environments and Practices.
  • Mary Harrison received an M.B.A. with a marketing concentration from The University of Alabama in 2004. Her industry work experience includes serving as a Public Relations Specialist for Motion Industries. Additionally, she worked with The University of Alabama’s Small Business Development Center as a Client Counselor and Family Business Forum Coordinator.

Entering 2004 Ph.D. Students

  • Alexa Givan received a master of arts in marketing here at The University of Alabama. She graduated magna cum laude from The University of Alabama in December 2002 with an advertising major and a double minor in marketing and Spanish. Her work experience includes coaching for Alabama Gymnastcs Inc., serving customers for Outdoor Decor (an online retail company) and assisting with marketing for The University of Alabama's gymnastics team. While a gymnast at The University of Alabama, she accumulated many honors including Scholastic All-American and All-SEC.
  • Mandy Ortiz came to us from Florida Metropolitan University where she served as an adjunct faculty member for the marketing department. She has a vast array of professional experience ranging from Director of Ethnic Market Development for Tupperware to Ethnic Brand Manager for Tropicana. She has also worked with Proctor and Gamble, The Marketing Group, Issac Mizrahi, Coach Leatherware, and Tahari Ltd. She has a M.B.A from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. with a concentration in Art History from Hamilton College.

Entering 2003 Ph.D. Students

  • Richard Flight was a Ph.D. student in economics but decided that marketing was more to his liking. Richard got his B.S. and M.B.A. from Samford University. His background is in sports primarily, working with the Birmingham Barons and Memphis Redbirds Baseball clubs in various capacities, mostly in promotions and public relations. His latest job before returning to school was Assistant Director of Athletics for Samford University.
  • Melissa Markley was a Senior Market Research Analyst for the Martec Group in Chicago. Before that she was a financial consultant for Caterpillar. And even before that she was an addiction recovery counselor in Peoria. Her degrees are in psychology from George Washington University and an M.B.A. from Bradley University.
  • Lauren Skinner was a Customer Acquisition Manager for Saks Inc. in Birmingham. She was in several other positions there as well over the past four years, including Marketing Analyst and Customer Retention Manager. Her education includes a B.S. in marketing from Tulane and M.B.A. from Samford.

Entering 2002 Ph.D. Students

  • Mert Tokman received a M.B.A from the University of Arkansas. He acquired an abundance of industry experience upon graduation. He served as a Senior Analyst for Marketing Research at Entergy Solution Inc. in New Orleans, LA. Most recently, he spent time as a Senior Methodologist for the CSM Consulting Group at TNS Intersearch in Horsham, PA.
  • Jun Sang Lim came to us from South Korea where he received a M.B.A. at Keimyung University. He has extensive teaching experience in various marketing and management courses. Jun collaborated with other authors to publish two books, Consumer Behavior and Sales Management. Additionally, he received numerous scholarships for his academic performance as a student at Keimyung University.
  • Ayse Banu Elmadag received a master of engineering in management from Istanbul Technical University in 2001. She has over five years of industry experience. She provided marketing entry decision/strategy formulations for Schaffer Shop in 1997. As an employee of Genpa Telecommunications Services, she measured distribution channel satisfaction. Most recently she was employed as a research assistant to the management faculty at Istanbul Technical University.

Entering 2001 Ph.D. Students

  • Willy Hill received his B.S. in chemical engineering from The University of Alabama, 1987, then received his M.B.A. from Mississippi State in 1994. He worked as an engineer for a number of years before receiving his M.B.A. After receiving his M.B.A., he worked for J. M. Huber Corp. as a sales representative and then as a regional sales manager, working out of Macon, GA (handling $20 MM in sales).
  • Venessa Martin-Funches received her B.S.M. in Marketing from Tulane University in 1995, then received her M.B.A. (emphasis: marketing) from the University of Alabama in Birmingham in 2000. After graduating from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, she has worked as a sales assistant at SouthTrust Securities and as a retirement specialist at Nationwide Retirement Solutions.
  • George Deitz received his B.S. in marketing and B.A. in English in 1988 and an M.S. in sports management in 1991, all from West Virginia University. Since his graduation, he has been in sales for the most part. This includes seven years with Potomac Group/MediFax, Nashville, Tenn., as the District Sales Manager for this healthcare e-commerce industry leader. Most recently he was major account manager for Illinois for Marimba Inc., Mountain View, Calif., selling software to global corporations.
  • John Hansen received his B.S. in marketing and M.B.A. from Troy State University, 1990 and 1995, respectively. After receiving his M.B.A., he worked for Black and Decker. He started as a sales representative and account manager in Birmingham. Then he became a regional sales manager for them out of Dallas handling Lowe’s accounts and most recently, he was their marketing channel manager for the power tool side of the Sears account, working out of Baltimore, Md.
  • Jingyun (Kay) Zhang received her B.A. in Japanese language and literature in 1996 and her M.A. in sociology in 1999 from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Her M.A. thesis was written in Japanese. She studied in Japan for 6 months. She also received her M.A. in marketing here at UA in 2001. From 1996 to 1999 she was translator and assistant editor for a Beijing Television Station.

Former Students