Ian Alam, associate professor of marketing, was honored on March 25 with the Hormel Meritorious Teaching Award for excellence in marketing instruction.
"I am ecstatic, happy and highly surprised to win because I competed against the best of the best from all around the country in the field of marketing," he said.
Alam was one of 10 professors nationwide to receive the award, which is sponsored by Hormel Foods Corporation and organized by the Marketing Management Association. Michael Schinski, dean of the School of Business, nominated him.
"[Alam] has been recognized as one of the top marketing educators in the United States," Schinski said, in an e-mail. "This is an outstanding achievement given the fact that this year's competition was tough and, as acknowledged by the award sponsors themselves, had attracted many outstanding applicants."
In his application for the award, Alam provided a statement of his teaching philosophy, examples of past SOFI evaluations and a narrative of how he teaches marketing courses and what a typical class might entail. A panel of six judges, some of whom were former recipients of the award, reviewed the applications.
"I would like to thank my students because they gave me very good SOFIs," Alam said. "I owe a lot to the students in the school of business." Alam received a mean score of 4.54 out of a high 5.0 in the fall semester for the question: "Would you recommend this professor to others?"
"I also would like to thank my colleagues who have helped me to be a good teacher," Alam continued. "This is an example of good public relations for Geneseo as a whole and for the school of business." He noted that honors bestowed upon School of Business faculty help bolster the program's reputation and attracts potential majors to Geneseo.