Director of Curriculum and professor of marketing Ian Alam in the School of Business (pictured above) has made his mark on Geneseo. Alam believes students should follow their passions as they enter the professional world (courtesy of Ian Alam).
Marketing mastermind and professor Ian Alam, who is nationally recognized as one of the top ten best marketing professors, has been on the Geneseo faculty since 2001.
Prior to his teaching career, Alam completed his Master of Business degree at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia and received his Ph.D. from the University of Southern Queensland.
Alam worked in the marketing industry before he discovered his passion for teaching.
“It was very challenging and a very rewarding career,” Alam said. “I loved being a marketing person, but somehow I always liked to teach. While doing my masters, I was doing some tutoring and I said you know what, I will teach someday.”
Alam left the company he was working for and joined a Ph.D. program. After completing the program, he went on to do research and Geneseo hired him as an assistant professor. Alam was awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2006 and he was promoted to associate professor the next year.
This recognition drove Alam to apply for a promotion to become a full professor a year before he was originally supposed to.
“When I was applying, some of my colleagues said that since I was applying a year early, I wouldn’t get the position, but I believed in myself,” Alan said. “I knew I had the necessary credentials and I knew that with my background I would get the promotion one year early.”
Alam recalls an informal meeting that he had with former president Christopher Dahl.
“The best comment, which I can still remember from Chris Dahl, is when he said, ‘Ian, when I saw your application and that you had a national teaching award, it took me a nanosecond to approve your one-year early promotion,’” Alam recalled.
Alam urges students to be confident in themselves and not to be discouraged by what others say. When discussing his rise in the department, Alam mentions that his success is directly tied to his students.
“I attribute my success to Geneseo students. They are very demanding—they all want A’s and they want to learn and succeed in life. I would say they are highly motivated to achieve something and to rise to that level,” Alam said. “Because of this, I have to up my game…. I have to up my game to meet the expectations of the students and ask them what they want.”
During his time here, Alam pushed for a marketing minor in the School of Business and he spent ample time designing the criteria for the minor. The minor was officially added to Geneseo’s curriculum in 2015. Alam said that one day he hopes to make the marketing minor into a full major.
Alam can be found supporting his students beyond the classroom as well. He is an academic advisor and attends many Geneseo lacrosse, volleyball and tennis games. When he is not teaching, he enjoys traveling, nature and football season, as he is a big fan of the Buffalo Bills.
Alam has contributed to the Geneseo community in immeasurable ways and is one of the reasons why Geneseo’s business school has become more accredited and prestigious throughout the years. He advises students to follow their passions to attain success.
“I always wanted to be a marketing person and my parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I listened to my own gut feeling. I pursued my own passions. I wanted to be a marketing manager and that’s why I think I’m very successful in my field,” Alam said.
“I did what I wanted to do, not what someone else wanted me to do. Follow your own gut feeling, passions and interests. If you love something, just do it; you will see how beneficial it is.”