Siva K. Balasubramanian
“Despite my long academic career that spans over 25 years, students never cease to amaze me. They are a constant source of pleasant surprises. They are excellent in terms of street smartness. They have curious minds and wonderful imaginations. Each student is a unique individual - so is each class in each semester. They are different in different ways, but they all enrich me as a teacher.”
Notable Vignette
Academic research is a 24/7 enterprise. It powerfully augments my teaching (and vice versa). My best research work (e.g., my studies on hybrid marketing messages) arose from questions from my students. My research in this area has attracted attention from Federal agencies in addition to garnering peer recognition [see Ford & Merchant (2008), “A Ten-Year Retrospective of Advertising Research Productivity, 1997-2006,” Journal of Advertising, 37(3), 69-94]. I am delighted to dedicate these honors to an undergraduate student in my introductory advertising class at the University of Iowa over two decades ago, for stimulating my thinking on this topic with great questions. I am also forever indebted to numerous students for their insights and inquisitive nudges. In response, I try to encourage the natural curiosity in students to learn about research findings, particularly those that have not appeared yet in journals or text books.
What excites me about Stuart
Stuart has terrific students who are adept with technology. Their core strengths mirror IIT’s DNA i.e., quantitative and analytical abilities needed to solve challenging and complex problems. I am now working with graduate and undergraduate students at Stuart to implement a complex web-based tool that will enable individuals to track and improve their nutrition health. The goal of this project is to combat the obesity epidemic – widely acknowledged as the # 1 health problem in the US.
My Teaching Philosophy
It is a great privilege to be an educator. The wonderful aspect of this career is that it keeps you around young, lively and curious minds. It is an honor to participate in the learning process of young individuals. Neither teaching nor learning is a one-way street. My experience is that I learn constantly from my students; hopefully, they learn as much, if not more, from me.
My Teaching/Research Interests
Balasubramanian teaches the MBA course on “Insights into the Next Economy Consumer.” He researches new types of marketing messages such as product placements, customer relationship management, new product diffusion, and the impact of strategic business decisions on shareholders’ wealth.
