2016 Best 40 Under 40 Professors: Lauren Beitelspacher, Babson College

Lauren Beitelspacher

Assistant Professor, Marketing Division

Babson College

Lauren Beitelspacher loves marketing! She practices it. She researches it. She teaches it. She advocates for it. And this love is contagious at Babson College, where she is described by one student as “everything a professor should be.”

A Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, Beitelspacher focuses on retail, athletic goods, and supply chain management in her scholarship, which has been featured in journals ranging from the Journal of Applied Psychology to the Journal of Business Research. How prolific is she? She has published 15 articles in leading journals in the past five years alone! Oh…and she has literally written the book on retail management, co-authoring the 8th edition of the Levy-Weitz Retailing Management textbook.

Prior to joining the Babson faculty this school year, Beitelspacher taught at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and Portland State University. At the latter, she launched and led the school’s athletic and outdoor industry certification program. Poets&Quants also marks the second “40 Under 40” award that Beitelspacher has earned, with the first coming from the Birmingham Business Journal in 2011.

Age: 39

At current institution since: 2015

Education:

BSM- Tulane University, 1999

MBA- Samford University, 2002

PhD- University of Alabama, 2007

Courses you currently teach:  Principles of Marketing & Retailing Management

Professor you most admire:  This list is very long.  I have been so fortunate to work with some amazing people.  I have always admired Dr. Dhruv Grewal, Dr. Anne Roggeveen, and Dr. Michael Levy, all at Babson.  It is like a dream come true to get to work with them every day.  I also had two awesome dissertation chairs and mentors, Dr. Kristy Reynolds and Dr. Glenn Richey.

“I knew I wanted to be a b-school professor when…my first career was with Saks, Incorporated.  I was enrolled in my MBA program part-time while I was working.  I would take classes at night and then run into work the next day so excited to share everything that I had learned the night before. It hit me one day that I loved school and wanted to create that excitement for others.  I also come from a long line of educators, I think education is a part of my soul.”

“If I weren’t a b-school professor…I would want to work in brand management for a sports product company like Nike or Adidas.”

Most memorable moment in the classroom or in general as a professor:  I had just started teaching the introduction to marketing class and was very new in my career.  A student came up to me after class and said, “I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but after taking your class, I realize I love marketing and I want to major in it.”  I was so touched; it also made me realize what a big responsibility I have to my students and the impact that professors can actually have on students’ lives. I always hope my impact will be a positive one.

What professional achievement are you most proud of?  I am very excited about working at Babson, the top ranked college for the study of entrepreneurship.  Receiving the honor of 40 under 40 from Poets&Quants is pretty amazing too!

What do you enjoy most about being a business school professor?  I love the moments when a student falls in love with marketing or retailing. \I love when I get a thank you card or email from a student thanking me for all that they learned over the semester.  My most favorite thing is when I receive a note from a student several years after they have had my class telling me that they used their marketing knowledge at work and they still remember the class.

What do you enjoy least about being a business school professor?   When students don’t apply themselves during the semester and then come to me at the end of the term and ask for extra credit to boost their grade.

Fun fact about yourself:  I love to run and I love to cook.  I have run three marathons and a dozen half marathons. I mostly run because of all the cooking.

Favorite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude, Middlesex, The Kite Runner, all the Harry Potter Books, Me Before You, The Rosie Project

Favorite movie:  Shawshank Redemption, Rocky I-IV (let’s ignore Rocky V), The Godfather I and II, and Overboard

Favorite type of music:  I like all kinds, but my favorite is live!

Favorite television show: Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Homeland, and Gilmore Girls

Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere with my awesome husband and kids!

What are your hobbies?  Running, cooking, reading, trying to crafts with my kids (this is a work in progress)

Twitter handle:  I don’t tweet…I am too wordy

“If I had my way, the business school of the future would have…less technology inside the classroom and more real discussions.  I learn so much from students and am a better teacher when we have real conversations in class.  It’s hard to do that when someone is glued to their phone or laptop.”

Students say…

“Few professors can land with a splash in a Business College like Dr. B did.  Known universally for her engaging – but – challenging class, students flock to fill up desired seats in her classes.  She opens up her resources to students and regularly makes sure to engage with all of her students, including those who would rather not be there. Strangely enough, those students are the ones who praise her the most, the ones who the other professors dismiss. She embodies everything a professor should be, and Babson College is lucky to have her.”

Joel Mampilly, Student

“Babson is so incredibly lucky to have a professor like Dr. Beitelspacher. Having taken a class with Dr. B during her first semester at Babson, I can honestly say she is one of the most caring and knowledgeable people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. The love that Dr. B has for Marketing and teaching is so evident that I, a numbers person at heart, cannot help but enjoy and want to learn more about the subject. Dr. B knows her industry inside and out, but her relatable personality and passion for Marketing allow her to convey that knowledge to her students, making her a truly remarkable mentor to all. Dr. B will do anything and everything she can for her students; she goes above and beyond her descriptions and requirements as a professor. I can say with infinite sureness that Dr. B’s popularity as a professor is well deserved as her intelligence and her heart make Dr. B one of the greatest assets to Babson College.”

Kimberly McEachern, Student

DON’T MISS: THE COMPLETE LIST: POETS&QUANTS’ 2016 MOST OUTSTANDING B-SCHOOL PROFS UNDER 40