Poets&Quants | Gies Faculty Profile - Tiffany Barnett White

Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Gies College of Business Tiffany Barnett White knew she wanted to be a professor while studying at Duke.

One of her professors guided her towards the realization that she could have a career where she could both explore consumer behavior through research simultaneously while teaching students to become business professionals.

“From the joy of getting to know and interact with bright students year after year to the energy and vibrancy of walking through our beautiful campus, everything about being a professor appeals to me,” she says.

She has been teaching since 1999, and her interests lie in studies of consumers and their relationships with brands. Currently, she’s exploring the interaction between consumer behavior and consumers’ mental health and well-being. Outside of the classroom, she’s a huge fitness enthusiast and she loves to travel.

What makes her a unique teacher is that she taps into the joy of learning. “I think what makes me stand out is that I used humor and visual elements to engage my students and to heighten their enjoyment of the classroom experience,” she notes.

Barnett enjoys teaching her students for many reasons. “Their intelligence and their passion for making a real change in the world. They go on to do amazing things. I’m so impressed by their poise and polish. They always make me proud.”

Name: Tiffany Barnett White

Title: Associate Professor of Business Administration, Bruce and Anne Strohm Faculty Fellow

At current institution since what year? 1999

Education: 1) University of Illinois, B.S. in Advertising; 2) University of Illinois, M.S. in Advertising; 3) Duke University, PhD in Marketing

Professional bio, highlighted awards/achievements:

Tiffany Barnett White is Associate Professor of Business Administration and Advertising and Bruce and Anne Strohm Faculty Fellow in the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. She serves as Academic Director of the Master of Science in Management program at Gies and Faculty Athletics Representative for the University of Illinois. She received a Ph.D. in marketing from Duke University and BS and MS degrees in Advertising from the University of Illinois. Her research addresses affective and behavioral aspects of consumer-brand relationships with a particular emphasis on the drivers and outcomes of consumer (dis)trust. Professor White has presented on the topic of branding and brand strategy to national and international audiences. Her research on the “Brand Connected Consumer” is a featured TEDx presentation. She is an award-winning teacher and is consistently featured on the University-wide list of faculty rated as excellent by their students. Professor White is President of the Society for Consumer Psychology, a member of the Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association (AMA), and Past-Chair of the AMA Consumer Behavior Special Interest Group. She is a member of the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science and the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.

Professional Memberships and Leadership (*denotes elected position)

Society for Consumer Psychology (SCP)

President (2023-2024)*
President-Elect (2022-2023)*
Chair, Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee, Society for Consumer Psychology (2015-2021) • Secretary/Treasurer (2010-2013)*

American Marketing Association (AMA)

Member of the AMA Board of Directors (2020-Present)*
Chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the AMA (2021- Present) Association for Consumer Research (ACR)
Chair, Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2021-2022)
At-Large ACR Director (2016-2019)*

Transformative Consumer Research

Executive Leadership and Social Impact Council (August 2019 – August 2021) Designing Your Career in the Marketing Academy (DCMA)
Advisory Board Member (2022- present)

Awards and Honors

Featured Speaker, Unreasonable Conference for Marketing Practitioners (September 2023) Sung & Unsung Hero Award, University of Illinois Black Alumni Network (2022) Williams-Qualls-Spratlen (WQS) Award: Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence, American Marketing Association (2019)
Medallion of Honor Award, University of Illinois Moms Association (2019)
Keynote Speaker: Carle Women’s Leadership Conference (2019)
Keynote Speaker: YMCA of the USA Annual Conference, Kansas City, MO (2018) Keynote Speaker: Illinois Women’s Leadership Conference (2015)
Keynote Speaker: Women in Business Roundtable (2012)

List of courses you currently teach:

Marketing Communications (BADM 323)
Winter Break Faculty-Led Global Immersion Experience (annual trip with mostly URM and first-gen students; recent trips include Greece, Spain, and Morocco).

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when…

I knew I wanted to be a business professor when I was fortunate enough to have a professor, Sharon Shavitt, explain what it meant to pursue a PhD in Marketing. The idea that I could not only explore topics like consumer behavior through scholarly research while also teaching students to use the concepts to be better business professionals was something that would never have occurred to me. I LOVED everything about this possibility and knew I wanted to live the life of a professor. From the joy of getting to know and interact with bright students year after year to the energy and vibrance of walking through our beautiful campus – everything about it appeals to me.

What are your major research interests?

I study consumers and their relationships with brands. A key are of interest for me is on drivers and outcomes of consumer (dis)trust.

What are you currently studying?

More recently, I have begun to explore how the interaction between consumer behavior and consumers’ mental health and well-being. For example, in a new project, I examine how stress impacts consumers’ beliefs about brands and, more specifically, their (dis)trust of these brands.

What is the most significant discovery you’ve made from your research?

One of the most important insights from my research (which I discuss in a TEDx talk available here) is that brands can have more of an impact on us than we think. We studied consumers with strong connections to brands and showed that when these strongly connected brands fail, consumers respond with a corresponding decrease in the way they feel about themselves, which can lead to counterintuitive as well as counterproductive behaviors.

If I weren’t a business school professor… I’d be a world traveler and blogger.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor?

I work really hard to live out my philosophy that excellence in education needn’t overshadow joy in learning. I think what makes me stand out is that I used humor and visual elements to engage my students and to heighten their enjoyment of the classroom experience.

One word that describes my first time teaching: Exhilarating.

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor:

You’re going to be teaching students who will go on to do things much bigger and better than anyone thought possible.
Your presence matters and so do your words.
Former students will come back and quote things you said to them that encouraged and inspired them, and that shaped their thinking in ways that will last decades.
The world and the way in which business is done will change rapidly and often. To adapt, so will you.

Professor I most admire and why:

I’m fortunate enough to have been on the faculty with two of my former professors, Sharon Shavitt and Cele Otnes, who inspired me to pursue a career as a marketing professor. Nowadays, however, the professor I admire most is Mark Wolters. He’s the entire package – relevant, rigorous, caring. His students love him, and he inspires them to want to come to class and learn about marketing. He’s amongst the coolest and the kindest of professors. Best of all, he makes it look easy!

TEACHING GIES STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students?

Their intelligence and their passion for making a real change in the world. They go on to do amazing things. I’m so impressed by their poise and polish. They always make me proud.

What is most challenging?

Their intelligence and passion for real change in the world is a double edged sword. They keep me on my toes constantly and set such a high bar for excellence. I have to work hard to ensure that they’re just as proud of me as I am of them.

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Kind

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Detached

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Tough. Fair, but tough.

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies?

Travel and fitness are two of my favorite things.

Favorite book(s):

I’m reading a book now called “Lessons in Chemistry.” This genre, and stories about intelligent, game-changing women are favorites of mine.

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much?

I’m an unabashed HGTV home improvement show fanatic and I love shows such as “Married to Real Estate” and “Fixer to Fabulous.” What draws me in is watching talented people creating and transforming spaces and objects to help others. I also love architecture.

What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why?

Lately I’m into Afrobeat. But I listen to lofi music while I work and I also love neosoul and country music.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this…

More non-traditional spaces for students to feel a sense of place and to experiment with new ideas. More practitioners on campus interacting with students on a regular basis.

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at…

Emphasizing the value of the human element in any given context. Emotional intelligence. Compassion. The ability to articulate feelings and to be empathic. These are examples of factors that separate business leaders who are good from those who are great.

I’m grateful for…

My career. My students. My family. My life.