College hires new marketing professor

Neil Watson has worked for Ave Maria College, Adidas, Tillamook Creamery, and TaylorMade Golf in senior marketing management positions. He will join Hillsdale College as an instructor of marketing in the fall. Courtesy | Ave Maria College

The Economics, Business, and Accounting Department hired Neil Watson as an instructor of marketing. 

Chairman of Economics and Associate Professor of Finance Robert Atra said Watson will supplement Professor of Marketing Susan King.

Watson will teach a Sports Marketing class in the fall and plans to teach both Digital Marketing and a class for nonprofit marketing, Atra said.

“It’s traditional business corporate marketing, like working for a publicly traded corporation. These are typical of the way we think of college classes,” Atra said. “I think there’s probably a lot of interactions between business and other areas of the college and this would be one of the ways we could do it.”

The marketing department has not previously offered sports or nonprofit marketing classes, but is looking to expand into more non-traditional businesses.

Courses like the nonprofit class are meant to reach more than just marketing majors.

“We believe the sports marketing class will interest sports management majors, and charter school educators will benefit from a nonprofit marketing class,” King said. “These new classes are designed for both business and non-business majors.”

According to King, Watson will bring prolific business experience to the EBA department. He has worked for Ave Maria College, Adidas, Tillamook Creamery, and TaylorMade Golf in senior marketing management positions. In addition, he has international and small business experience.

Junior Summerlin Williams said she met Watson when he came to campus for an in-person interview in January. 

“He’s a very nice guy from everything that I spoke with him about,” Williams said. “He is insightful and listens well. He definitely seems willing to adjust as he learns how students work, the college works, and how we work in class.”

Williams said she is excited for the new professor because his addition will add more flexibility and variability to the marketing major as well as a different perspective from the existing faculty.

“There’s a different connection you can have with a professor at a different age and understanding,” Williams said. “I think having a younger professor in a different area of business will be able to convey information in a different way.”

With a younger professor who aims to teach both marketing and non-marketing majors, Williams said she hopes he will bring more intrigue to the marketing major itself.

“Marketing has so many different pieces to it,” Williams said. “I think you can find anything you want. The new faculty and expansion of courses will enable the marketing department to become bigger.”