George Washington University Professor Wins American Marketing Association Award

Vanessa Perry, the associate dean for faculty and research and professor of marketing at the George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C., received the 2020 Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence from the American Marketing Association Foundation. The AMA annually presents this award to a marketing professor who makes significant contributions as a mentor to students and professionals of color in the marketing field.

The award is named for marketing scholars Jerome Williams, William Qualls, and Thaddeus Spratlen, all of whom Dr. Perry said offered her critical advice while she was a Ph.D. student. “Their advice was especially valuable because as ‘firsts’ in the field, they knew that I would face unique challenges that the faculty in my doctoral program might not be aware of — much less be able to prepare me for,” Dr. Perry said. “I finished my Ph.D. 21 years ago, and there has not been a single year when I have not sought their advice on navigating the field and academia in general.”

Dr. Perry was appointed to the faculty at George Washington University in 2001. Her research focuses on consumers in financial and housing markets, public policy, and consumer welfare. She has been actively involved with The PhD Project, a national nonprofit organization that works to increase the diversity of business school faculty through mentorship of future faculty.

Professor Perry is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., where she majored in philosophy. She holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.