Council of Presidents Profile: American Marketing Association
1. What is the name of your organization?
American Marketing Association (AMA)
2. What is the "mission statement" or purpose of your organization?
To provide all University of Illinois students with the opportunity to develop themselves professionally, achieve personal growth, and foster relationships with a diverse group of business professionals and fellow students, while learning about marketing's essential role in a dynamic business environment.
3. Roughly how many members belong to your organization?
135 members as of Fall 2008
4. What is the demographic makeup of your organization?
a. Business to non-business students?
b. Business student majors?
c. Class?
5. When was your organization established at the University of Illinois?
1948. Side Note: The University of Illinois chapter was the first collegiate AMA chapter established in the nation.
6. Please describe some of the major events/initiatives of your organization.
Marketing Mentoring Program: Started 2008-09. The Marketing Mentoring Program is a comprehensive new program designed to increase students' exposure to Marketing at Illinois through increased interactions with peer mentors, faculty, College of Business staff, and business professionals. It was designed to help underclassmen decide if marketing is a good fit for them before needing to declare a major upon entering junior year. This is in part a response to students' current lack of any marketing coursework within the College prior to this decision juncture. Each freshman or sophomore in the program is paired with a junior or senior mentor and a variety of social events are held to encourage bonding among participants. Additionally, class shadows have been arranged with professors of 300- and 400-level marketing courses to increase faculty exposure and give participants an early glimpse of marketing coursework. Furthermore, custom presentations have been arranged with Business Career Services. Finally, AMA has procured several business professionals to serve as professional mentors for participants.
7. Please describe the type of student you are interested in attracting.
Any student with an interest in learning more about marketing, advertising, public relations, and related fields. Particularly underclassmen who are undecided but are considering declaring marketing as a major and want to learn more about the field early on. Additionally, we find that many younger students in AMA have an intention/desire to transfer into the College of Business.
8. When does your Executive Board turn over? (End of Fall or Spring Semester?)
End of Spring semester. All positions run for the academic year (Fall-Spring).
9. Who is the Faculty/Staff advisor for your organization?
Maria Tereza Alexandre (mtalexan@illinois.edu)
10. Who are the current Executive Board members and what are their positions?
President: Justin Wishne (jwishne2@illinois.edu)
- General Chapter management and oversight
- Develop overall strategy and goals for the chapter each year
- Communicate with International AMA office to prepare and submit two reports, a Chapter Plan in the Fall and an Annual Report in the Spring.
- Serve as a liaison between AMA and other College of Business stakeholders
VP of Programming & Corporate Relations: Jamie Barnett (jbarnet2@gmail.com)
- Schedule companies to speak at all general meetings
- Manage corporate sponsorship program
- Plan multiple professional events and workshops, including co-sponsored events with BCS
VP of Communications: Ashley Danhoff (danhoff2@illinois.edu)
- Manage the Listserv
- In charge of email communications/announcements about Chapter activities
VP of Membership: Katie Lau (klau2@illinois.edu)
- Develop member requirements system and keep track of all member attendance points
- Manage the Marketing Mentoring Program
VP of Finance: Shanna Kahn (shanna.noelle.khan@gmail.com)
- Keep a budget
- Manage funding requests and reimbursements
VP of Marketing: Allison Cruise (acruise2@illinois.edu)
- Develop recruiting strategies
- Serve as a liaison between AMA and external entities (faculty, Business staff, other AMA chapters, Champaign-Urbana community, etc.)
- Plan large-scale events as-needed
Additionally, there are 10 Committee Directors, in charge of running specialized committees.
11. Is your organization open to any business student or is it selective?
AMA is open to any University of Illinois student, in the College of Business or otherwise.
12. Please list a "success story" of your organization.
a. I.e. personal account of how the organization helped a student
b. Corporate recommendation of the organization
c. Administrative recommendation of the organization
d. Etc.
