Associate Professor Larry Weisberg, head of the IMC program, said he convened the board to "help ensure we're teaching the right stuff." He plans to have the board meet once a year. Board members are charged with making sure the curriculum is relevant to present industry needs and future industry challenges. Board members have also agreed to serve as mentors to students in the 16-month program.
Recommendations from the group's first meeting last spring have already been put in place. The board recommended that the master's program curriculum include teamwork training. Practical methods for working in groups were instituted "from day one this semester," said Weisberg.
To follow through on the concept, advisory board member Kay Allison, a senior partner of J. Walter Thompson in Chicago, came to Boulder in September along with a professional trainer to conduct a weekend seminar on teamwork for IMC students and faculty.
The IMC program was created in 1992 by Professors Tom Duncan and Sandra Moriarty.
It is designed to teach students how to identify, develop and manage integrated marketing strategies. It combines classes in marketing, public relations and advertising and emphasizes the concept of brand loyalty. Graduates of the program are working in major cities such as Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Boston, Minneapolis and Denver.
Board members, in addition to Allison, are:
