Collat marketing professor Yufei Zhang, Ph.D. opens a new website , has been selected to receive the UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for her exceptional accomplishments in teaching. She will be honored at a UAB ceremony later this fall.
After receiving her doctorate in marketing from Michigan State University in 2018, Zhang joined UAB’s business school faculty to teach basic marketing, retail marketing, and digital marketing courses. She quickly earned a reputation as a hands-on professor.
“[Dr. Zhang] has gone the extra mile and exemplified the proper way to help our students,” Simon Sheng, Ph.D., wrote when nominating Zhang for the award. “She works with students in her office for substantial amounts of time. She works hard for the students to have the best possible opportunities in the future after UAB.”
Zhang’s digital marketing course is a favorite among undergraduates. Student teams develop, implement, and assess Google ad campaigns for local companies who serve as clients. Students earn valuable, real-world consulting experience while their clients enjoy improved digital marketing performance. Clients have been so impressed that several have hired their student “consultants” as interns or full-time employees after the semester ended.
-Collat marketing alumnus,
Austin Parsons
“I have never had such an engaged and supportive professor,” Collat marketing alumnus Austin Parsons wrote in support of Zhang’s nomination. Parsons served as president of UAB’s American Marketing Association student chapter with Zhang as faculty advisor. “She is, without a doubt, a world-class professor.”
Parsons wrote that Zhang’s class fed his passion for marketing while supplying the experience he needed to land an internship with RealtySouth and a full-time marketing position with Altec after graduation.
“I have nothing but great things to say about her,” he wrote.
Marketing alumnae Emily DeGreen also praised Zhang’s hands-on approach to teaching.
“She is an outstanding teacher who goes above and beyond to make sure that her curriculum is up-to-date and that her students have the resources they need to be prepared and confidently navigate the digital marketing landscape upon graduation.”
Zhang earned her bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of International Business and Economics in China and her master’s degree in marketing research from Michigan State University before earning her doctorate there.
In addition to her innovative teaching, Zhang is an accomplished researcher. She has published numerous articles in journals such as Marketing Science, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Retailing. She also received the Don and Shirley Taylor Research Excellence Award and the Stanley Hollander Teaching Excellence Award from Michigan State University.