UC Faculty Awards 2020: Karen Machleit

“As I see more of my career behind me rather than ahead of me, it’s gratifying to know that others feel I have made a difference with my work here at UC. To say that my career is worthy of such a prestigious award is humbling,” says Karen Machleit, professor and department chair of marketing in the Lindner College of Business. Machleit began her career at UC 33 years ago dedicating much of her time to nurturing the talents of faculty and staff.  

Machleit is an internationally-known researcher in Retail Atmospherics. Her articles are widely cited (as of mid-November, she has 7,883 citations) and are known as the seminal articles in online retailing research. Machleit has created a highly-productive, world-class behavioral research lab dedicated to the study of consumer behavior. 

She says that although research and teaching have been important, she is most proud of her work as department head.

Machleit says about a decade ago, Marketing became the largest major on campus. An accomplishment she feels is a result of the positive experiences that Marketing faculty have provided to UC students.

Machleit has served as department head in Marketing for seventeen years. Marianne W. Lewis, dean of the Lindner College of Business, nominated Machleit. 

“It is rare to have a Department Head so well admired that at each reappointment period, her faculty encourages her to continue to serve in the role and unanimously vote their support,”  says Lewis.

Machleit models excellence in teaching. She has won two prestigious teaching awards from the Lindner College of Business. She is a member of the inaugural class of Lindner Teaching Fellows, and has served as Chair of the group for three years. She has had many listings on the Lindner Dean's List of Teaching Excellence. In 2014 she received a $10,000 Higher Education Grant from P&G to develop curriculum for a new Women in Sales course.

Throughout her years at UC, Machleit has taught many different courses at varying levels. “She has taught a popular PhD seminar in Measurement and Structural Equations modeling to LCB students for 30 years; and, a point of interest, I sat in on her class when I was a new assistant professor, so I have first-hand experience as one of her students and can attest to her outstanding teaching ability,” says Lewis. 

Machleit says the thing she loves most about being a faculty member at UC is that “I get to come into work and be surrounded by amazing people. The faculty, staff, and students here make my job a true joy!”

This article was written by Madeline Foley, graduate assistant in the Office of the Provost. 

Featured image at top: Lindner College of Business