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A professor at Texas Wesleyan since 1985, Dr. Hart is a fan of marketing. “Marketing is a wonderful area. You deal with people in sales, research or advertising, and you really have to know your customer and care about them. There are too many choices in today’s world. In marketing, you need diverse talent and to be continually learning. It’s not like you can just learn what you need to, and go off and do it. You have to research the industry and the customers of each new client. It keeps everyone on their toes.”

She keeps her students engaged in class with projects such as sales presentations and interviews. “I try to do a lot of activities in class so the students get involved. In the M.B.A. class, we do a marketing plan that will hopefully help some businesses. I don’t remember many multiple-choice questions on exams I took or have given, but I do remember the projects, even ones that didn’t go well. (It’s difficult to have a good field experience that is perfect.) As a class, we just have to learn from what works or doesn’t. I think projects are essential in helping students learn.”

Dr. Hart’s own research includes motivation of sales people and advertising and the legal profession, especially looking at the European Union’s attempts at restricting legal professionals. The latter was the subject of a recent presentation in Greece. “I love traveling and global marketing. I grew up in a little town and wasn’t exposed to different cultures and countries. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I can to research and visit other countries. Every place I’ve been, I enjoyed and learned so much.”

She shares her worldly experience in the classroom. “It has been fun to see our students gain an understanding of the global environment. Understanding other people’s culture is going to be essential in business and marketing. You cannot design a good ad if you don’t understand other people. You can make some bad faux pas if you don’t try to understand other cultures.”

The smaller class sizes at the university allow Dr. Hart to really get to know her students and vice versa. “I love getting to know students’ backgrounds and values. I’m open to their opinions because so many issues effect us in marketing, we’ve got to listen to each other.”