Dr. Karen Loveland
Assistant professor of marketing
University: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Dr. Karen Loveland earned her Ph.D. in business administration and marketing from New Mexico State University in 1996. She is currently an assistant professor of marketing at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), and she serves as the College of Business representative to the TAMU-CC Instructional Technology and Distance Education Committee.
Karen has taught a variety of marketing courses, including fully online courses in principles of marketing, digital and internet marketing, social media marketing, and personal selling and sales management. She’s an “old-timer” when it comes to online education, teaching her first online course in 1998. She received the first annual Outstanding Online Faculty Award at Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2002. She’s taught more than 60 online course sections at TAMU-CC since 2004.
Karen’s primary area of expertise is digital marketing, including search engine optimization, search advertising, video advertising, social media marketing, and digital analytics. She regularly shares this expertise with small business and civic groups in the region. Recent research projects include articles on corporate image advertising in the banking and oil and gas industries, digital engagement with Super Bowl advertising, and corporate risks associated with employer review sites.
We asked Karen a few questions. Her answers are below:
WHAT STUKENT COURSEWARE HAVE YOU USED?
I started using the “Digital Marketing Essentials” textbook and the Mimic Pro simulation for my digital marketing course in 2017. The course is offered as a 100 percent online course in a traditional 15-week semester and in an accelerated 7-week format. I am so happy with the results that I haven’t even considered switching to another book or package, and when I was assigned to teach a new course in social media marketing this semester, I selected the “Social Media Marketing” textbook and Mimic Social simulation. So far, I’m equally happy with that decision.
WHAT TEACHING TIPS WOULD YOU SHARE WITH OTHER PROFESSORS?
I do several unique things in my digital marketing class that I’ve refined over the years based on student and industry feedback.
- I assign an “all or nothing” grade for each round of the Mimic Pro simulation that rewards students for completing the round before the due date. I then assign a grade for overall performance at the end of the term that incorporates all the KPIs reported by the simulation.
- I constantly curate an extensive list of ADA-compliant YouTube videos related to most of the main topics covered in the “Digital Marketing Essentials” textbook. Most are short videos (10 minutes or less) that support or extend student learning of key digital marketing concepts. I use these videos as online “guest speakers” and as discussion topics.
- I require students to earn at least one digital marketing certification from Google or HubSpot. Numerous students go on to earn multiple certifications to enhance their resumes!
WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES AND TALENTS?
I’m a total “Trekkie.” I subscribe to Netflix mainly (really, only) because it streams re-runs of all the old “Star Trek” TV shows. I’ve watched every episode of the original “Star Trek” series at least 10 times, and I’ve seen every episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” at least 15 times. I also own all the “Star Trek” movies! A few years ago, I calculated that I had spent more than 8 months of my life (nearly 6,000 hours) watching “Star Trek!”
I’ve been taking advantage of the COVID-19 “stay-at-home” order to binge-watch all the shows again. I finished the original “Star Trek” last week and just finished Season 3 of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” this morning.
CONNECT WITH DR. KAREN LOVELAND
Thank you, Karen, and congratulations!
