History Professor Stanley Buder from Lexicon 1983
My favorite professor by far was Stanley Buder, then chair of the history department. He opened my eyes to understand that history is not about dry facts—but is a methodology of thinking.
In fact, the study of history may be the best training for a marketer. History teaches us to look back to understand trends so we might grasp what happens next. Marketing is all about that: looking backward to project how people might respond to a brand message you will present. It’s interesting how many business leaders have started out as history majors (e.g., Carly Fiorini, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard).
Over the last four years, I have been writing for industry magazines (e.g., Ad Age) about the changes in the marketing industry from a “historian’s” perspective. My training at Baruch served me well in this respect, because it was on the merit of my accurate understanding of the industry’s changes that I created my company, engageSimply.
About the Alumna
Founder and CEO of engageSimply, a marketing tech venture focused on curated commerce, Judy Shapiro (’78) recently returned to Baruch to give back in the classroom. She is partnering with assistant marketing professor Karthik Sridhar to create a hands-on, shared learning project for students in the course MKT 4555 Internet Marketing. Her life partner is husband and fellow alumnus Richard Shapiro (’79).