FELLOW OF THE YEAR, 2011-2012
Cheryl Nakata
Professor of Marketing & International Business in the Department of Managerial Studies
The Honors College is proud to announce that Cheryl Nakata is its 2011-2012 Fellow of the Year.
Cheryl Nakata is Professor of Marketing & International Business in the Department of Managerial Studies in the College of Business Administration. She teaches global marketing, international business, and social marketing to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. Her research focuses on the intersection of culture, innovation, technology, marketing, and social issues in the global setting. Among her recent research projects are studies on poverty alleviation through business innovation. She serves on four editorial boards, and has received both teaching and research awards. She earned her master’s of management degree from Northwestern University, and her doctorate degree from UIC. She serves as Vice President of Academic Affairs for the Product Development Management Association, the leading global organization devoted to advancing innovation theory and practice with members in forty countries.
Marketing major Otilia Flandro, who nominated Professor Nakata for this honor, describes her mentor as a “catalyst”: a great source of inspiration and a “person who makes things happen.” During her first semester as a transfer student at UIC, Otilia became involved as an undergraduate research assistant in Professor Nakata’s research on innovation in the wine industry, work that ultimately led to Otilia’s own Honors Capstone Project on the wine industry in Romania. Otilia writes: “Thanks to professor Nakata, I feel empowered to accomplish whatever I desire… She helped me to gain the confidence to overcome any internal or external glass ceiling. I wish that maybe one day I will be able to return the wonderful inspiration and encouragement that I have received from Professor Nakata. She is genuinely dedicated to seeing her students succeed. I can only hope that every UIC student meets someone like Professor Nakata.”