Michael Levy, PhD

Michael Levy, PhD, is the Charles Clarke Reynolds Professor of Marketing at Babson College and co-editor of Journal of Retailing. He received his PhD in business administration from Ohio State University and his undergraduate and MS degrees in business administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He taught at Southern Methodist University before joining the faculty as professor and chair of the marketing department at the University of Miami. He has taught retailing management for 25 years.

Professor Levy has developed a strong stream of research in retailing, business logistics, financial retailing strategy, pricing, and sales management that has been published in over 40 articles in leading marketing and logistics journals.

Professor Levy has worked in retailing and related disciplines throughout his professional life. Prior to his academic career, he worked for several retailers and a housewares distributor in Colorado.

Barton A. Weitz, PhD

Barton A. Weitz, PhD, received an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from MIT and an MBA and a PhD in business administration from Stanford University. He has been a member of the faculty at the UCLA Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He is presently the JCPenney Eminent Scholar Chair in Retail Management in the Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida.

Professor Weitz is the executive director of the David F. Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research at the University of Florida. Professor Weitz has won awards for teaching excellence and has made numerous presentations to industry and academic groups. He has published over 50 articles in leading academic journals on electronic retailing, salesperson effectiveness, sales force and human resource management, and channel relationships.

Professor Weitz is the chair of the American Marketing Association and a member of the board of directors of the National Retail Federation, the National Retail Foundation, and the American Marketing Association. In 1989 he was honoured as the AMA/Irwin Educator of the Year in recognition of his contributions to the marketing discipline.

Sheryn Beattie, MA.Ed

Sheryn Beattie, MA.Ed, has been a faculty member at Humber Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in Toronto, Ontario for 24 years. As a professor and program coordinator in the retail management program, she was actively involved in planning and implementing an integrated learning project that linked the retail industry to student outcomes. Professor Beattie took undergraduate courses at Ryerson and the University of Toronto and received her MA in Education from Central Michigan University. She is a winner of numerous teaching awards including the NISOD (National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development) Excellence Award from the University of Texas at Austen. Professor Beattie also received the Distinguished Faculty Award and was named Innovator of the Year by Humber. Teaching has always been her passion and in 1999 Professor Beattie received the heartfelt Student Appreciation Award for dedication to international students in the learning environment.

Professor Beattie participated in the Ontario Retail Sector Study, 1999, and as a member of the Education Subcommittee identified gaps in retail education in Ontario and made recommendations for retail curriculum in the province. She uses much of her extensive experience as a retail consultant and industry presenter to fuel classroom discussion and seeks to empower students to assume responsibility for their own learning. The hands-on experience she gained through The Main Street Renewal Project, a Heritage Canada venture, and the day-to-day realities of owning a retail business in Toronto adds vitality to her classroom. Professor Beattie believes that the success of any business course must involve the three major stakeholders: the students, sector leaders, and faculty members.

Professor Beattie teaches in the Business School at Humber College. Professor Beattie’s participation in international assignments, including in Ningbo (China) and Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Swaziland (Africa); extensive personal travel has also added an expanded dimension to her understanding of global issues in retailing.