Sheryl Spann is an Instructor in Marketing in the College of Business at Oregon State University. Before joining the faculty at Oregon State, she worked at other positions in higher education, academic publishing, non-profit fundraising, marketing consulting and brand marketing within the corporate world.
Prior to OSU, Ms. Spann was the Director of Marketing at San Jose University where she was responsible for directing all strategic marketing and communications for the College of Humanities & the Arts, teaching/mentoring a student intern team in graphic design, editorial, web and media for the SJSU H&A Marketing agency plus managing marketing/publicity efforts for the Hammer Theatre, a performing arts center in San Jose, CA. Sheryl previously held the Director of Marketing position at Louisiana State University’s School of Music & Theatre plus was the Marketing Director for Unity College, a small environmental college in Maine.
In addition to marketing experience within academia, Ms. Spann brings extensive strategic brand marketing, marketing research, new product development, sales, fundraising and new business expansion experience to her teaching role at Oregon State University. Her business career started with a small, family owned business, Peter Paul Cadbury (now division of M&M Mars) and continued over time at other companies including Beecham Products (former division of P&G), Maybelline (Revlon) and Veryfine Juices (Kraft Foods). As a consultant at Strategic Solutions, she handled marketing research, new product development and business expansion for clients such as Dunkin Donuts, Coffee by George and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare. Her career has included corporate and consulting work in the fields of new product/business development for specialty foods/beverages, beauty/hygiene, books and hospitality/travel companies. Her last positions within the corporate world included working within academic publishing for Fortress Press and Multnomah (Waterbrook Press).
Education
Ms. Spann earned her MBA in Marketing at the Boston College Carroll School of Management. Additional degrees include a BS in Business Administration at Louisiana State University. She also has a Certificate in Small Business Development from the University of Massachusetts.
Honors and Awards
- Partnered with sales to take a small, 100 year-old, family-owned juice company from $5 million (New England distribution only) to $250 million (world-wide distribution) in sales in five years using brand marketing, marketing research, new product development and business expansion.
- Launched successful new products for several companies (Peter Paul Cadbury, Beecham Products, Maybelline and Multnomah Publishers) utilizing marketing research and brand marketing.
- Was one of the first professionals to complete the new UMASS Entrepreneurial Small Business Incubator Program for developing small business in New England -- specialty foods and unique new business niche businesses.
- Partnered with a Boston Market Research firm, as a consultant, to design and field qualitative and quantitative research that would revitalize failing products and/or create successful new products at companies such as Dunkin Donuts and Coffee by George.
- Launched a new travel, hospitality program for one of the country's top educational travel firms in Boston, Explorica, targeting high schools and colleges with educational plus humanitarian-related travel programs.
- Achieved CASE awards for university videos and marketing brochures.
- Worked with a small team of theatre professionals to successfully market a closed performing arts center, San Jose’s Hammer Theatre resulting in over 250 culturally-diverse events annually, a visually creative web site plus informative, sales motivating marketing efforts.
Service
- Faculty Development Committee
- Campus Culture Committee
Personal Interests
- World Travel
- College Sports - football and baseball
- Working the finish line at Marathons -- Boston Marathon, New Hampshire Marathon and others
- Long walks with my beagle, Jasper
- Baking breads + chocolate
BA 223/BA 390 – Principals in Marketing
MRKT 499 – Marketing Strategy
BA 516 -- Creating Value in Exchange (MBA graduate)
HC 407 -- Experiential Marketing (Honors Course)