2023-24
|
DIVIDENDS
Making It Work at Work By Kathy Kenne s working at the same place as your spouse a good idea? Couples who do it say it depends on multiple factors – personality, flexibility, whether you work directly together and the environment, to name a few. Myles and Elissa Landers seem to be making it work for them in the College of Business. Myles is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and Elissa is an Admissions and Advising Specialist in the graduate program. The young couple is energetic and invested in making students’ academic lives more meaningful.
The couple met in middle school in Sylacauga, AL. By their high school years they were dating, and they’ve been together ever since. There were a few years they were at different schools – he at Jefferson State then Berry College playing baseball and she finishing up high school then attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham. But their relationship remained strong. Myles graduated with a degree in marketing, while Elissa majored in English. After their marriage, Myles pursued his PhD at the University of Alabama while Elissa taught middle school and high school English. Upon completion of his degree, they moved to New York for him to take a position as Assistant Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology. They remained there for nearly seven years. In 2020, with four-year-old son Axl now a part of their lives, they began looking southward seeking to be closer to their families. Good friend and MSU College of Business professor Frank Adams told them about a marketing faculty position opening at Mississippi State. That piqued their interest, and they found themselves eager to become a part of the Bulldog Nation. Over lunch with Frank and his wife Angelia Knight, the Director of MBA Programs, Elissa learned of an available job in that office, advising online students. She was excited about the opportunity to aid those seeking advanced degrees, most of whom are in full time careers, in achieving their educational goals. “I’ve enjoyed being able to work within my office to create a ‘culture’ for online students, even though they aren’t here on campus,” she shares. “I make an effort to talk to them on the phone more instead of just communicating with them by e-mail.”
The Landers family (from left) – Elissa, Avett, Axl and Myles Photo by Emily Daniels
M I S S I S S I P P I STAT E U N I V E R S I T Y
In her role in the COB’s graduate education program, Elissa’s interest is helping MBA online students develop education plans that best meet their needs while making them feel a part of the MSU family.
|
At the undergraduate level Myles teaches Consumer Behavior and Retailing. He teaches Quantitative Method Research in Business to doctoral students. His primary research focuses on two particular areas. One is on services/retail strategy. He looks at strategic decisions that services and retail firms deploy, then draws on psychology and behavior economic theories to explore how these strategies are influencing customers including topics such as disidentification, intimidation, pricing decisions and embarrassment. His second area of interest is in how firms’ decisions can positively impact multiple stakeholders in the areas of life satisfaction, firm environmental orientation and sustainability at the firm and customer levels.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
I
35
