My Role on a College Advisory Board

I'm excited to share an update on my involvement with the advisory board for the marketing program of Northeast Lakeview College .

I am continually impressed by this institution that clearly values what industry leaders, aka the future employers of their graduates, think and need.

As an industry leader, it's rewarding to guide and help shape the curriculum that will prepare the next generation of marketing professionals.

During our recent virtual advisory board meeting, we had a lively discussion analyzing a survey of marketing skills.

This survey was taken by every advisor before the deliberation.

The graph below summarizes the findings.

The board mutually agreed that buyer personas, target markets, and writing/editing copy are critical areas for students to master.

During our discussion, several of my peers seemed to worry about the role of AI in the future of marketing.

While I understand the ethical concerns around AI, I spoke up about the tremendous potential of AI tools for tasks like copywriting and graphic design.

As an early adopter of AI, I believe it's crucial for students to have basic knowledge of how to train and query AI systems.

With the rapid advancement of chatbots like ChatGPT, I advocated for adding AI skills into the curriculum.

My colleagues raised valid points about keeping human oversight on AI-generated content, especially in highly regulated fields (government, high-security clients).

However, having future marketers aware of AI capabilities and limitations will be a vital skill set.

We all concluded that marketing students who grasp the basics of AI productivity will have a competitive edge.

We provided feedback on weaving in emerging topics like AI without overloading students.

I'm proud to be part of the ongoing conversations that will evolve the curriculum to match the ever-changing needs of our field, and I want to thank Zach Fazio for including me in the conversation.

Today's students have a solid foundation in areas like email marketing, Google Analytics, and Adobe Photoshop.

Our discussion also highlighted soft skills like interviewing and work-life balance as crucial components often overlooked in marketing education.

I'm confident the well-rounded graduates of this program will thrive in marketing roles across various company sizes and industries.

Let me know if you have any other questions about my involvement with the college advisory board.

PS. If you don't have the opportunity to get a formal education in marketing, you can always participate in this LinkedIn Growth Challenge I help facilitate. Zach Fazio , you may want to try and evaluate this for me and Shanee Moret