Marketing professor Dr. Shane Hunt named national recipient of Inspire Integrity award

Feb. 25, 2010 -- Dr. Shane Hunt, marketing, has been named the national recipient of the Inspire Integrity Award, an award given by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). The award is part of the only national student-nominated faculty awards program. This award is given to one full-time university faculty member a year who has, through his or her lessons and actions, made a significant impact on the lives of his or her students and instilled in those students a high degree of personal and academic integrity.

When asked why this award meant so much to him, Dr. Shane Hunt said, “Integrity is as critical as any single issue to our success in business, in education, and as a country in the next 20 years. It means a lot to me because the person who taught me this simple lesson was my mom, the person most responsible for my winning of this award. This award means a lot because I was nominated by my students and I know that at least some of them appreciate how much I care for them and their futures. I was a first-generation college student like many of them, and I know firsthand how much the best professors I had affected my life in a very positive and profound way. The final reason that this award means so much is because of what it says about Arkansas State University.”

Dr. Hunt came to ASU in August 2007 after completing his Ph.D. in marketing in May 2007 at Oklahoma State University.  He has four years of professional experience in the telecom industry as a product, price and business development manager.

Dr. Len Frey, dean of the College of Business, said that Dr. Hunt is an inspiration to all who come in contact with him and that he is without question the most dedicated, inspirational, and motivational faculty members he has met in more than a 20-year career in academia. Dr. Frey also noted that Dr. Hunt reinforces the importance of leading a life of integrity in both business practices and in personal and private life. Dr. Frey believes that Hunt both speaks about integrity and demonstrates the highest level of integrity in his own life in his interactions with students, family, and community.

“The good work that Shane does must be measured in a much larger context than grades in a class,” Dr. Frey said. “He is shaping the lives of many young people and helping them to envision a life better than the one from which they have come. Shane’s work is essential to making our region a better place, and it is indisputable that we are a better university, community, and people because of the presence of Shane Hunt.”

Dr. Gail Hudson, chair of the department of management and marketing, said Dr. Hunt leads by example, and he brings an interest and an excitement to his job that gets his students’ attention, not only with his extensive industry experience, but with his sincere concern for their future success.

“Dr. Hunt would suggest that we cannot succeed as a people if we just work half-way, give half-way, care half-way,” Dr. Hudson said. “We must be a people, especially our current college generation, who works hard, genuinely cares about others, and acts in a way that makes our country and society better than they found it. Our university and our college need more professors like Dr. Hunt. He approaches every component of his position here in the same professional manner, with integrity.”

As the recipient of the Inspire Integrity award, Dr. Hunt will receive a $3,000 personal stipend and a $2,000 contribution to the ASU general scholarship fund. The National Society of Collegiate Scholars has given a faculty member of the year award since 2005. In 2007, the society refocused the awards on integrity and inaugurated the Inspire Integrity award.

--Molly Carpenter, senior public relations student intern in the Office of Public Relations, researched and wrote this release.
 

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