By Josh McKinney
Most people want a good career. They want to live comfortably on a nice paycheck, and they wouldn’t mind a bit of prestige to make the package even sweeter.
Dr. Steve Marshall wants more. He wants to teach.
"He worked for Nielsen," said D.J. Jessee, longtime advertising lecturer and Marshall's colleague at ETSU. "He brings the media expertise and the research expertise that I don't have."
The Nielsen Co. gathers information for companies and organizations in more than 100 countries. "Having someone who can bring new expertise makes it that much more worthwhile to the students," Jesse said.
Marshall, a native of Clearwater, Fla., obtained his doctorate from the University of Florida in 2006. He never planned on teaching, he said. However, when he got the opportunity to teach at Florida he discovered how much he enjoyed doing it. "It wasn't what I wanted to do," said Marshall, who is in his second year at ETSU. "[But] I believe in helping those who want to help themselves. I enjoy seeing students learn. I also appreciate the fact that I'm part of a building block in their life."
That belief is producing results in Marshall's students. "As my thesis committee chair, Dr. Marshall gives me a lot of valuable suggestions and guidelines," said Fang Meng, graduate student under Marshall for about one year. "What he does is show us what's going on there and why and how, and then let's us do the decision and the thinking by ourselves.
"What's more important, he helps me get into a good habit of conducting research, which will benefit me in future work and study."
Despite being a teacher -- or maybe because he is -- Marshall continues to defy stereotypes and do. "I wanted to move to a place where I could teach and where I could also contribute to the community," Marshall said. "Ms. Jessee helped me establish my roots in the community."
Marshall serves on the College of Arts and Sciences advisory council. He's a board member for the Johnson City Sports Foundation, the Johnson City Cardinals baseball team and the Children's Advocacy Center in Johnson City.
He uses his expertise as a professional to the benefit of all the organizations he works with. "We've got someone whose research is valued, who is really excited about serving the community," Jessee said. "I think we've just hit a home run with Steve."
In April, Cambria Press solicited Marshall on his dissertation. The company will publish it and make it available to researchers throughout the world, Marshall said. "I was honored and freaked," Marshall said.
In collaboration with a former instructor at Florida, Dr. Marilyn Roberts, Marshall prepared a draft and submitted it to the publisher earlier in November. He did this in the span of six months, amid the organized chaos of teaching and community service. "It's amazing that he's been able to do that and never lost a beat as far as the teaching side of it," Jessee said. "He has maintained an incredible level of work and engagement."
Given that Marshall has achieved such a degree of success, one might think that ETSU could be in danger of losing him to another university or an advertising firm. That, however, is not even a possibility. "I'm not going anywhere," Marshall said. "We've got a proposal in to update the curriculum [here], and I'll just continue to work with the students and keep producing research."
Marshall also loves the region surrounding ETSU. He’s an avid runner and biker, and the rolling hills and rugged forests are great place to get out with his dogs Ozwaldo and Miss Bighead.
Marshall continues to be more involved with the students at ETSU. He works with Jessee in the Ad Club, and he team-teaches the National Student Advertising Competition class with her, as well. "It's a lot of work for both of us," he said. "It's mixing teaching and application. We've got to keep people focused and keep teaching while the creative process is going on."
Marshall is determined make a difference in his job, his students and his community. His students and colleagues are impressed by what he's been able to accomplish in only one and a half years.
"It's an amazing validation that we have found someone very special for this division," Jesse said. "We are very lucky."