Cultivating Courageous Talent: An Interview with Deb Morrison on Teaching Advertising and Brand Responsibility

Award-winning mentor and teacher Deb Morrison talks about her place as an outlier in the world of academia, first at the University of Texas at Austin and then at the University of Oregon. Rather than focusing on the insular world of researching advertising for the academy's sake, Morrison explains how she works to build bridges between academia and industry in a variety of ways through her teaching: theoretically grounded case studies, visits to the field, and connecting her students with innovative industry leaders. In her teaching and mentoring, she aims to cultivate talented individuals who find their niche but always keep critical thinking, authenticity, responsibility, and courage in mind. Rather than training students to make advertising effective only for the bottom line, Morrison encourages her students to think about how advertising can have value and positive impact in the world.