Professor Hongju Liu’s Advanced Marketing Research students worked with Karen LaMalva, director of annual giving at the UConn Foundation, to understand more about donors and their profiles. Using SQL programming and SAS software, the students analyzed the Foundation’s large database to learn more about the timing and nuances of giving practices. The Foundation is hoping to incorporate recommendations from this project into their future outreach strategy. Karen offered praise for the students’ efforts, “I enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with an undergraduate class on this project. They did a great job and seemed genuinely excited about their discoveries. I was very impressed with the professional nature of their final presentation.” Brittney Seyfried ’14, a student who worked on the project, said, “I was always interested in the research aspect of marketing. Professor Liu helped me understand SAS and SQL to effectively analyze large data sets. I am very thankful for how personalized the class was and for the skills I have gained, as they will greatly assist me in the full-time job I am starting.” This course and other analytics courses provide students with hands-on market research and analytical skills, as well as the opportunity to develop strategic thinking about how to use data to make sound marketing recommendations.

Pictured: Top row from left to right: Karen LaMalva, Director of Annual Giving at UConn Foundation; Daniel Buzzell, Graduate Assistant at UConn Department of Athletics; Christine Buckley, Communications Director, CLAS; Hongju Liu, Assistant Professor, Marketing; Nian Wang, Ph.D. Student, Marketing; bottom row: students Dayana Peykova, Mary Cooper, Marc Castonguay, and Brittney Seyfried.