Online Degrees

Caroline Wilcox-Ugurlu, Ph.D.
Associate Faculty

Contact info:
Email: cwilcox-ugurlu@instructor.post.edu

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Biography

Academic Background:

• Ph.D.  Marketing, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
• M.A. Communication, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT 
• B.A. English (Business Studies Concentration), Providence College, Providence, RI

Ph.D. Title: Social Media, Experience, Identity Dynamics and Experiential Consumption

Teaching Background:

Dr. Caroline Wilcox-Ugurlu has been teaching at the university level for eight years, most recently as a Research and Teaching Assistant with the College of Business Administration at University of Rhode Island.  Previously, she served as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Management at Providence College, and a Teaching and Research Assistant with University of Hartford’s Communications Theory program.

Teaching Philosophy:

Dr. Wilcox-Ugurlu believes that teaching is a partnership between student and teacher and that both parties have distinct responsibilities.  She maintains that it is an honor and a privilege to participate in a teacher-student relationship.  Further, she believes that to be an effective teacher, one must practice life-long, continuous learning. 

As a teacher, Dr. Wilcox-Ugurlu is aware of different learning styles, and incorporates multiple methods in her teaching to reach students, communicate effectively with them, and show respect for their individual learning styles and intelligence.  "Students will not really learn what you tell them but rather what they realize themselves" (-Linda Nilson/2003).  This guides my interactions with students.

Fair assessment is the responsibility of the teacher and an important part of the teacher-student partnership.  For certain types of projects, I believe that alternate methods of assessment may be the most effective.       

In the words of Frank McCourt in Teacher Man (2005); "Find what you love and do it... You’re on your own in the classroom, one man or woman… They may like you, they may even love you, but they are young and it is the business of the young to push the old off the planet" (Frank McCourt/2005).  I think these words provide an interesting perspective on the teacher/student relationship and its role in the greater scheme of things. It illustrates that a sense of humor is important too - both to maintain enthusiasm for the profession and to reach the students and communicate effectively with them.

Professional Background:

Dr. Caroline Wilcox-Ugurlu has nineteen years of experience in marketing: Her resume includes, copywriting, developing new product lines, brand management, public relations, developing and implementing strategic plans, training, and partnership marketing.  She is one of five Americans selected to serve on the International Advisory Board for the French Government Tourist Office. 

Much of her work has been in the travel industry.  She has traveled to six continents and plans to someday visit the seventh – Antarctica.  Wilcox is currently a consultant working with a wide variety of clients including tourism boards, tour operators, and non-profits.

Professional and Community Activities:

• Northwest Connecticut Youth Service Bureau Volunteer
• Founder 2005-present Tourism Caring for America – Member, Volunteer. 2001-present
• Member Business Strengthening America Alliance. 2001-2005
• Participant in the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. 2000-2005
• Consultant CVS Highlander School and Bradford Dunn Institute. 2004

Awards

• Elected to the International Advisory Board for France Tourism. One of five Americans elected.
  2002-present
• Research Ethics Fellow, University of Rhode Island. 2006-2007
• Chair of the Marketing and PR Committee, City Year Rhode Island. 2002-2006
• New England Direct Marketing Association Overall Best Integrated Marketing Campaign. 1997

Personal Background:

Dr. Wilcox-Ugurlu has extensive experience in all aspects of marketing and business development including strategic partnerships, public relations, qualitative and quantitative research, campaign development and management, creative concepting, direct marketing, copy writing and branding. She has worked in and with people from six continents.  Working globally has given her a unique perspective that enlivens her scholarship and teaching.

Her hobbies include running, swimming, creative writing and photography. In 2008, Dr. Wilcox-Ugurlu completed 4 road races and a mini-triathlon.  In April 2009, she had a son which, in addition to my research, kept her quite busy.  In 2011, she completed her dissertation: "Social Media, Existence, Identity Dynamics and Experiential Consumption."

Research/Academic Interests:

Dr. Wilcox-Ugurlu’s research focus is Consumer Culture Theory. She has studied the adolescent obesity epidemic, experience marketing in an on-line environment, and social media’s transformative effects on existence, identities and experiences.

Publications:

• Woodside, Arch G., and Caroline Wilcox (2008), "Contingency Theory and Meta-Analysis of Behavioral Primacy and Imprinting Influences," International Journal of Psychology Research,
  3 (3), 1-13

Above article (modified) is a book chapter in a Nova Science Publishers book.

• Wilcox, Caroline and Arch G. Woodside, (2012), "Demotivating Consumers: Can More Choices in Email Advertising Decrease Consumer Response?," Journal of Advertising Research. (forthcoming)

Papers read at Professional Meetings and Invited Presentations:

"Choice Conditions that Motivate and Demotivate Response: Message Relevancy, Simplicity, and Engagement Effects on Behavior" 2010 Direct / Interactive Marketing Research Summit (DMEF), October 9-10, 2010.

"Existence and Experience in Electronic Networks"  2009 Workshop of the "Collaborative for Poststructural Studies of Markets and Business", organized by University of Texas Pan-American (UTPA), August 11-14, 2009.

"The Rebel Co-Creator: Exploring the iPhone Unlocking Phenomenon", with Julianne Joy Cabusas and Emilio J.M. Arruda-Filho, Workshop on Transformative Consumer Research (TCR), Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 31, 2008.

"The Insensitivity of the Cost of Belonging: A Comparative Study of Pricing Ceilings for High and Low SES Tweens",  Caroline Wilcox, Marketing, Development and Globalization, 8-DDay Ph.D. Seminar Program, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas, 2008.

 "First Person in Second Life: Identity Issues in Metaverses",  Dholakia N., J.J. Cabusas, A. Boveda-Lambie, and C. Wilcox, Invited Presentation, Marketing Area, Isenberg School of Management, University of Massachusetts, April 2008.

"Food for Thought: An Interpretive Look at the Favorite Meals of Tweens", Caroline Wilcox, Nik Dholakia and Hillary Leonard, 2007 Consumer Culture Theory Conference, York University, Toronto, May 2007.

"Ocean-wide Chasm or Shout-Across Pond?: A Look at Cross-Atlantic Meta-Processes of Interpretive Consumer Research", Nikhilesh Dholakia, Caroline Wilcox and Detlev Zwick, EIASM 4th Workshop on Interpretive Consumer Research, Marseille, France, April 26-27, 2007.

"The Browning of Beauty: Opportunities for Marketing Cosmetics to a Multiracial Market" 2004 Competition Forum Conference, Helen Caldwell, Deidre Bird and Caroline Wilcox "American Society for Competitiveness, Annual Journal, 2(1), (2004), 311-316.

Scholarly Service Contributions:

• Reviewer, Special Issue – Journal of Macromarketing, 2007
• Reviewer, Consumer Culture Theory Conference, 2009
• Reviewer, Special Issue – Qualitative Market Research, 2011
• Reviewer, Special Issue – Journal of Macromarketing, 2011
• Reviewer, Book on Social Media in Asia, IGI Global Publishers, 2011
• Reviewer, Markets, Globalization & Development Review, 2011