By Allen Wallace,awallace@sc.edu
Posted on June 15, 2020
The University of South Carolina Department of Retailing is proud to announce the appointment of Jeffrey Campbell as the new chair of the department.
Campbell joined the South Carolina faculty in 2011 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2017. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the department which is on track to see a 60% increase in enrollment for fall 2020, despite COVID-19.
"I am excited to work with a wonderful group of students and faculty in my new role," says Campbell. "I look forward to growing our industry partnerships and providing students with job-ready skills as part of our newly developed curriculum.”
Campbell serves on the Higher Education Advisory Board for the Category Management Association and earned his Ph.D. in retail, hospitality, and tourism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He completed his M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Arlington and his B.S. from Valparaiso University in business administration with a concentration in human resources management.
Campbell came to academia after 13 years in the retail industry in both department store and specialty store formats. His industry expertise includes buying, merchandise planning, store planning, inventory management, warehousing and loss prevention, as well as store management.
The Department of Retailing is making many innovations. I'm so pleased Dr. Campbell will lead the team with his characteristic sincerity, engaging collegiality, and proven record of productivity and work ethic. I have no doubt he will be a timely, successful leader for the department and the college's administrative team. I look forward to working with him.
— Haemoon Oh, dean of the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.
South Carolina's Department of Retailing is part of the university’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management. It offers a Bachelor of Science in Retailing degree with areas of emphasis in retail management and in fashion merchandising and digital innovations. With the technology transformation of the retail landscape, the department emphasizes a dynamic business curriculum and hands-on training with the latest software solutions for online sales, merchandising, logistics, customer relationship management, social media marketing and more. The department continues to co-create new curriculum with industry and technology partners to ensure students are at the forefront of retail innovation.
Department of Retailing alumni are leading a range of retail industry segments including merchandising, e-commerce, category management, buying, logistics, store management and omni-channel retail and work for some of the industries top employers, such as Amazon, Under Armour, PepsiCo, Belk, Macy’s, Uniqlo, Lowe’s, Target and more, as well as starting companies of their own.
The growing department also announces the hiring of two new instructors to its faculty: Jeff Johnson and Kris Ellison. Johnson comes to South Carolina from the University of North Georgia where he was a lecturer in multimedia journalism. He will teach the HRSM Professional Communications course. Ellison comes to South Carolina from the Technical College of the Lowcountry where she was program director and instructor of accounting. She is a licensed CPA and will teach the course, Principles of Accounting.
Campbell begins his role as chair effective July 1, 2020, and Johnson and Ellison will both begin their positions on August 16, 2020.
More information on the University of South Carolina’s Department of Retailing is available here.