College of Business Dean Honored with New Marketing Professorship

Idaho State University Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Dr. Karen Appleby has named College of Business Dean and Marketing Professor, Dr. Shane Hunt the first recipient of the new Michael C. Ruettgers Professorship in Marketing.

Ruettgers, a 1964 College of Business graduate established the professorship as part of the Michael C. Ruettgers Endowment created in 2000 in honor of the education he received in the marketing department at Idaho State University.

“I am honored and excited to name Dr. Shane Hunt as the inaugural recipient of the Michael C. Ruettgers Professorship in Marketing,” said Appleby. “The opportunity to establish this professorship in the name of Mike Ruettgers brings great pride to Idaho State University and to our Bengal community.  The impact that Dr. Hunt has made in the field of marketing, as an influential and trusted professor and mentor to students, and as a leader in higher education is truly outstanding.  Since joining the University in 2020, Dr. Hunt has established himself as a valued colleague and influential community leader at Idaho State and in the city of Pocatello; every day we are lucky to call Shane Hunt a Bengal!”  

After joining Idaho State University less than two years ago in May of 2020, Hunt has already made a profound impact on the future of the College and its students not just as the dean, but also as a marketing professor.

A first-generation college student, Hunt earned his Ph.D. in Marketing from Oklahoma State University in 2007 and since then has become an accomplished academic and leader.  Hunt’s research has been published in The Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, The Journal of Business Logistics and he is the author one of the leading marketing textbooks in the country.  Hunt has also received numerous awards for his teaching and research including the 2010 Lt. Col. Barney Smith Award as Professor of the Year and the 2015 Honors Professor of the Year at Arkansas State University, the 2013 Bernard J. Lalonde Award for the Best Paper of the Year in the Journal of Business Logistics, the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Professor of the Year and the 2019 National Teaching Innovation Award from the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators.

“I am incredibly thankful and honored to be the Dean and Michael C. Ruettgers Professor in Marketing here in the Idaho State University College of Business,” said Hunt. “Mike Ruettgers’s support of the College of Business has been transformative and provided us with resources to best meet the needs of our students, faculty and staff. All of us in the Idaho State College of Business are thankful for Mike’s extraordinary gifts over the years which have made every part of our College better.”  

Since graduating from Idaho State, Ruettgers has shown great support and appreciation for his alma matter through his involvement and a variety of major gifts to the College of Business and the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center.

After completing his Bachelor of Business Administration, Ruettgers went on to successfully attain his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He then joined Raytheon Missiles & Defense where he filled a central role working on the Patriot Missiles Research and Development Program.

Ruettgers later joined the storage and software company, EMC Corporation (now part of Dell) as their Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership, EMC was pulled out of near bankruptcy earning Ruettgers the recognition of one of the top 25 Best CEOs in the World by Business Week magazine in the late 1990s. Ruettgers’s work earned him more recognition in 2000 when Fortune magazine named EMC “America’s Most Admired Company”. Throughout the years, he was named the College of Business Professional Achievement Award winner in 1993, and the Idaho State University’s Distinguished Alumnus in 1999.

“On a personal note, this means as much to me as any title I have ever held professionally,” Hunt added. “I am blessed every day to be a marketing professor and to work with incredible students, and I am thankful beyond words to hold this Professorship in the name of Mike Ruettgers who is one of the greatest and most generous marketing graduates in the history of Idaho State University.”