RIT Honors Professor Neil Hair for Excellence in Teaching

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Neil Hair has been awarded the 2006 Richard and Virginia Eisenhart Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at Rochester Institute of Technology. The Henrietta resident is assistant professor of marketing in the College of Business.

The British-born Hair, 33, is probably one of the most colorful professors on the RIT campus, although he always wears black and nothing but black—particularly when teaching. “What I wear makes a statement about who I am, and I’m remembered for it,” he says.

Hair says it’s the result of what he calls “personal branding”—part of his experiential research into how and why people form bonds and relationships in electronic communities, brand equity and students’ positive learning experiences.

“Students need to learn how to market themselves,” Hair says. “I tell them they must develop a consistent image where they can be recognized both physically and virtually because this is the way to differentiate themselves from their competitors.”

Hair joined RIT’s College of Business in November 2004 with a PhD in management and is currently a tenure-track faculty member at the College of Business.

“Ever since I was very young, I was convinced I was put on this Earth to teach,” Hair says. “Although most academic environments place a heavy emphasis on research and publication, my heart belongs firmly in the classroom, and I hope this enthusiasm comes across to my students at RIT.”

Hair holds several degrees which he earned in the United Kingdom: Ph.D. from Cranfield University, MSc in International Marketing at Shcffield Business School, BSc in business administration at Cardiff Business School. He is listed as one of RIT’s business experts within the fields of Internet marketing, electronic consumer behavior and strategic marketing planning.