Rowan Entrepreneurship Director Appointed to Academic Advisory Council

Dr. Eric Liguori, the William G. Rohrer Chair of Entrepreneurship and Executive Director of the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has been appointed to serve on the Academic Advisory Council of the Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF), a Washington D.C. based 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

For over 40 years DSEF has partnered with members of the academic community to support research and education programs. Their programs expand the knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles of sales and direct selling. DSEF aims to help educate the next generation of entrepreneurs and industry leaders about opportunities in the space. A core tenant of the organization is its focus on helping promote individual economic empowerment through entrepreneurship.

Liguori has long had an interest in how sales are taught to business students, and especially to entrepreneurship students. He notes:

“Selling is a critical skill entrepreneurs need to develop, yet Harvard researchers found that the majority of accredited business schools do not offer any meaningful sales training to their students. DSEF provides educators a national platform to share resources and best practices in sales education as well as connects them to industry leaders. I am excited to be able to support their efforts in this regard.”

In 2019 the Rowan Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship launched a Sales Speaker Series aimed at helping aspiring entrepreneurs begin to develop their sales acumen. The first speaker event of the series was April 17th and featured Rowan Entrepreneurship Alum Anthony Magaraci, Founder and President of Trinity Packaging Supply.

Rowan Assistant Professor of Marketing Nina Krey and Marketing Lecturer Renee Watson also recently joined DSEF’s Faculty Fellows Program and are beginning to explore how DSEF’s research and knowledge resources can help enrich their classrooms. Liguori has been a DSEF fellow for three years.

Click here to view the official DSEF press release.