Bob Basow

Classes: Ethics and the Media, Message Development, Strategic Campaigns

First year at KU: 1987

Degrees: B.S. Journalism, University of Kansas; M.B.A., St. Louis University

Honors: Fulbright Scholarship, 2001, to teach and study in China; Past President of KU University Council; Advertising Teacher of the Year

“Journalism is a fine field for those who are ‘interested in everything,’ who enjoy communicating with many people and who take pleasure in constantly learning new things.” - Bob Basow

by Katie West

To market ... and back

Associate Professor Bob Basow began his professional career at Ralston-Purina, where he worked in the corporate marketing department for 20 years. Basow then decided to teach because he wanted to learn, and at KU, he says, he has found an environment that encourages learning.

Basow says he decided to return to KU to teach simply because of the students. He says KU also was an attractive choice because he feels it doesn't single out "A" students and ignore others.

"The school's success walks down the hill every year," he says. "Every time you get a Christmas card or a picture of a former student's baby, you realize teaching is the best business of all. It makes you proud to see what students do with their lives, and you get to be a part of their lives at such a critical time."

Basow has taught various advertising courses. He says Strategic Campaigns is his favorite.

"When left to their own devices, the students will knock your socks off," he says. "Teaching is rewarding because the students set much higher standards than the instructors do."

Basow says he chose journalism and advertising because he likes working with people. He says people don't always behave as they say they do, and it's interesting for him to try to understand people and their motivations. Basow says a marketer is a problem-solver.

"You find a solution to people's problems," he says, "and you hope that your solution is better than the competition's."

His own learning

In an effort to further his own learning, Basow won a Fulbright Scholarship in 2001 to study in China. He began pursing the scholarship in 1999 after taking an intensive Chinese language course. International study and travel is nothing new to Basow, who has been to 12 countries and studied seven languages, including Russan and Croatian.

Recipe for success

Basow says success as a marketer, or success at anything, requires teamwork..

"It's amazing what can be accomplished when it doesn't matter who gets the credit," he says. "It's more important to play well on increasingly better teams than to be a star athlete."

He says KU is a great team, and he thinks that any faculty member would agree with him. Basow loves teaching because the students keep him fresh, and the school and students continually challenge him to learn new things and grow.

He says, "Teaching students - and they're all great - is its own reward."