Classes: Marketing & Media Research, Marketing Fundamentals for Communicators

First year at KU: 1984

Degrees: B.S., marketing, Northwest Missouri State University; MBA, Northwest Missouri State University; Ph.D., higher education, University of Kansas

Honors: Past HOPE Award finalist

“The field of marketing changes so quickly that I consider it my job to stay as current as possible and incorporate that into the course. I also enjoy teaching marketing because the material is inherently interesting. It’s great to see someone leave that class with the desire to work in some area of marketing.” - Denise Linville

Denise Linville didn't always know she wanted to go into teaching. Not until she began working as an admissions representative at Northwest Missouri State University did she realize her interest in the field. She discovered that she enjoyed meeting and working with the high school students, and soon after found herself pursuing a teaching career.

She says she chose to teach at KU because of the strengths of the journalism program.

"I love the journalism school," Linville says. "It's very student-oriented, and it stresses both theory and practice."

She currently teaches classes both on the main Lawrence campus and on the Edwards Campus in Kansas City. Her philosophy on teaching is to make classes interactive, even the big classes, and to keep the information current. She says she also thinks it is important to try to challenge students to think strategically.

Linville says she loves journalism because there's always something new. "It's changing constantly, there's no status quo, and it's a very visual field," she says.

Linville says she tries to bring the ever-changing aspects of the field to her students in the classroom. She says she hopes that after taking her classes, students will leave with more than just a basic knowledge of the field. She wants them to develop a curiosity for the world around them, which will help them learn to be better decision makers.