Nita Umashankar, Ph.D.
Professor
Marketing Department
Fowler College of Business
Academic Affairs
SDSU
Primary Email: [email protected]
Phone/Fax
Primary Phone: 619-594-0277
Building/Location
Student Services East - 3104
Mail Code: 8239
Bio
Nita Umashankar is Professor of Marketing at San Diego State University. Before joining SDSU, she was an Associate Professor at Georgia State University after earning her Ph.D. in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010.
Her research sits at the intersection of marketing and social impact, examining how marketing strategies can improve organizational performance while creating better outcomes for consumers, employees, and society. Her work has appeared in premier journals, including Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Strategic Management Journal, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Marketing and on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Marketing Research, where she previously served as an Associate Editor.
Her research and teaching have received numerous honors, including the Journal of Marketing Outstanding Associate Editor Award, the Distinguished AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Award for Responsible Research in Marketing, Financial Times recognition for research aligned with the UN’s SDGs, finalist honors for the Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award and the AMA/MSI/H. Paul Root Award, and the Fisher IMS/AMA SERVSIG Dissertation Award. Her teaching honors include the Fowler College of Business Teaching Excellence Award, two Top Professor awards in Georgia State University’s M.S. program, The University of Texas at Austin Excellence in Teaching Award, and recognition as a Poets&Quants Top 40 Undergraduate Business Professor.
Beyond research and teaching, Umashankar mentors students through Women in Business, the American Marketing Association, and International Business programs. She also serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for foster youth and provides pro bono strategy consulting to nonprofits in San Diego and India.