Faculty
Ronald Drozdenko, Ph.D.
Department Chair, Professor
Office: WS 301
E-mail: drozdenkor@wcsu.edu
Phone: (203) 837-8776
Appointment Link: To schedule an advisement meeting please click HERE.
On the Web: 
Education:
Dr. Drozdenko holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Missouri
Teaching:
Ronald G. Drozdenko, Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of the Ancell School of Business Marketing Department. He has more than 30 years of teaching experience that includes the following courses; Consumer Behavior, CRM and Marketing Databases, E-Commerce and Internet Marketing, Product Development and Management, Marketing Research, and Marketing Management. In 2005 he was the recipient of the Professor Award for Excellence in Direct Marketing Education by the New England Direct Marketing Association Foundation. He is co-advisor to Western’s award winning collegiate chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Dr. Drozdenko has directed or co-directed more than 100 proprietary research projects since 1978 for the marketing and research and development departments of several corporations, including major multinationals. These projects were in the areas of strategic planning, marketing research, product development, direct marketing, internet marketing and marketing database analysis.
Research and Publications:
Dr. Drozdenko co-authored, with Perry Drake, Optimal Database Marketing: Strategy, Development and Data Mining and has published professional and academic articles and book chapters. His scholarly publications have appeared in the Journal of Advertising Research, Psychology and Marketing, Journal of Product Innovation Management, International Journal of Business and Public Administration, Journal of Business Ethics, International Journal of Revenue Management, Journal of Product and Brand Management and journals in the medical and health care fields. His research articles have been cited more than 660 times in academic papers and he has been the recipient of several best paper awards at academic conferences.
He was granted three U.S. patents along with his co-inventors for instruments used in medical research and clinical applications. His current research interests include consumer behavior, business ethics, product pricing and purchase risk.
Professional Affiliations:
Dr. Drozdenko serves on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Revenue Management and the International Journal of Business, Marketing and Decision Sciences. He is a member of the American Marketing Association.
Karen L. Koza, DBA
Professor
Office: WS 210
E-mail: KozaK@wcsu.edu
Phone: (203) 837-9036
On the Web:
Education:
Karen Koza completed her Doctorate Degree in Business Administration (DBA), with a major in Marketing and a minor in Statistical Methods from Boston University (1999). During her Doctorate Studies, she was awarded Honorable Mention, Business Marketing Doctoral Support Award Competition, Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM), Penn State, 1995; and received the American Marketing Association Doctoral Consortium Fellow, 1994. Karen received her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Clark University (1989), where she graduated number one in her class, and inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society in 1989. Karen received a Bachelor in Arts in Mathematics from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 1978, and inducted into Alpha Chi Honor Society.
Experience:
Since coming to WCSU in 1999, Karen was instrumental in developing working partnerships and joint research centers with universities in China and India, and has led multiple international student-industry collaborations with these universities. These collaborations included working with Fortune 100 companies and leading Global Manufacturers. She has also developed and led multiple international and domestic student-industry collaborations with nonprofit and for-profit organizations located in or operating programs within the Greater Danbury Community.
A. Ben Oumlil, Ph.D. 
Professor
Office: WS211
E-mail: OumlilA@wcsu.edu
Phone: (203) 837-8777
On the Web:
Education:
B.S. – Missouri State University
M.B.A. – Missouri State University
Ph.D. – University of Arkansas
Dr. Oumlil’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of buyer behavior (including business to business marketing), research methods, international marketing/business, marketing management/strategy, services marketing, the role of marketing in economic development, and E-commerce.
His academic teaching experience (undergraduate and graduate [MBA & Ph.D.] levels) includes teaching assignments at universities in the U.S. and abroad. He was previously named the Hobart Scholar. Also, Dr. Oumlil conducted seminars and workshops in the U.S. and abroad and served as a consultant for firms on various business topical areas. He is/was a member of various professional organizations including the American Marketing Association, the Academy of International Business, the Academy of Marketing Science, the Association of Consumer Research, the Association of Global Business, and Who’s Who, among others. Also, he served as a Board Member and a member of the Organization Committee for the Midwest Business Administration Association, Midwest Marketing Association, and International Business Association.
Dr. Oumlil is the author of a book, case studies, chapters in various business textbooks, and numerous articles in refereed academic journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Journal of the Market Research Society, International Journal of Management, Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Hospital Marketing, Journal of Purchasing and Material Management, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Journal of Marketing Management, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Behavioral Science Methods and Instruments and Computers, among others.
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Xiaoqi Han, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Office: WS 348
E-mail: HanX@wcsu.edu
Phone: (203) 837-9038
On the Web:
Xiaoqi Han is Associate Professor of Marketing at the Ancell School of Business. Dr. Han’s professional experiences have taken her from global companies in China to the United States. She worked for IBM, China, as an executive assistant responsible for local and global communication and coordination. She later joined Groupe Seb, a large French consortium that produces small appliances, in the role of Strategic Marketing. Dr. Han has also provided consultation to US startup companies such as 321 Experience Consulting.
Dr. Han’s scholarly interests include consumer information processing, persuasion, cultural, visual and verbal appeal in advertising, consumer inference, consumer bias and techniques of debasing. She is particularly interested in exploring the mechanism behind consumers’ lack of sensitivity to missing information (omission neglect). Her publications have appeared in the Journal of Business Research and Psychology and Marketing.
Dr. Han holds a BA in English Literature from Shanghai International Studies University, an MA in Communications from Marquette University, and a PhD degree in Marketing from the University of Cincinnati. She is member of the American Marketing Association, the American Advertising Academy, the Society for Consumer Psychology and the Association for Consumer Research.
Emad AbouElgheit, Ph.D
Associate Professor
E-mail: abouelgheita@wcsu.edu
Phone: 203-837-8775
Education:
B.S.c – Architecture Engineering – Alexandria University, Egypt
M.B.A. – Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport, Egypt
Ph.D. – International School of Management, Paris, France
Donna Coelho, MSM
Adjunct Instructor
Office: WS 384
E-mail: Coelhod@wcsu.edu
Phone: 203-837-8653
On the Web:
Donna Coelho teaches at Western Connecticut State University and Quinnipiac University in the Marketing and Management Departments. Courses taught include Principles of Marketing, Global Environment of Business, Consumer Behavior, Strategic Management, Organizational Behavior, Managing People, and Current Issues in Management. She has numerous publications in the areas of experiential learning, pricing, green products, consumer behavior and pedagogy.
Donna was Director of Development at Fairfield University and transitioned that knowledge to the nonprofit sector. She has over 25 years’ experience providing management, program administration, training, outcomes assessment and strategic planning services to local nonprofit boards of directors and small businesses.
She has also managed her own company and consults with small businesses and entrepreneurs. In 2005, she received a three year grant of $183,000 for the Center for Business Research at WCSU, to expand the Experiential Learning program for the Ancell School of Business. This program continues to serve WCSU students as the Ancell Collaborative Enterprise.
Donna holds a BS in Education and Psychology from Southern Connecticut State University, and a Master’s in Management from Albertus Magnus University. She serves on the National Collegiate Council for the American Marketing Association, is a member of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, and the American Marketing Association. She is on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Business Education. She has been Co-Advisor of WCSU’s Collegiate Chapter of the American Marketing Association for the last ten years. This chapter has consistently been ranked in the top 10% of all collegiate chapters in National AMA competitions for the last seven years. She also chairs numerous national collegiate competitions for the American Marketing Association.
She also volunteers as Executive Director for the Keren Foundation, an organization that financially aids students in the foster care system navigate college.
Stephanie DeBartolomeo, MBM
Adjunct Instructor
E-mail: DeBartolomeos@wcsu.edu
Stephanie holds a Master’s degree in International Business and Marketing from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University, and a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Finance and Management Information Systems from Western Connecticut State University. In addition, she is certified by American International College in online and hybrid instruction for higher education.
Stephanie spent 20 years at Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo, IBM, CBS, Dr. Pepper/7 Up, Inc. as well as Playtex Products and Allied Domecq Spirits and Wines PLC. It is at these companies she honed her business skills initially in financial roles for new business development and innovation and then predominantly in marketing of consumer packaged goods.
During her corporate tenure, Stephanie was a member of the national marketing teams for Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and Playtex Baby Care product lines. She later led strategic marketing for national and global brands and successfully repositioned declining businesses including Dr. Pepper, Vernor’s soft drink, Courvoisier Cognac and Sauza Tequila resulting in renewed growth and profitability.
Her work on the Courvoisier brand portfolio was noted by Erin O. Patton, author of Under the Influence as “the most successful … product integration in any category … in history”. Stephanie has appeared on CNBC and in prominent news and lifestyle publications including Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Vogue, XXL, The Source and Vibe Magazine.
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Paul Goldstein, M.B.A.
Adjunct Instructor
E-mail: goldsteinp@wcsu.edu
Education:
MBA – Babson College
B.A.(Hons) – Long Island University
John Lambo, M.B.A.
Adjunct Instructor
E-mail: lamboj@wcsu.edu
Education:
M.B.A. – Wagner College
Suzen Pettit
Adjunct Instructor
E-mail: pettits@wcsu.edu
Education: B.A. – Communications & Business, State University of New York College at Brockport
Online Marketing Strategist, lecturer and blogger, Suzen Pettit has 27 years of experiential marketing and internet marketing experience. Founder, CEO and SEO director of OMAGinarium, LLC, a digital marketing and social media consulting firm, Ms. Pettit’s specialty is helping small companies and medical practices expand their online footprint with digital marketing and website traffic strategies, social media, e-commerce, optimized websites, search engine optimization, content marketing and online branding and growth strategies. Ms. Pettit and her team have helped dozens of small companies, not-for-profits, start-ups and medical practices stand out, get their businesses branded on the online SERP maps, and attract more website traffic and warm leads.
Her most recent accounts include the AFC Urgent Care franchise as it expands quickly throughout the northeast, where she is responsible for their online presence, including the majority of their content, mobile geo-targeting, social media and SEO.
When not working hard for her clients, Ms. Pettit can be found blogging and providing content for the Patch hyper-locals, Founders Space, Create Hype, and Steamfeed, as well as speaking on topics geared to online business growth. She was voted #2 from Voiceboks.com Top 10 Tech and Internet Savvy Blogs of 2014, and was featured in the August 2015 issue of Tribal Woman.
She has presented workshops at the Urgent Care Association of America’s 2015 annual conference, is analytics certified and is an ongoing contributor to Content Marketing University.
She has multiple hours of pro bono contributions to numerous organizations and not-for-profits.
Robert Watson, M.B.A.
Adjunct Instructor
E-mail: WatsonR@wcsu.edu
Education:
MBA – University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business
Marketing Principles & Sales Management Courses
Mr. Watson is passionate about marketing. Consequently, each of his marketing classes mixes theory with real world examples, all within an active and social environment that makes learning fun.
In addition to currently serving as a marketing lecturer, Mr. Watson also provides pro bono advice to a broad range of organizations.
His prior marketing positions include: Vice President of the International Division of Audits & Surveys Worldwide, Account Group Director of Millward Brown (largest advertising consultancy in the world), Vice President of Citicorp (largest U.S. financial services organization at the time), Market Development Management of Duracell, and new product development/brand management responsibilities at Norwich Eaton Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Watson has a lifetime teaching certification in both business and economics.
Tom Zarecki, MBA 
Adjunct Instructor
Office: WS 239
E-mail: ZareckiT@wcsu.edu
Phone (Cell): (914) 548-4948
On the Web: 
Education:
MBA – Western Connecticut State University
BA – Western Connecticut State University
WCSU Marketing Department Adjunct Professor Tom Zarecki, MBA, has spent his life in radio broadcasting, media and marketing. Tom worked as a radio announcer throughout his teens. After high school, as a Music Ed major here at WCSU, Tom was part of the student team creating campus station WXCI-FM. A few years later, he was one of the founding members of local radio station I-95 (WRKI-FM) and was that station’s very first morning DJ and program director.
Taking his radio programming, music and marketing expertise on the road for a dozen years, Tom consulted with 65 radio stations in 35 states to ratings successes.
As marketing director for Radio Computing Services, Inc. (RCS), a radio software company in New York, Tom wrote text for web pages, product brochures and animated demos. As spokesperson and head writer for RCS for 14 years, he travelled nationwide and worldwide, speaking at trade shows and conferences as an advocate for their broadcast software systems.
Tom was a monthly columnist for a number of years at Talkers Magazine and Radio Ink Magazine, on the board of directors for the Danbury Area Computer Society, and co-host of “Business Backstory”, a weekly radio program aired on campus station WXCI-FM where he served as faculty advisor, and was an instructor in the Communication & Media Arts department at Western for 9 years where he taught radio broadcasting.
Currently, Tom is the host of “The Weekend Wake-up Show”, airing weekly on WJMJ-FM radio in Hartford, CT, he also consults a number of local businesses with web content and social media ideas, and continues to teach in the Marketing department for Western’s Ancell School of Business.
