The AMA Foundation (AMAF) is proud to recognize Samantha N. N. Cross as the recipient of the 2024 Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence.
The WQS Award recognizes world-class marketing scholars and mentors of people of color while carrying on the legacy of three legendary educators: Jerome Williams, William (Bill) Qualls, and Thaddeus H. Spratlen. Award recipients have a sustained career commitment to mentoring as well as a significant positive impact on their mentees’ careers. Moreover, through their mentees, they have advanced research and education on issues where racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity intersect with the discipline and practice of marketing. View a list of past winners here.
Dr. Samantha N. N. Cross is an Associate Professor of Marketing and the F.W. Olin Distinguished Chair of Global Business at Babson College. She incorporates innovative multi-method approaches in her research, which examines cultural and sensory influences, and societal forces on consumption, decision making and innovation. She is particularly interested in how diverse identities, perspectives, beliefs and abilities co-exist
in consumers, households and the marketplace. Her work has been accepted for publication in top marketing journals, including the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the International Journal of Research in Marketing, the Journal
of Public Policy and Marketing, the Journal of Advertising, the European Journal of Marketing, and Consumption, Markets and Culture. Dr. Cross has received several awards for her research, including the Thomas C. Kinnear Award, the Jane K. Fenyo Best
Paper Award for Student Research, the ACR/Sheth Foundation Dissertation Award, and the Outstanding Article Award at the Journal of Advertising. Her global research network received the Women in Marketing (WiM) Scientist Award, and she is currently listed on the Fulbright Specialist Roster. She has served on several boards and committees in her field, including the Transformative Consumer Research (TCR) Advisory Committee, the Board for the Association for Consumer Research (ACR), and the Academic Council of the American Marketing Association (AMA). Dr. Cross was an issue editor on Racism and Discrimination in the Marketplace for the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. She serves on a number of editorial review boards, and has been an invited faculty fellow/mentor at several doctoral symposiums and workshops. Dr. Cross received her Ph.D. in Marketing from the University of California, Irvine, her M.B.A. in International Business from DePaul University, and a B.Sc. in Management Studies from The University of The West Indies.
Beyond her research and service, Samantha is an exemplar for mentoring excellence who has invested immense amounts of time to support and champion underrepresented students. “It is no exaggeration to say that I would not have started my Ph.D. without Dr. Cross’ encouragement,” remarked mentee Wendy De La Rosa, Assistant Professor of Marketing at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. “Dr. Cross cares. And because she cares, she gives herself totally to those around her, becoming a
beacon for so many like me who often wonder if it can be done. Of course, it can be done – because Dr. Cross is there to help.”
Samantha will be honored at the 2024 Summer Academic Conference in Boston, MA. Click here to learn more about the conference!