A Candid Conversation 
with Allen Schaefer
By Mary Chin

Ask students in Glass Hall about “the scoop and the skinny” on Professor Allen Schaefer and you’ll probably get a fairly consistent answer. Marketing graduate assistant Shay Leeper explains, “Word is that Dr. Schaefer appears to be quiet and keeps to himself. But the students know that if you’re lucky enough to have him as a professor, you are in for a treat. He is quite funny and outgoing, not at all the shy person you think he is.”  

Eavesdrop on an entertaining interview with Allen Schaefer and discover more…

Explain the road you took for your doctorate in marketing. Did you have any private industry experience and how did you decide on personal selling as your area of emphasis? 

Schaefer:  As a 23-year-old MBA candidate at Kansas State University, a shortage of qualified faculty gave me the opportunity to teach an introductory marketing class. Through this experience, I learned of my passion for teaching, which isn’t surprising considering that both of my parents were educators. At that time, I considered going straight through and getting my Ph.D., but instead opted to sidetrack through the “real world" to gain some work experience. I moved to the Denver area and worked for six years in sales for three different corporations, including Wyeth, one of the ten largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, as well as French’s mustard and Clairol. That experience, including the extensive sales training I received, has served as a concrete foundation for my sales and marketing knowledge. Personal selling is probably my favorite class to teach, as it offers me ample opportunity to relate many hard earned lessons from my years in selling.

Have you been involved in any outside activities that have contributed to your classroom performance?

Schaefer: Since moving to Springfield, I have been active in public speaking trainings such as Dale Carnegie and Toastmasters, which enhanced my storytelling and point-making ability. In addition to providing stories, my work experience has given me a better sense of what students need to know to succeed in sales. I only wish I knew then what I know now about selling! It is my intention to impart this relevant knowledge to my students. It certainly makes it more meaningful to me. That’s what’s great about my profession. Everything I learn can potentially be passed on to many people. It serves as a great inspiration for learning and learning has always been a passion of mine.

World's second ranked golfer, Vijay Singh, poses with world-renowned golfer want-to-be, Allen Schaefer.

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Can you provide any insight into how you are viewed by your students versus your personality type?

Schaefer: I’m always amazed how many students in my selling classes categorize me as a classic emotive, one who is extraverted and talkative. However, I’ve always considered

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myself more of a reflective personality type, a thinker and analyzer. I guess something about the classroom stage gives me permission to express a whole different side of myself than I normally show. It all started in grade school when I craved attention and each year took on the role of class clown, something that I now do professionally.

Do you have any favorite hobbies or leisure activities?

Schaefer: As for hobbies, I’ve played golf nearly my entire life. When I was eight years old, I joined the local municipal course for four dollars for the entire year. Nowadays you can hardly play one hole for that kind of money. I pretty much grew up on the golf course, and played on one of the best high school golf teams in Kansas. The highlight of my golfing career came in 1997 when I made my first and only hole-in-one. My only regret is that I didn’t actually see it go in the hole, since it was a blind shot from the tee. For all I know, a squirrel could have dropped it in for me. That still counts, doesn’t it? But one lucky shot doesn’t make a golfing career. I don’t take golf so seriously these days. Some of my favorite golfing times are getting out with fellow profs, Charlie Pettijohn, Steve Parker and Ron Coulter for a friendly but normally hotly contested game.

Over the past few years, bicycling has replaced golf as the activity that consumes the majority of my leisure time. The nice thing about biking is that roads, unlike links, are free and open to the public. I try to ride about 150 miles per week in the warmer weather months, and once road across Iowa in one week.

Have you had any memorable travel experiences that have significantly changed your life?

Schaefer: International travel is another passion of mine. In 1993, I went abroad for the first time to do a whirlwind tour of Europe. Since that time I have been to Europe four times, Asia five times, and Africa once, which included a day trip to Morocco. I like to tell people that my favorite travel souvenir is my wife, Weirong, who was working on her Ph.D. in Japan when I met her. Last winter she accompanied me to China where I was teaching a consumer behavior course at the Dalian branch campus. Originally from China, Weirong teaches Japanese and Chinese courses in the foreign language department at SMS. She has been instrumental in collecting data on teenagers in the Far East, directly leading to three research articles with Drs. Steve Parker and Chuck Hermans.

Can you reveal any bit of trivia about yourself that people would be amazed to know?

Schaefer: At age 24, I ran a marathon in 3 hours and 10 minutes in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Nowadays the only thing I run to is the refrigerator.

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