Meet Dr. Nancy Keith - Marketing's Pioneer Professor to China...
By Mary Chin

When Dr. Nancy Keith was notified that she would be the featured faculty for Marketing Fall 2004 e-newsletter, she modestly mentioned that the article focus should “highlight her most recent trip to Dalian, China because it is the most interesting thing that I have done lately.”

The Fall 2004 semester marks the beginning of a two-year program where SMSU professors spend two intensive weeks teaching at Liaoning Normal University, and then complete the balance of the coursework via distance learning from the Springfield campus. Being a seasoned traveler, it was no surprise that Keith was eager to participate in SMSU’s newly developed China program. SMSU has partnered with Liaoning University in Dalian, China to provide a B.S. in general business.

Upon further investigation however, it becomes obvious Dr. Keith is accomplished in many ways, with a resume to impress even the most discerning eye. SMSU has had the privilege of Dr. Keith’s campus presence for twenty years and can boast of her contributions. For starters, Keith’s academic background includes a Ph.D. in Management Science and Marketing Research from the Krannert Graduate School of Management, Purdue University, 1978, a B.S. degree in Mathematics and M.B.A. with emphasis in Quantitative Methods, both from the University of Arkansas. With more than seventy scholarly publications, including refereed journal articles and refereed proceedings articles, Keith’s record is indicative of her expertise. Her research interests span a range of industries and government agencies – NASA, NIH, USDA, zoology and fisheries, veterinary medicine, and the Kellogg Company, to name a few. 

Dr. Keith’s teaching honors and SMSU service record are noteworthy litanies of achievement. Keith appears quiet and unassuming, but her dedication to teaching echoes in the SMSU awards she has garnered throughout her tenure. Keith has been honored with the University Fellow in Teaching Award 2001-2004, COBA Award for Teaching 2003, SMSU University Award for Teaching 2000, Sigma Kappa Sorority’s Outstanding Teaching Award 2000, and SMSU Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award 1991. Keith’s committee service mirrors her awards, from Faculty Senate, to COBA’s Graduate Faculty, to helping the Ad Team with statistical analysis.

Is Nancy Keith’s personal life eclipsed by her professional career? Not in the least! Her family is her passion. It is her husband Ernest’s career that landed the Keith’s in Springfield. And as is the case with many mothers, Keith is quick to boast of daughter Megan, a senior at Greenwood Lab School and dually enrolled at SMSU. Keith’s family would not be complete without mentioning her three toy poodles, Peanut, Angel, and Sweet Pea.

The Keith family travels are enviable. She explains, “We have traveled the US (including Hawaii and Alaska), Canada, the Caribbean, England, Scotland, and now China. We have even visited my husband’s ancestral home, Keith, Scotland. There are no Keiths there any more, but it is the home of Chevis Regal.”

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How does the teaching experience in Dalian, China stack up? Says Keith, “China is a book in itself. Dalian is located in northern China on the Yellow Sea with a population of about 6 million people. Megan and I had a wonderful experience.” She is quick to commend Dr. Mike Fields, Assistant Dean of COBA. “Mike Fields did an outstanding job of designing the trip and the classroom experience. My class in China had about 80 undergraduate students. The students are just like here except they speak Chinese. One difference is that the students are very excited about having an American professor, so much so that they all want their picture taken with you. I’ve never had that happen before! The Chinese people are wonderful and very kind to Americans.”

Nancy Keith’s insights into the cultural differences between the US and China are both interesting and humorous. Regarding the accommodations, she notes, “Air conditioning is not prevalent and where there is air conditioning, it doesn’t work well. A real inconvenience is not being able to drink the water. You have a bottle of water or green tea with you at all times. Eastern bathroom facilities are another adventure. Americans and Chinese are built differently - our center of gravity is not the same.”

Transportation in China merits a caveat. Keith says, “Getting around in a Chinese city is interesting. Dalian has no stop signs and only an occasional traffic light. There are no speed limits and the lines on the roads separating oncoming traffic lanes are only a suggestion. This is the same for the sidewalks. There is no social distance or space allowed between cars in traffic. It is frightening to be in traffic in a small taxi and be plastered next to the side of a huge bus. Cars rule and the drivers drive anywhere they want, however they want. Pedestrians have no rights. Get in the way of a vehicle while crossing the street and you’re dead. It is that simple. There is no auto insurance, so no one is liable. Pedestrian beware!”

No travel would be complete without shopping and eating, and Keith gives a thumbs-up to both. “The food was strange but very good. We had to master chopsticks and that requires patience. We learned to filet whole, fried fish with chopsticks. Whole kernel corn is eaten one kernel at a time and eating noodles with chopsticks is an art. One thing that seemed strange - everything is fried. The Chinese do not bake because they don’t have ovens. If you want bread, it is Russian, not Chinese. They also do not eat sweets or desserts. Essentially they do not use sugar.”

“Shopping in China is time consuming and negotiation is required for most transactions.” Keith explains further about Silk Alley in Beijing; China’s attempt at small vendor capitalism. “Silk Alley sells knock-off designer items for a fraction of the price – a Polo shirt for $5, Prada purse for $6, North Face parka for $30. The problem is that Silk Alley, an open air market, is in the shadow of the US Embassy, and the US Embassy wants the market closed. On our way to Dalian, we passed through Beijing, shopped at Silk Alley, and bought some great stuff. It was such fun negotiating with the vendors!”

All things considered, Nancy Keith’s Dalian experience is an adventure worth highlighting.

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