Deidre Tilley Biography

Deidre Tilley brings nearly 17 years of student academic advising and teaching experience to her instructional role with the Harbert College of Business, where she is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing.

Early in her career at Columbus State University, she helped guide countless business students through their selection of courses, majors and overall academic success both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She developed and led an innovative orientation-to-graduation program and taught several courses on topics ranging from introduction to academic life to career skills and success.

More recently, she was a student services coordinator at Auburn, providing academic advising support for Harbert College’s online MBA students.

She presented her advising and teaching innovations at several regional academic conferences, sharing best practices on how to stay connected to online degree students and how to guide undergraduates to degree completion.

The owner and creative director of a custom craft business specializing in handmade novelties and gifts, Tilley is completing her doctoral dissertation at Kennesaw State University. Her PhD thesis is examining how small- or micro-businesses can leverage AI tools to enhance efficiency and grow their revenues.

She became a Harbert lecturer in January 2025 and teaches several courses, including  Marketing Research & Analytics (MKTG 5360), Customer Relationship Management (MKTG 4450) and Retail Management (MKTG 4330).

In her spare time, she is raising backyard chickens and continues to focus her creative energies on the crafting business, DeDe Creates.