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A former industry marketing professional and dedicated educator, Emory Serviss is well known in the Harbert College of Business for providing marketing students with experiences that connect classroom concepts to real business situations.
Marketing Senior Lecturer Emory Serviss
His students have worked with local organizations on real-world social media and website improvement projects, sharpened their strategic decision-making skills through an immersive digital marketing simulator, learned from industry professionals in the classroom and received hands-on training with Salesforce, generative AI and other essential tools.
In short, Serviss makes sure that students graduate with foundational knowledge and skills that translate directly to the workplace.
“Dr. Serviss’ teaching and course requirements evolve with the industry to ensure students’ skills remain relevant and aligned with employer needs,” said Dora Bock, chair of the Marketing Department. “He is also deeply invested in student success, actively advising and mentoring students and offering career planning support that continues well beyond their time at Auburn.”
In November, Serviss’ exceptional instruction and mentoring will be recognized when he receives a 2026 Auburn Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence award at the university’s 20th annual Faculty Awards ceremony.
“Auburn students are ambitious, curious, and remarkably willing to take on challenges when given the opportunity,” said Serviss, who has taught nearly 5,000 students and supervised 147 interns during his 12-year Harbert career. “Working with them has been one of the most rewarding parts of my professional life. I feel fortunate to be in a role that allows me to play a small part in their journey and then watch what they accomplish afterward.”
Providing students with real-world experience
For his honors digital marketing course, Serviss has partnered with local organizations in healthcare, banking and the performing arts to provide students with the opportunity to positively impact real clients’ digital marketing strategies.
“He guided the students through the same discovery, analysis and presentation process a professional [marketing] agency would follow, then required them to present and defend their recommendations to our team,” said Lynette Cupps, chief growth officer at MAX Credit Union.
After implementing some of the students’ recommendations to their social media strategy and website, Cupps added, the credit union saw a measurable increase in online loan and account applications.
“Very few undergraduate or honors courses produce work of that caliber, and it is a direct reflection of how deliberately Dr. Serviss designs his curriculum around real-world accountability rather than theory alone,” she said.
A lifelong mentor
Mary Frances Torbert (marketing ’23), marketing manager with Blink Marketing, recalls taking several classes taught by Serviss because of his reputation as an exceptional professor and invested mentor.
The projects she completed in his digital marketing class bolstered her portfolio and ultimately helped her secure an internship and post-graduation position with Intermark Group, a full-service ad agency.
“What distinguishes Dr. Serviss most is that his commitment to students does not end at graduation,” said Torbert, who has returned to campus as a guest speaker in his classes, sharing insights with students on what it’s like to work at an agency. “Likewise, when I have explored new professional opportunities, Dr. Serviss has continued to send connections, offer thoughtful advice and remain genuinely invested in my continued growth.”
Amanda Parker (marketing ’19), consumer insights manager at Newell Brands, appreciated how Serviss incorporated new technology in his marketing courses.
She recalled a class project where she leveraged HubSpot to post user-generated content on Instagram, which was considered cutting-edge at the time.
“Little did I know that the mindset of being open to groundbreaking technology would later transfer to my first job as an analyst at an AI-based startup at a time before large language models were publicly accessible,” she said. “Dr. Serviss thinks about what is upcoming and stays abreast of emerging trends and technology so that his students are ahead of the curve.”
To this day, Parker said, she views Serviss as a trusted mentor who provides sound career advice, has invited her to guest lecture in his classes and even matches Harbert students with alumni mentors.
“I feel fortunate to teach at the Harbert College of Business and to work with students who continue to challenge, impress, and surprise me every semester. If there is an accomplishment that I’m most proud of, it is maintaining those connections and seeing former students continue to grow professionally long after they leave Auburn.”
Emory Serviss, marketing senior lecturer
Other accolades
Serviss is the first marketing professor to win the Alumni Teaching Excellence award and seventh Harbert faculty member to be honored. Other winners are Brian Gibson (2006), Brian Connelly (2014), James Long (2018), Kerry Inger (2020), Keven Yost (2021) and Damion McIntosh (2023).
Serviss has received other instructional awards, including the college’s McCartney Teaching award and the Department of Marketing’s Teaching award, as well as the Stukent Professor of the Month honor, which recognizes faculty globally for bringing innovation and industry into the classroom.
He is also an accomplished researcher who has won the Society for Marketing Advances’ Steven Shaw & Joe Hair Best Paper award twice — first in 2020 for work that explored the role emotional intelligence plays in sales and again in 2023 for research on B2B supplier relationships.
In addition to Serviss, Rachel Cody (College of Nursing) and C. Brooks Mobley (College of Education) will also receive this teaching award at the campus awards ceremony, which is hosted by the Provost’s Office.
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Learn more about the Auburn Alumni Undergraduate Teaching Excellence award
