Bucknell’s Annetta Grant Named One of the 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors of 2024

Bucknell University Freeman College of Management Professor Annetta Grant, markets, innovation & design, was chosen by the editorial team at Poets&Quants for Undergrads — the leading online publication for undergraduate business education news — as one of its "50 Best Undergraduate Business School Professors of 2024." Grant was selected from among more than 1,000 nominations from students, alumni, colleagues and school deans.

A member of the Bucknell faculty since 2017, Grant is cited in the Poets&Quants profile as "an emerging leader in consumer research," whose "research focuses on understanding sustainable consumption practices." Her award-winning research has been published in leading marketing journals including the Journal of Consumer Research and the International Journal of Research in Marketing. Her research findings have been widely covered in media including in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR and ABC News, among others.

In his nomination of Grant, former student Brenden Tuttle '21 wrote that she had a profound and lasting impact on his personal and professional development. "As my marketing professor at Bucknell University, she transformed what was an introductory course into a pivotal experience that shaped my career trajectory," Tuttle wrote."The skills and confidence I gained under Professor Grant's mentorship have been instrumental in my journey to becoming a full-time entrepreneur just three years after graduation. My sister and I, both fortunate to have had her guidance, now successfully run our own business — a testament to the foundational knowledge and encouragement she provided."

Grant was also honored as the 2024 recipient of the Sidney J. Levy Award by the Consumer Culture Theory Consortium for the best consumer-culture research paper. She was honored for the paper she co-authored with Jay Handelman, an associate professor of marketing at Stephen J.R. Smith School of Business at Queen's University in Kington, Ontario, titled "Dysplacement and the Professionalization of the Home," which was published in the May 2022 Journal of Consumer Research. The study found that home media, including HGTV programming, shifts how people see their own homes — from a place that reflects who they are to a place that should reflect the latest market trends. Given that these trends are constantly changing, it puts homeowners on a renovation treadmill making them feel that their home is never quite "finished." Ultimately, that influence has made homeowners feel uneasy with their own homes.

Another recent study led by Grant unveiled how nature-based activities, such as fly fishing, can transform human experiences and interactions with wildlife in profound and unexpected ways. That study was published last May in the Journal of Consumer Research. It highlights the significant impact that spending time in nature can have on fostering environmental stewardship and ultimately ethical consumption practices.

Grant teaches such classes as Principles of Marketing; Markets, Innovation and Design; and Creative Destruction, among others.

"I love coaching students through their learning journey," Grant said in her Poets&Quants profile. "Helping them to experiment, discover, make mistakes and grow is the most privileged and rewarding part of the job. Watching them continue to grow and flourish a few years after graduation is incredible!"