The award is given biennially at the AMA Winter Academic Conference to recognize academics in the field of marketing who are productive scholars and who have been instrumental in developing doctoral students in marketing.

Eligibility

All scholars who are at a career stage in which they have built a substantial record of impact on doctoral students will be eligible for the award. The nominees should have made significant and recognition-worthy contributions to the advancement of PhD students in marketing and helped create the pipeline of marketing scholars who continue to contribute to the marketing discipline through their research, teaching, and service.

The nominee should:

• Have completed their doctorate degree a minimum of fifteen (15) years prior to the nomination year.
• Be recognized as a productive marketing scholar based on service to and publication in leading marketing journals and, specifically, in AMA journals.
• Have a substantial record of training, mentoring, and placing doctoral students.
• Have a substantial record of service to AMA initiatives that have nurtured doctoral student success, such as AMA conferences, the John A. Howard Doctoral Dissertation Award, AMA DocSIG activities, and the PhD Project’s Marketing Doctoral Student Association, as well as attending a number of AMA/Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortia and other doctoral consortia or similar activities.
• Additionally, the doctoral students that the scholar has mentored should have contributed to the marketing discipline through their own exemplary service, research and teaching.

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Application Process

Nominations for the award will be submitted online and shared with the award committee for evaluation. The following information is needed to submit a nomination:

1. Nominee and nominator contact information
2. Nominee’s CV
3. Three letters of nomination (one must be from an individual who has completed their dissertation with the nominee as their chair). The three letters must speak to the following criteria:
   • Evidence of the fact the nominee is a leading scholar in the field (i.e., number of articles published in top tier AMA journals and/or evidence of impact as shown through citations, implementation, etc.
   • Evidence of significant service to initiatives that have nurtured doctoral student success.
   • The award will be given once every two years. No self-nominations will be accepted.

History

The AMA V. Kumar Doctoral Student Mentorship Award was established in 2018 to recognize academics in the field of marketing who are productive scholars and who have been instrumental in developing doctoral students in marketing.

Judging Process

A panel consisting of a mix of award recipients, AMA Foundation Board of Advisors members and marketing scholars will serve on the selection committee. All judges will be leaders and experts in the field of marketing with careers as marketing academics and scholars.

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Recognition and Benefits

The recipient of the 2025 award will receive a cash prize, a complimentary conference registration, and a plaque/award. The recipient may be asked to give a brief acceptance speech at the AMA Winter Conference award lunch.

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AMA Foundation

As the philanthropic arm of the AMA, the AMA Foundation champions individual marketers who are making an impact in our profession and community.  We recognize marketing visionaries who have elevated the field, and we support the next generation of marketers who will transform the profession.

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Previous Recipients

2023 Award

• James Bettman, Burlington Industries Professor of Business Administration, Duke University

2021 Award

• Linda Price, Professor and Dick and Maggie Scarlett Chair of Business Administration, the University of Wyoming
• Richard Staelin, Edward and Rose Donnell, Professor of Business Administration at The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

2019 Award

• Donald R. Lehmann, George E. Warren Professor of Business, Columbia Business School