Ponder named associate dean in College of Business
Nicole Ponder
A longtime Mississippi State faculty member is now serving in a new capacity as associate dean in the university’s College of Business.
Nicole Ponder, professor of marketing, began a new position July 1 as associate dean for graduate programs and assessment. Ponder has been a faculty member in the Department of Marketing, Quantitative Analysis, and Business Law since joining the university in 2001. From 2015-2021, she served as director of the college’s graduate studies. In the new position, she will oversee all of the college’s graduate programs and assessment efforts.
“Dr. Ponder brings extensive experience to this position and will be a strong asset for our administrative team,” said MSU College of Business Dean Sharon Oswald. “Our college offers a wide range of nationally competitive graduate programs, and I look forward to seeing these programs continue to grow and excel. Additionally, Dr. Ponder’s expertise in assessment is critical to the college’s accreditations through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.”
In addition to a long track record of award-winning research publications, Ponder has held a range of service positions for both the College of Business and the university. Since 2016, she has served as the college’s assessment coordinator. She has been a member of the university’s Institutional Effectiveness Committee since 2008, and the Teaching Effectiveness Committee since 2014.
Ponder earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of South Alabama before obtaining master’s and doctoral degrees in the field from the University of Alabama. Prior to joining MSU, she was an instructor at the University of Montevallo.
As the oldest college of business in Mississippi and among the oldest in the SEC, MSU’s College of Business boasts more than 34,000 alumni from all 50 states and 142 countries. Learn more at www.business.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
James Carskadon | Public Affairs
