Marketing

Scott Cowley

Scott Cowley
Associate Professor of Marketing
Director of the Digital Marketing Program
Office: (269) 387-5265
Location:
3282 Schneider Hall, Mail Stop 5430
Mailing address:
Department of Marketing
Haworth College of Business
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5430 USA
Scott Cowley View full size image
Education:
  • Ph.D., Arizona State University
  • B.S., Brigham Young University
Teaching Interests:
  • Digital marketing strategy
  • Specialized digital marketing topics (SEO, social media, analytics, AI)
Research Interests:
  • Digital marketing strategy
  • Marketing education innovation
  • Emerging digital marketing trends in AI, search, social media
Bio:

Dr. Scott Cowley is associate professor of marketing and director of the digital marketing program in the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University. Cowley is an award-winning digital marketing educator, researcher, speaker, and author, whose work focuses on digital marketing strategy and the evolution of marketing career preparation.

His research spans a variety of digital marketing areas, especially scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) within marketing. He is a guest editor and Editorial Review Board member for the Journal of Marketing Education, where he was awarded Outstanding Reviewer of the Year and published the Outstanding Article of the Year for research on the state of digital marketing education in U.S. business schools. His expertise has been featured by Fortune, The Chronicle of Higher Education, MLive and regional TV and radio outlets. A complete list of publications is available on Google Scholar.

Cowley teaches undergraduate courses in advanced digital marketing strategy and specialized topics like search engine optimization (SEO). With a professional background in SEO, he co-authored an SEO textbook and course curriculum with Steve Wiideman: "SEO: Search Strategy for the AI Era" and serves as a content consultant for multiple digital marketing textbooks. His experiential learning projects on topics spanning SEO, social media, digital advertising, analytics, and influencer marketing have been adopted at over 100 universities worldwide. Cowley has delivered dozens of highly rated presentations, including keynotes, workshops and webinars, to guide the work of marketing educators and industry professionals.

As digital marketing program director, Cowley steered the program through a period of triple-digit growth, while launching the Digital Marketing Student Association, a digital marketing alumni mentorship program and a digital marketing career fair at WMU. He coached WMU students to multiple world championships in digital marketing case competitions.

Cowley’s work aligns with helping students advance their careers, supporting educators in developing market-relevant curriculum and advising organizations on their digital marketing, customer engagement and visibility strategies. Learn more at scottcowley.com or follow Cowley on LinkedIn.

Awards and Recognition:

  • Stan Lucas Professorship (2026 to present)
  • Faculty coach, Purdue Northwest Digital Marketing Competition Winner (2026, 2025, 2019)
  • Society for Marketing Advances Distinguished Teaching Award (2025)
  • Journal of Marketing Education Outstanding Reviewer of the Year (2024)
  • Murvay Faculty Fellow (2021 to 2024)
  • Marketing Management Association Master Teacher Award (2022)
  • Haworth College of Business Faculty Teaching Award (2020)
  • Journal of Marketing Education Outstanding Article of the Year (2019)
  • Marketing Management Association AxcessCapon Teaching Innovation Award (2015)