UM's Mohr named Regents Professor

The state Board of Regents gave a University of Montana professor the Montana University System’s highest honor at their Nov. 20 meeting in Missoula.

Jakki Mohr, a professor of marketing in the UM School of Business Administration, was named a Regents Professor by the Board of Regents and received a standing ovation in a crowded University Center Ballroom. Mohr, who joins seven UM professors who previously received the honor, is the first woman in Montana to receive the accolade.

“This is something that we do rarely in the Montana University System,” Montana Commissioner for Higher Education Sheila Stearns said in opening remarks for the ceremony. “It’s a moment of celebration and congratulation.”

UM Provost Royce Engstrom introduced Mohr, citing her excellence in teaching, research and service. “She just does everything, and we are so proud of her to join the ranks of Regents Professor,” he said.

Mohr said she was flattered and honored to accept the award. “The reason I do what I do is to make a difference in some way,” she said. “This institution has allowed me to do that.”

The appointment honors Mohr for her unique contribution to the field of business administration and to the marketing of high-technology products and services, as well as for her service to UM, the Montana University System and the state of Montana.

Mohr joined the UM School of Business Administration faculty as associate professor of marketing in 1997. In 2002 she received UM’s Most Inspirational Teacher of the Year Award and was promoted to full professor. She has received multiple state and national awards for excellence in teaching, including Montana Professor of the Year in 2005, an award presented for outstanding undergraduate teaching by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. She also won the Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Technology in 2007 from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. This year, Mohr received the Academy of Marketing Science Outstanding Teacher Award.

In addition to her excellence as a teacher, Mohr holds leadership roles in national and international organizations. She is an internationally respected researcher and prolific writer. Her groundbreaking textbook, “Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations,” is in its third edition next year and is widely used at universities and for private industry training.