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Stacy Neier Beran

Senior Lecturer of Marketing; Director of Experiential Learning

Stacy Neier Beran, PhD, Quinlan's Senior Ignatian Lecturer and Faculty Director of Experiential Learning, joined the Department of Marketing in 2008. Her signature "Day One" enthusiasm for co-designing projects with undergraduates and community client partners is well known and loved. Dr. Beran is deeply committed to helping students discover all forms of design earlier and in unexpected experiences. She believes that embedding design thinking practices into experiential education upskills students for today’s workplace needs. Her work has appeared in scholarly publications including the Journal of Marketing Education and Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal. Industry innovators including Mintel, dscout, and PinPoint Collective have also featured her work. She actively serves on advisory boards for Chicago Fair Trade and Rogers Park Business Alliance. Dr. Beran's book Think By Design: Celebrating Experiential Learning and Design Thinking depicts her career-long devotion to showing students how to use the upside of uncertainty as a problem-solving asset.

Education

  • PhD, Research Methods, Loyola University Chicago
  • MBA, Marketing & International Business, Loyola University Chicago
  • BS, Marketing, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • BS, Textile & Apparel Management, University of Missouri-Columbia

Certifications

  • Assessment (Assessment Certification Program)
  • Ignatian Pedagogy

Research Interests

  • Design Thinking
  • Design Research & Strategy
  • Experiential Education
  • Community-Based Learning

Professional/Community Affiliations

  • Society of Experiential Education Fellow, 2025-2026
  • Practitioner-Scholar Community, International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 2025
  • Member, Interaction Design Foundation, 2022-present
  • Board Member, Chicago Fair Trade, 2020-present
  • Advisory Board Member, GROW/Progresando Rogers Park Business Alliance, 2020-present
  • Editorial Review Board, Journal of Marketing Education, 2020-present
  • Council for Teaching Innovation, Top Hat, 2023
  • Ambassador, Marketing EDGE, 2020-2022
  • Board Member, Acero Charter Schools, 2018-2020
  • Event Lead, Women In Research (WIRe), 2018-2019

Courses Taught

  • MARK 201: Principles of Marketing
  • MARK 310: Consumer Behavior
  • MARK 311E: Marketing Research (Engaged Learning)
  • MARK 360W: Retailing (Writing Intensive)
  • BHNR 353: Research Practicum (Engaged Learning, Business Honors)
  • MGMT 335/435: Microenterprise Consulting (Engaged Learning)
  • MARK 321: Ignatian Design Thinking

Advising

  • Loyola Limited Board of Advisors

Publications/Research Listings

  • 'Beran, S. N. (2024). Think by Design: Celebrating Design Thinking and Experiential Learning. Business Expert Press.
  • Neier Beran, S. (2024). Re-rating rigor: A design thinking script for reflection. Ignatian Pedagogy in Practice: A Forum for Educators in Jesuit Schools, (1).
  • Beran, S. N., & Green, P. M. (2023). An Inquiry into Hope and Imagination in Jesuit Education: Ignatian Design Thinking as a Lens for Exploration. Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal, 12(2).
  • Neier Beran, S. (2022). Gen Z in the classroom: A guide to applying experiential learning to design and UX. People Nerds. https://dscout.com/people-nerds/gen-z-classroom-guide
  • Neier Beran, S. (2020). A smart recombination: Experiential learning + design thinking. Marketing Management Association Fall Educators’ Conference Proceedings.

Awards

  • Mission-Driven Faculty of the Year, Loyola University Chicago, 2024
  • Adolfo Nicolas SJ Excellence in Engaged Learning and Teaching Award (Inaugural Winner), Loyola University Chicago, 2023
  • Innovative and Experiential Pedagogies Faculty Fellow (Inaugural Cohort), 2022-2023
  • Teaching Excellence during COVID, Loyola University Chicago, 2021
  • Dean's Service Award, Loyola University Chicago, 2019
  • Distinguished Alumni Award, Loyola University Chicago, 2018
  • Kolvenbach Award for Engaged Teaching, Loyola University Chicago, 2017
  • Undergraduate Teacher of the Year, Loyola University Chicago, 2013
  • New Professionals Award, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2010

University Media Mentions