Susan Holland

Biography

 Susan Holland, Assistant Professor of Practice

Susan Holland is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Communication. Most recently she won two university-wide awards: The 2023 Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence and the 2023 Provost Award for Innovation in Teaching. Additionally, Holland was a finalist for the 2023 Five Star Faculty Award, selected exclusively by undergraduate students.

Prior to joining the University of Arizona, she was a Professor of Practice at Southern Methodist University. Holland has more than 16 years of interdisciplinary teaching experience within the following areas: business communication, communication, public relations, marketing and sports public relations. 

Prior to SMU, she taught public relations and managed the Communication Internship Program at Florida Gulf Coast University. Before FGCU, she taught sports marketing and marketing management for Salve Regina University’s Department of Graduate Business Studies.

She spent two decades working in the sports and entertainment industry. Holland served as the former Director of Marketing for KCBS-Radio, San Francisco, California, managing all regional sports marketing partnerships, including an on-air partnership with former NFL color commentator John Madden.

Before working in the media, she worked for Reebok International Ltd. During her tenure at Reebok, she managed licensed partnerships for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS for the Western United States working extensively with multiple teams such as the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. She also managed multiple professional and collegiate women's sports programs and several youth sport programs throughout the Western U.S.

Prior to Reebok, she worked for KCBS-TV, Los Angeles. Holland received an M.A. in communication and leadership studies from Gonzaga University, an M.A. in sport management from the University of San Francisco, and a B.A. in communication from Michigan State University.

Degrees

• M.A. Communication and Leadership Studies
• Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, United States
• Media representations of female athletes in popular advertising: Critical perspectives of gendered and racialized women in sport
• M.A. Sport Management
• University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
• Measuring brand equity
• B.A. Communication Studies
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Awards

• Faculty Recognition/Appreciation
• Student Success & Retention Innovation, Fall 2024
• Student Success & Retention Innovation, Spring 2024
• Student Success & Retention Innovation, Fall 2022
• Student Success & Retention Innovation, Spring 2022
• Inspirational and Exceptional Faculty Member
• Arizona Online, Summer 2024
• Arizona Online, University of Arizona, Winter 2023
• 2024 Margaret M. Briehl and Dennis T. Ray Five Star Faculty Award (nominee, not recipient)
• W.A. Franke Honors College,2024 Margaret M. Briehl and Dennis T. Ray Five Star Faculty Award (nominee, not recipient)Student-nominated (Franke Honors Students), Spring 2024 (Award Nominee)
• Faculty & Staff Appreciation
• University Athletics, Men''s Tennis(recognized and invited to event, but I was not able to attend due to family emergency)., Spring 2024
• Provost Award for Innovation in Teaching
• Provost Office, University Committee, Fall 2023
• Five Star Faculty Award (finalist)
• W.A. Franke Honors College, Spring 2023 (Award Finalist)
• Gerald J. Swanson Prize for Teaching Excellence
• Provost Office, Spring 2023
• Faculty Appreciation/Recognition, University of Arizona
• Student Success & Retention Innovation, Spring 2021
• Fall 2020 -Student Success & Retention Innovation Recognition - PR 317 Strategic Writing for PR
• Student Success & Retention Innovation Recognition, Fall 2020
• Fall 2020: Student Success & Retention Innovation: 2 classes: Intro to PR and Sports PR
• Student Success & Retention Innovation, Fall 2020
• Spring 2020: Student Success & Retention Innovation recognition: Two classes:Sports PR & Nonprofit PR
• Student Success & Retention Innovation recognition, Spring 2020
• Student Success & Retention Innovation recognition -Course: Nonprofit PR
• University of Arizona's Student Success & Retention Innovation.Fall 2019 recognition (received notification Jan. 2020), Spring 2020