By WJO   

20771 Keri Kettle, RMC Class of 1997, has accepted a position with the PhD Program at the University of Alberta School of Business. He had a difficult decision to make, as he received strong offers from four programs:  Carnegie-Mellon, Purdue, UBC, and Alberta.

We recently caught up with Keri.

"It was a very difficult decision, as each of these schools has a very strong reputation, and provided comparable funding" said  Keri. "My decision essentially came to two factors:  the corporate culture found at each school, and my desire to remain in Canada.”  

Keri continued to elaborate on the differences between what is available in Canada and the U.S.  “Many people believe that the golden egg is found south of the 49th, but the field is sufficiently small for it not to matter, assuming you study under a renowned researcher”, he expressed confidently. “The University of Alberta, UBC, and U of T are three schools that compare with any US program."  

Keri will study Marketing under the direction of Professors Gerald Haubl and Paul Messinger, with his research focus currently expected to be on consumer search behaviour (how consumers search for information prior to making a purchase decision).

From what we learned from Keri, a Marketing PhD typically takes 4-5 years to complete: 2 years of coursework, followed by 2-3 years to complete research and enter the professor job market. Doctoral students are provided funding for the duration of their studies, and are expected to pursue an academic career (research and teaching) upon graduation. 

Keri will thus leave behind his work with the RMC Hockey Team, and what a year it was! Thanks in great part to his efforts; a number of high quality players wore the Red & White jersey this past season. He has worked tirelessly to ensure the team would not only be competitive but also successful.  He succeeded in spades.    

Keri Kettle also spent a great deal of last year working with the RMC Club.  Most regular e-Veritas readers will recognize his name with the e-Veritas updates that were sent out prior to our present format.  

"I would like to thank the staffs at Panet House and RMC for the pleasure of working with them,”  stated Keri.  “It was not an easy decision to make to leave, but I am really looking forward to starting my academic career, and may someday return to teach at RMC.”  

For all of us who know Keri - we wish him the very best in this new challenge. We have no doubt that he will be successful.  

It would be nice to see Dr. Kettle back at RMC, in a few years, both as a professor and also picking up where he left off with the varsity hockey programme. The cadets and both the academic & athletic pillars would all be the winners!