December 9, 2005 - (ATLANTA) Kenneth L. Bernhardt, Regents' Professor and Taylor E. Little, Jr. of Marketing, has been named to the newly created position of Assistant Dean for Corporate Relations at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. In his role, Bernhardt will serve as ambassador between the College and the business community. The appointment is effective immediately.

" Building and maintaining relationships with the business community is a vital function for any major business school," said H. Fenwick Huss, Robinson dean. "Through board appointments, department initiatives and consulting work, Ken has demonstrated the value of how partnerships with the business community can serve to foster mutually beneficial relationships. I am confident that he is the right person to help us make a transformational impact on our exposure within the corporate community."

Currently, the College works with numerous companies in the Atlanta area on such activities as internships for students, executive roundtables and advisory boards. "But there is significant untapped potential for further partnerships that would be mutually beneficial to the College and the corporate community," said Bernhardt.

Bernhardt joined the College in 1972 and served as chairman of the marketing department from 1989 to 1993 and 2003 to 2005. He has published ten books and monographs and numerous articles on marketing and consumer behavior. He currently writes a bi-monthly column on marketing for the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

Bernhardt is a past chairman of the board of the 45,000 member American Marketing Association and is a past president of the Association for Consumer Research. He has consulted and conducted research for a number of organizations and corporations including BellSouth, IBM, Chick-fil-A, UPS, The Federal Trade Commission, Holiday Inn, and Coca-Cola.

He currently serves on several boards of directors including the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Junior Achievement of Georgia, Leadership Atlanta, AMA Foundation, the Alliance Theatre, Metro Atlanta Arts and Culture Coalition, and the Georgia State University Foundation.

Bernhardt has received numerous teaching and community service awards including the 2002 Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau President's Award for outstanding contributions to the marketing of Atlanta.

He received a B.S. degree from Washington and Lee University, and has an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. He received the Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan.

For more information, contact: Tammy DeMel Associate Director, Communications and External Affairs J. Mack Robinson College of Business 404/413-7078 (voice) 404/702-9743