"I was encouraged by my professors to set broader career goals than I originally envisioned," says Elaine Sherman, who earned an M.B.A. from Hofstra University in 1978. An expert in the elderly markets, Elaine also actively does research in a variety of marketing topics, including retailing, consumer behavior, direct marketing and political marketing. She is currently a professor of marketing and international business at Hofstra. She says teaching at her alma mater has been a way of giving back to the university that greatly inspired her. "I try to teach my students that they too can reach and surpass their goals. I love stimulating students to learn and assisting them to develop their confidence."

Elaine initially was heading toward an advanced degree in finance, but her first marketing class with Dr. Joel Evans prompted a change of heart. "He showed me how interesting the field of marketing is." She also cites Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Herman Berliner and Professors Barry Berman and Dorothy Cohen as being very influential and encouraging in her studies. "Dr. Cohen was a real role model, having been one of the first female business professors at Hofstra." Elaine was also invited to contribute to the first edition of the popular textbook Retail Management: A Strategic Approach, written by Drs. Berman and Evans. Collaborating with these renowned experts was a much-coveted opportunity for a graduate student, and it gave Elaine her first publication credit.

Elaine received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in business with a specialization in consumer behavior from the City University of New York in 1983. Starting as an instructor at Hofstra's Frank G. Zarb School of Business, she has risen to the rank of full professor of marketing and international business, teaching a variety of courses, and has been actively mentoring and counseling students for more than 25 years. "What has most impressed me about Hofstra is the growing diversity of the campus and its expansion both nationally and internationally. We're a first-class university in terms of technology and the wealth of degrees offered."

"What attracted me to Hofstra as both a student and professor are the caring relationships between students and faculty. We still have that today, even though we're a much larger institution. I received a quality education here, and I'd like to help provide the same to current and future Hofstra students."

Elaine has delivered more than 100 marketing presentations at scholarly and professional conferences all over the world and has written more than 50 refereed articles. She is active as a reviewer and member of the editorial boards of several prestigious academic journals, including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Services Marketing and Journal of Consumer Marketing. She is a contributing ad hoc reviewer to a number of journals, including the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences and the Journal of Marketing.

Elaine has considerable experience in planning and conducting qualitative and quantitative research projects for selected clients. She has worked for 20 years with the Market Discovery Group.

In addition, she has conducted a wide variety of political and social public opinion polls, including 16 years' worth of current issue polls for the local cable station "News 12 Long Island." The rising cost of living on Long Island and the implications of this condition for young people may be a hot topic in today's news and political discussions, but this is a trend that Elaine has been following for years.