St. John's News

The annual board meeting and networking reception for The Peter J. Tobin College of Business Alumni Association (TCBAA) held April 17, 2007  served as an opportunity to honor former St. John’s professor Dr. E. Lawrence Deckinger ’96HON on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The event, which was held at the North Hempstead Country Club in Port Washington, NY, drew alumni, former students, current students and colleagues of Deckinger, a distinguished professor of marketing.

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“There is no one like Dr. Deckinger,” said Janet DiLorenzo, who taught with him in the marketing department at St. John’s from 1984 to 1991. “He was inspiring as a professor and a true mentor. It is very easy to pay homage to such a wonderful man.” Deckinger was an accomplished advertising executive who entered the world of higher education and gave whole heartedly to the students and faculty whom he came into contact with. TCBAA president Catherine Camera ’65CBA welcomed everyone and offered some remarks and after a brief bit of TCBAA business, the evening kicked off full force with dinner and speeches from family and friends. Deckinger is founder of St. John’s Student Advertising Competition team and some former team members retooled a song they had written in honor of making it to the finals in 1987 to fete the former professor. Terrence “TJ” Rooney was student leader of the 1987 team and said Deckinger had a tremendous impact on his life. “It was most important to me to honor Dr. D for all he has done for students,” said Rooney, who was also one of the featured speakers at the dinner. “Before I met him, I was pretty unfocused and I hadn’t even declared a major yet. Today, Rooney is senior director of innovation for Kraft Foods Inc.

Nataly Ramos ’07TCB is a current member of the Student Advertising team and said she and other students felt privileged to be included in the celebration for Deckinger. “It was important for us to come and see where the team all began,” she said. “Participating in the competition has been wonderful because it takes real life experience and problem solving.” The National Student Advertising Competition is sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and each year a corporate sponsor provides an assignment or case study outlining the history of its product and current advertising situation. Students must research the product and its competition, identify potential problem areas and devise a completely integrated communications campaign for the client. Each student team then "pitches" its campaign to a panel of judges.

That evening there was also the announcement of the formation of two funds in honor of Deckinger. The E. Lawrence Deckinger Student Advertising Competition Fund was initiated through the generosity of Dr. Deckinger who has contributed over $66,000 and will be used to support the ongoing needs of the St. John’s team. The Drs. E. Lawrence and Adele V. Deckinger Research Fund, an endowed fund of more than $250,000, will support advertising research at the University. The creation of the Drs. E. Lawrence Deckinger and Adele V. Deckinger Advertising Research Center to be located on the 4th floor of Bent Hall.