April 20, 2007
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.