By: Isabella Lebron and Dr. Vicky Klima
Dr. Pia A. Albinsson, Beroth Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing & Supply Chain Management joined the Honors College beginning August 2025 as the Honors College academic mentor for students majoring in the Walker College of Business. Dr. Albinsson initially began working at Appalachian State University as an assistant professor in 2009, and since then has also worked as a visiting professor over the summers at the University of Angers, France and the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Dr. Albinsson’s research interests include: collaborative consumption, green consumption practices, consumer activism, corporate social responsibility, and advertising effectiveness.
Honors College academic mentors play a crucial role in fulfilling our Honors College mission to support students’ individual holistic development and engagement beyond themselves, across disciplinary boundaries, and in collaboration with others. Honors College mentors empower and engage students by collaborating with them to:
- Strategically navigate the Honors curriculum, major decisions, and general education choices to explore and define personal and professional long-term goals, including plans for post-graduate education or employment.
- Identify and pursue co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities to further refine and achieve their goals.
- Become leaders, healthy, well-balanced community members, and engaged local-global citizens.
About Dr. Albinsson’s new role as an Honors College mentor, Dr. Vicky Klima, associate vice provost of the Honors College stated,
Pia is dedicated to helping each business student make the most of their Honors experience. She ensures they have the right guidance, follows up as needed, and supports them in turning their curiosity and coursework into research, internships, and opportunities that prepare them for the next steps in their journey.
Honors College mentors begin working with students before they arrive on campus, partnering with them in Honors College Summer Orientation to develop completion plans for their undergraduate requirements, including majors, minors, and general education. Honors College advising is unique in that advisors support their students for the entire duration of their time at Appalachian. Even after they declare their majors, mentors continue to guide students through University Honors requirements including: interdisciplinary coursework, international education, and the completion of their Honors thesis.
Prior to joining the Honors College mentor team, Dr. Albinsson mentored several students through their honors and master’s thesis research at Appalachian State. She has also served as advisor for the Appalachian State University’s chapter of the American Marketing Association. In that role, she has coached students in their participation with marketing strategy and sales competitions to develop leadership skills. About mentoring, she reflected,
The most meaningful part of my job is mentoring students—both in my role as an educator, but also in my new mentoring role— helping students navigate their academic and career paths and seeing them grow and succeed. It is incredibly rewarding to contribute to their development.
While Dr. Albinsson finds inspiration from many people, she particularly admires leaders who can build the bridge between socially responsible theory and practice and demonstrate how businesses can choose both profit and their obligation to society.
Inspiration often comes from observing student engagement, innovative teaching methods, and current trends in marketing and sustainability. My colleagues and students also inspire me daily with their passion and insights.
As an honors college mentor, Dr. Albinsson has the pleasure of working with many students from diverse backgrounds. This allows her to take what she learns from each individual student and connect them to impactful learning opportunities.
Many Honors College mentors are also faculty members in their advising area, teaching one course fewer than they would otherwise and reassigning that time to Honors College mentoring. Others, like Dr. Albinsson, do it as an overload. As established professionals with terminal degrees, Honors College mentors are well-connected in their fields and best-positioned to understand available opportunities. Their professional expertise and experiences, combined with the personal relationships they develop with students, allow them to connect each student with international programs, internships, research experiences, and leadership opportunities that specifically support that student’s success.
In terms of her own research, Dr. Albinsson stated,
I often explore consumer behavior that either surprises me, or that I want to know the underlying motivations behind.
Dr. Albinsson has two edited books under her belt: Rise of the Sharing Economy (2018) and Understanding Collaborative Consumption (2024). She also co-authored a book on Uber (2020), and a textbook on Marketing and Sustainability (2024). Dr. Albinsson explained, “As I teach Principles of Marketing and Marketing Research, I aim to observe new trends in the environment or new business models and bring them into the classroom.”
Prior to academia, Dr. Albinsson spent several years working in the retail industry as Executive Team Lead (in the United States) and in the tourism industry as a destination manager (in Greece, Malaysia and Portugal). She also has industry experience in banking and direct marketing (in Sweden).
Dr. Pia Albinsson is an incredible asset to the mentoring team in the Honors College. Please be sure to say hello whenever you see her around Appalachian Hall, where she does have an office and is meeting with students. You can also find Dr. Albinsson in the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management.
Top photo features Dr. Pia Albinsson. Photo submitted.
