Meet Dr. Amy Watson, Recipient of VSU’s 2026 Presidential Excellence Award for Teaching

Dr. Amy Watson has earned the 2026 Presidential Excellence Award for Teaching at Valdosta State University. She joined the VSU faculty in 2020 and currently serves as associate professor of marketing in the Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration. She is pictured with Dr. Donald J. Green, president of VSU.

VALDOSTA — Dr. Donald J. Green, president of Valdosta State University, has honored Dr. Amy Watson with the 2026 Presidential Excellence Award for Teaching.   

The Presidential Excellence Award for Teaching recognizes a faculty member who employs innovative teaching strategies and demonstrates a strong commitment to student success. 

Watson joined the faculty of VSU’s Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration in 2020, during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was in a new position, at a new school, teaching new classes under very unusual circumstances, and so I used that disruption as an opportunity to reimagine some of my approaches,” said Watson, who current serves as associate professor of marketing. “I really think this award is a reflection of the changes I made.”

VSU: What are your favorite classes to teach and your favorite topics to research?

Watson: I love teaching Introduction to Marketing and Marketing Strategy. I love being a student’s first experience with marketing concepts and then being their last stop before graduation to bring it all together before sending them confidently into their careers. I always incorporate a community partner into the Marketing Strategy class, and it is very rewarding to see the students develop critical thinking skills while tackling problems and creating solutions with local impact. It’s also an opportunity for them to learn about organizations and industries that they otherwise would not have known about that are right here in South Georgia.

VSU: What has proven most effective in increasing student learning in your classroom?

Watson: Storytelling and personal connection are my two biggest strategies. People love a good story, and they’re much more likely to remember a story over random knowledge. If I can get students invested in the story, then they’re more likely to want to dig into the nuances and details of the concepts that underlie the story. In the process, deep learning happens in a way that sticks with them long after the class has ended. And that learning is compounded if I can make the stories personal for them or help them connect with me, so they are engaged both relationally and cognitively.

VSU: Helping students achieve success often involves countless hours of work outside the classroom. In what ways do you actively engage with your students to continue the learning process outside of scheduled class times?

Watson: I sneakily hack the algorithms on their phones that determine what winds up in their feeds!! I have them pull out their phones and look things up during class, then they continue to receive content about that topic when we aren’t in class. They can’t escape my influence!! Beyond the technological engagement, because I develop a relationship with many of them, they feel comfortable coming to me for life and career advice. So, I spend a lot of time helping them plan for what comes next and connecting them with people and opportunities from my network when there’s alignment.

VSU: What advice do you have for other faculty who wish to identify more effective ways to stimulate engagement and comprehension in their own classroom?

Watson: I can’t overemphasize how effective personalized storytelling can be for facilitating engagement, understanding, and retention. You don’t have to redesign an entire course or become a Tony-winning stage actor. Start with one concept students struggle to care about and teach it through a true story with real people, decisions, and high stakes. There is less pressure if you remind yourself that the goal isn’t to make the material entertaining; it’s to make it meaningful by bringing it to life and embedding it in a complex context with characters, conflict, and consequences. Entertainment becomes a natural outcome.