Also honored: CU Distinguished Professor John Lynch received the inaugural Simonson Lifetime Mentorship Award.

For the second time since its inception in 2010, the Association for Consumer Research (ACR) has presented a Leeds School of Business professor with the prestigious Early Career Award. Associate Professor Alix Barasch accepted the award, which honors the scholarly contributions of an ACR member who received their PhD between five and eight years ago, on October 28.  

“It’s an honor to be recognized by ACR and join the impressive list of other scholars who have received the award, including Leeds’ own Phil Fernbach,” Barasch said. “Since joining Leeds it’s been incredible to have the support of my extraordinary colleagues, including John Lynch, and to celebrate each other’s successes.” Leeds is one of only four schools to receive two Early Career Awards; the others include the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University and UCLA.

A standout in her field

Barasch earned her PhD in marketing in 2016 from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She then served as an assistant professor at New York University and as a visiting associate professor at INSEAD before joining the Leeds School in 2022.

“Professor Barasch’s research in consumer behavior has been exceptionally impactful with more than 2,200 Google Scholar citations,” said CU Distinguished Professor John Lynch. “Her work has opened new lines of inquiry, particularly with respect to how technology and sharing affect the enjoyment of taking and sharing photos to capture life experiences on social media platforms.”

Barasch’s research has been published in various top marketing research journals including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research and the Journal of Marketing, as well as psychology research journals including the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Science. Her work is regularly featured in global media outlets such as the New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, Washington Post, Fast Company, Wired and NPR. She also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing and Journal of Consumer Psychology.

The award is not the first received by Barasch for her research impact. Prior to starting her graduate studies, she was selected as a Fulbright Scholar and spent a year teaching at the University of Macau and doing research at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She also was selected as a Marketing Science Institute Young Scholar in 2021.

“It was pretty great to be sitting at Alix Barasch’s table as she won the Early Career Award. Her influence in consumer behavior has already been recognized by service appointments to the top journals in her field, and she is extremely deserving of the recognition,” Lynch said. “Alix’s former student Jackie Silverman also picked up an Honorable Mention for the Ferber Award for Outstanding Dissertation based on their article in Journal of Consumer Research.”

Not only did Lynch celebrate Barasch’s accomplishment, but he himself was honored at ACR’s award ceremony receiving the inaugural Simonson Lifetime Mentorship Award. His impressive career includes serving as the former director of Leeds’ Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making and senior associate dean for Faculty and Research. He was named a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor in 2018 and is a fellow of the American Marketing Association, the Association for Consumer Research and the American Psychological Association/Society for Consumer Psychology—one of only five individuals in the world to be named a fellow of all three organizations.