Dr. Nick Gerlich, a professor of marketing, came to West Texas A&M University right after graduate school, where he earned his Ph.D. in marketing at Indiana University in 1989. Gerlich has been teaching online since 1997 with more than 100 distinct online teaching experiences and was also named the Hickman Professor of Marketing in 2013.
Gerlich’s inspiration for becoming a professor stems from his acceptance into a Ph.D. program.
“This was kind of like divine providence, if you will,” Gerlich said. “Once I got into the Ph.D. program, I realized that this was my subject and that I loved it. And right then, it became crystal clear that I needed to be in academic.”
Outside of his passion for teaching marketing, Gerlich collects Starbucks mugs, and beer and soda cans.
“I always make sure I stop in every state that I visit and try to get the state mug,” Gerlich said. “Oh, and there’s my beer and soda can collection. I’ve got more than 25,000 different beer and soda cans from around the world, dating far, far back to the 1930s.”
Beyond the small hobby of collecting mugs and cans, Gerlich’s biggest active hobby involves photography.
“It ties in handily with many of the other things that I do,” Gerlich said. “I photograph neon vintage signs, thousands and thousands of old relic signs. I shoot abandonment, I love abandoned buildings, and I go out of my way to try and find them.”
Gerlich’s interest in photography relates to his father, specifically tying back to him taking photos and having to adjust to the different lighting he faced.
“I can thank my father, again, for my interest in photography,” Gerlich said. “Back in the 70s, he had what was then the most common camera available; it was the Pentax K1000. In the process of using a camera like that, you really begin to learn all about light. And so I learned from my father, and then, once again, I carried that with me into my adult life.”
Amongst his interest in photography, Gerlich possesses an active lifestyle. He often participates in various activities such as hiking and cycling with his wife.
“We rode the 2,900 mile route from L.A. to Savannah, Georgia. 2,900-miles in 11 days, nine hours, and 20 minutes,” Gerlich said. “We slept 22 hours in 11 days. I knew by virtue of, first of all, doing the honeymoon ride and then doing it at race pace, I could pretty much do anything I wanted to do.”
