University of Birmingham, UK Ph.D
Vassar College
Polly Black is an Associate Teaching Professor and Director of Marketing Communication Minor, teaching courses in Marketing Communication. Polly has been at Wake Forest University since 2010. She has taught courses in Consumer Behavior, Integrated Marketing Communications, Advertising and PR, Comparative Management and Entrepreneurship for the College and the Business School. Recently, Polly has successfully led the initiative to establish a Marketing Communication minor in the Department of Communication.
Prior to joining the Communication Department, Polly was the John C. Whitaker Jr. Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, a position she relinquished in June 2017 to return to teaching full time and focusing on her research. Polly joined Wake Forest in Fall of 2010 to take over the responsibility for the Entrepreneurship Center. During her tenure, the Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise minor grew from approximately 50 students to 300 students, three endowed chairs were added to the program, three endowed scholarship funds were established, and the program grew to include four fully dedicated faculty members. Polly also founded the Deacon Springboard, an early-stage incubator, and provided coaching and mentoring to students pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. Polly also has a strong marketing and strategy track record in start-up, turn-around and growth companies. She brings over twenty years of diverse business experience as a successful consultant as well as senior corporate marketing experience with Fortune 100 companies.
Polly received her PhD from the University of Birmingham in the UK. She holds an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School, an MA from Columbia University and a BA from Vassar College. Her current research interests include communication relating to consumer trust.