Hopp Faculty Fellow, Greg Taucher, Uses Award to Cultivate Student Success
Taucher fosters student growth through 42pointSEVEN and the ADPR+X Talent Portal
By: Morgan Genord
Since the establishment of the Hopp Faculty Fellow Award in 2019, Greg Taucher, professor of practice for advertising management, has been the only recipient and four-time consecutive winner. The award is funded by MSU advertising alumnus, Tony Hopp, who also annually funds The William J. Hopp Endowed Scholarship in Advertising in honor of his father. The Hopp Faculty Fellow Award is given to a faculty member within MSU’s Department of Advertising and Public Relations who is dedicated to student growth and success. Along with the award, a sum of money is allocated to student progress and opportunities within the College of Communication Arts and Sciences.
Over the last few years, Taucher has used his fellow funds to support two major outlets for student growth, 42pointSEVEN, ADPR’s integrated marketing communications agency, and the ADPR+X talent portal. Both are student-run with oversight from Taucher and other faculty members within the Department of Advertising + Public Relations.
42pointSEVEN is the only student-run agency in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. Taucher says he came up with the name of the agency from the coordinates of where it sits on campus, 42.7 degrees north latitude. The agency serves as a place for students to gain career experience with their peers along with the guidance of faculty members.
The idea for the ADPR+X talent portal came from a resource Taucher had when he was in business school: a resume book that was sent to companies nationwide. He says he identified the lack of connections between students and industries, and created the portal as a modern-day online resume catalog where students can be recognized and contacted by nearly two hundred professionals in their field of study.
While both 42pointSEVEN and ADPR+X are growing, Taucher recognized a gap in strategy knowledge and plans to use this year’s money toward implementing strategy projects.
“I’ve been given the opportunity to do things that I think need to be done for students in the college; it’s all student-directed,” said Taucher.
Taucher and Hopp are among MSU’s substantial ADPR faculty and alumni network who share a commitment to bettering student excellence and workforce preparedness.