Guest article by Matthew Alexander for our My Academic Role Model series.
There is a wonderful BBC institution called Desert Island Discs, where individuals select eight songs they would take if they were abandoned on a desert island. This is a task I would find terribly difficult—nearly as hard as choosing one or two role models who have influenced my career the most. All academic careers are shaped by myriads of friends and colleagues you meet over the years, but I chose one person who had the most impact on my formative years as an academic and another who provides ongoing inspiration.
“Rowena Murray taught me how to write” reads the acknowledgment in my PhD thesis. Many of you might have read Rowena’s best-selling How to Write a Thesis, but I first bumped into her on practically my first day at Strathclyde back in… the last century! In those days, Rowena delivered courses to new staff on teaching and learning. Our paths crossed frequently over subsequent years, and when I embarked on an MPhil, I took the plunge and emailed her to see if she would be interested in supervising me—the best email I have ever sent! After my master’s, Rowena also co-supervised my PhD, and we have remained great friends ever since.
Rowena is a wonderful academic role model for many reasons, but I will name two. First, she is one of the kindest and most generous people I have met. I recall many days sitting in her dining room or on her famous writing retreats, thrashing out my thesis, aware of her steely eye and, when times got tough, her reassuring words. No problem or barrier I invented could ever “change the game plan.”
Second, her expertise as a writer. Having a non-marketing academic as a supervisor, I think, benefited me greatly—no colloquialism, jargon, or journalistic panache ever escaped her pen. But beyond that, she opened what, for many, is the black box of writing. Someone who never believed he would even get a second degree has achieved three and is still drawing on her techniques and methods to this day—for that, I am ever grateful.
I am a great believer in destiny, and at the start of my PhD, a colleague forwarded me an email recommending the first Naples Forum on Service—a strange twist of fate which, alongside many other “starts,” was where I met my dear friend and co-author Elina Jaakkola. It turns out Elina and I were born two days apart, and I see her as my Finnish twin sister.
A fellow academic once gave me some very sage advice: “Matthew,” he said, “when you are choosing to collaborate with someone, you need to ask yourself two questions: 1. Are they a good academic? 2. Are they a good person? Only agree to work with them if you get two ‘yes’ answers.” Well, with Elina, boy, can you answer in the positive!
As an academic, I don’t think there is anyone I know that I respect more. I recently told her that she is the “Gregory House, M.D.” of academia, as I have never come across anyone who can—at speed—diagnose what is wrong with academic work and suggest a “cure” as quickly as Elina. It is an amazing gift. Her red pen is legendary among doctoral students and co-authors alike, and from her, I learned that feedback is a gift—a wonderful thing to learn for someone who grew up in academic environments where it was frequently weaponized. Keeping up with her is nigh on impossible, but attempting to is a wonderful challenge—perhaps this is the essence of a good role model.
As a friend, Elina is someone I cherish. We’ve travelled a lot, talked a lot, messaged a lot, argued a bit, enjoyed conferences, meals, visits to Finland and Scotland, and much more. I think every academic might benefit from a Finn in their life, and in Elina, I have one of the best.
Very grateful to another wonderful Finnish friend, Kaisa Koskela-Huotari, for nominating me to write this—it has been great fun. I would like to nominate two other great academic friends, Jodie Conduit (Adelaide University) and Jonas Holmqvist (Kedge Business School).
Matthew Alexander
Reader in Marketing
Department of Marketing
University of Strathclyde Business School
