Contents

Work Information

Job title
Professor of Marketing & Director of MBA Programs

Department or workgroup
 Department of Marketing
University of Minnesota Duluth

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(Brief) Biographical Information

Washington State University
1993, Ph.D. in Marketing.

University of Idaho
1989, MBA.

Please check my complete resume (PDF) for further details.

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Contact Information

Street address
Department of Marketing
University of Minnesota
365T, 1318 Kirby Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
USA

Electronic mail address
rvaidyan {at} d.umn.edu

Web address
http://www.d.umn.edu/~rvaidyan/

Office phone
(218) 726-6817

FAX number
(218) 726-7578

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Current Projects

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Personal Interests

Music & Movies
I have wide ranging tastes in music (which explains my huge music collection that my wife hates). I also tend to go through phases where one artiste becomes the focus of my interest (and collection) for a time. I do not mean to imply that these fads pass and I stop liking their music after a while. Rather, what usually happens is that I learn a lot about him/her/them, collect a major portion of their music and listen to so much of their music that I need a break. This happened with Elvis, the Beatles, Cliff Richard. I love the Finn Brothers (of Split Enz and Crowded House fame). Most recently, I have been enjoying progressive rock from Dream Theater and The Flower Kings.  I am also a huge audio/video enthusiast and in 2003 achieved my dream of having my own "media room" that has a big widescreen HDTV, tiered (but comfortable) seating, CD/DVD shelves, a bar, etc. It turned out exactly the way I had imagined it and spend as much time as I can (which, unfortunately is not much) in there.
Sports
I have never been much of a "sportsman," but am a big football fan. My wife and I have a deal during football season -- on Sundays, she gets to go wherever she wants alone while I watch the game(s) and babysit our kids. Of course, being in Minnesota, I fervently root for the Vikings!
Family
I am married and have three awesome and cute kids.  Neil turned 14 on August 8, 2008, Sheila turned 9 on August 24, 2008, and Jay turned 7 on April 28, 2008.  Neil is a LOT of fun to be around now that he is grown up and can do all the fun things Dad likes to do. We have even started traveling to concerts around the country together (in 2008, we did NearFest and 3 Rivers Progressive Rock Festival).  Sheila is truly "daddy's girl" and is always running up to me and telling me how much she loves me.  She is also an astonishingly avid reader and finishes books at an alarming rate. Neil is so grown up and is already getting to the stage where he can stump me with some of the stuff he's learning in school.  I think he takes great pride in thinking that his Dad is an idiot.  Jay is at the stage where he is learning very quickly and is excited about being able to read on his own.  Given his active desire to attempt the most extreme sports he sees on TV, I predict he will be the first in the family to break his limbs.  My lovely wife was born and raised on a farm in rural Idaho and once thought that Moscow, Idaho (population 17,000) was the "BIG" city.
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Comments and Suggestions

Please tell me what you think about my home page and how I might improve it.

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Hot List - Some of my Favorite Sites

  • Google! - This is the only search engine I find myself using.
  • Wikipedia - The best starting point for almost any information.  Gives you enough information to get to more reliable sources of information.
  • Snopes Urban Legend Page - It is amazing what people will believe.  And this page tells you whether amazing things are really true or not.
  • The incredible UMD Library.
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Copyright © 1996 Rajiv Vaidyanathan.
Last revised: July 22, 2008