Sun Devil Giving: New Ostrom Marketing Student Success Scholarship helps undergrads dream big

The Ostrom family has long-time ASU connections. Now, they’re helping create opportunities for more undergraduate students in marketing.

Amy Ostrom, vice dean, PetSmart Chair in Services Leadership, and professor of marketing, grew up on ASU’s Tempe campus. Her dad was an administrator and faculty member, and her mom still works for ASU Athletics. “Many of my favorite memories as a child involved ASU,” she says.

Ostrom felt so much a part of ASU that she attended the university as an undergraduate. For her honors thesis, an opportunity to work with the famed psychology researcher and Regents Professor Emeritus Robert Cialdini solidified her desire to become a professor. After earning her PhD in marketing, Ostrom was able to complete the best round trip — a return leg back to ASU as a tenure-track marketing professor at what was then the College of Business.

“ASU has been important to me both professionally and personally,” explains Ostrom. “I met my husband, Troy Buchanan, who is the director of business intelligence for ASU Admission Services, at an ASU Cares community service event twenty years ago.”

This year, the couple began the Ostrom Marketing Student Success Scholarship, hoping that the dreams they have realized through ASU can become a reality for more students. The Ostrom scholarship is for students seeking a degree in marketing who have demonstrated financial need and are experiencing obstacles that could prevent them from finishing their degree.

“I want students to be able to dream big and achieve their personal and professional goals,” Ostrom says. She hopes this scholarship will contribute to student retention, especially among students who might have trouble completing their degree without additional financial assistance.

Ostrom shares more about why ASU, W. P. Carey, and giving back are important to her and Buchanan.

Question: You have been connected to ASU in some way through most of your life — could you share a little about the ways ASU has been important to you and your family?

Answer: With my dad joining ASU in 1972 and serving until he died in 2022, I grew up on campus. It remains a privilege to work with such amazing students and talented faculty and staff committed to the ASU Charter. My husband and mom work on campus, too, so ASU remains a family affair all these decades later.

Q: Could you tell me a little about why you have chosen to support scholarships at W. P. Carey?

A: I am so inspired by our students, their goals, and how they want to have an impact now and in the future. It is an honor for my husband and me to support students and, in some small way, help them take advantage of all ASU and W. P. Carey have to offer by reducing the financial responsibilities related to attending college.

Q: Is there a time when someone else's generosity made a difference in your life?

A: I was fortunate to be a Medallion of Merit scholarship recipient when I was an undergraduate at ASU. I experienced firsthand the impact that scholarships can have. As an undergraduate, many faculty members gave their time by helping me learn about research and wrote letters of recommendation that helped me get admitted into my desired graduate program. I am also very fortunate to experience the generosity of faculty and staff colleagues at W. P. Carey every day, making it a fantastic workplace!

Q: As a school, W. P. Carey promises both access and excellence. What does that mean to you?

A: To me, a focus on access means that we are continually finding ways to reduce barriers to higher education in whatever form they take. At the same time, the faculty and staff of W. P. Carey provide an outstanding education to this diverse group of learners who seek to grow their business knowledge. We find ways to meet people where they are and work to help them succeed. I continue to be inspired by the ASU Charter and how we work to help achieve that through our v vision and mission at W. P. Carey.