Developing scholars for the innovation age

In the summer of 1989, I followed a beacon of scholarship in a journey that brought me from Istanbul to East Lansing, Michigan. The beacon of scholarship was embodied in the person of Dr. Tamer Cavusgil who guided me through my doctoral study at Michigan State University. When I was invited to attend the symposium to celebrate Dr. Cavusgil's contributions to marketing and international business and write an essay reflecting on my career, I immediately knew what the focus of the essay would be: the processes Dr. Cavusgil put in place at MSU to develop scholars who can push the boundaries of their fields in the Innovation Age. This chapter uses my academic career as the context of describing that process.