1. June 20, 2007
To whom it may concern:
As Assistant Professor of Marketing at Dakota State University, I have had the pleasure of working with
Bruce Smith via the Integrated Marketing Committee, a university-wide marketing committee. As the leader
of the committee, Bruce broadened our perspective by reaching out to different disciplines within the
University, as well as integrating all functional activities that touched the marketing message promoted by
DSU. Through his leadership, a marketing approach and key messages were decided upon and implemented
on a consistent basis throughout all marketing channels – dramatically strengthening our promotional mix in
areas such as recruitment, media relations, digital media, web, advertising, publications and events.
On a personal basis, I have enjoyed working with Bruce. He is inclusive in his approach – empowering
faculty, staff and students as DSU ambassadors by informing and involving them in marketing activities.
His meetings were always well organized and focused upon the goals at hand. Bruce is a believer in
planning, then implementation – which was apparent in his work on the University multi-year marketing
plan that incorporated annual actions plans. His plans were based on research, the action items were concise
and measurable, and the results have been shown to be successful as represented by the increase in number
of media hits and the implementation of cutting-edge technology such as blogs, pod casts and enhanced web
presence.
I strongly recommend Bruce for any position that requires the organization and integration of different
perspectives across multiple departments. He is quite capable of bringing diverse ideas to the forefront,
generating consensus among varying departments and leading efficient implementation of strategies – all in
a pleasant working environment. I invite you to contact me to discuss Bruce’s additional DSU
accomplishments not listed within this letter.
Sincerely,
Deb Tech Coffey
Assistant Professor, Marketing
Dakota State University
www.dsu.edu
Dakota State University • 820 North Washington Ave. • Madison, SD 57042-
1799

2. deb.coffey@dsu.edu
605-256-5135