Dec. 18, 2007 :: No. 118

Mary Joyce, Cal State Fullerton’s Gianneschi Professor of Nonprofit Marketing, died Dec. 12, following a long battle with cancer. She was 56.

A distinguished marketing expert and educator who had served as a consultant to several nonprofit agencies and organizations, Joyce joined the campus in 2002 as the first Gianneschi Professor of Nonprofit Marketing. She was tasked with working with both the community and the campus in the development of a nonprofit marketing curriculum. She retired in June.

The professorship is named for Harry R. Gianneschi, former vice president for university advancement and founder of the CSUF Center for Nonprofit Research, which also bears his name.

Joyce took part in several forums and workshops on community involvement and nonprofits. In 2006, she traveled to Grahamstown, South Africa, as a participant in the “Prospects for Quality of Life in the New Millennium,” the seventh conference of the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies. She chaired a session on “Quality of Life of People Living With Disabilities” and participated in a panel discussion on the impact of marketing on quality of life.

She wrote numerous articles about integrated marketing, entrepreneurial behavior and not-for-profit organizations. She served as a pro bono consultant with the Association for Donor Recruitment Professionals, the American Association of Blood Banks and the Carolina/Georgia Blood Center. She also had served on the board of directors for Goodwill Industries of Orange County and the Council on Aging of Orange County.

The Laguna Beach resident held a doctorate in business administration from the University of Kentucky, plus an M.B.A and bachelor’s degree in business from Sacramento  State.

Before coming to CSUF, Joyce taught at Bryant College, University of Central Florida and the University of Colorado at Denver. She was professor and director of the Retail Management Center at San Francisco State University and served as chair of the department of communications at Emerson College in Boston.

“Mary had a passion for service learning,” said Irene Lange, chair and professor of marketing in the CSUF College of Business and Economics. “She wanted to instill in students an appreciation for corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship and sustainable growth. Her many interests included gerontology, health, women’s issues and quality of life.”

According to Shay Sayre, professor of communications, “Mary dedicated her life to advocating justice for people of all races, sexual orientations and economic situations. Her enthusiasm and energy will endure in everyone who knew her.”

Joyce is survived by her husband, David Lambert, and siblings, Linda Myers, Tom Joyce and John Joyce.

A celebration of Joyce’s life is being planned for 2008 in Vallejo. In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to Planned Parenthood.

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