The Department of Applied Physiology and Wellness

Susan L. Holland, M.A.
Professor of Practice

Susan Holland joined SMU's Department of Applied Physiology and Wellness in August 2011. 

Prior to joining SMU, she taught public relations and managed the Communication Internship Program at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). She taught several sports marketing and marketing management courses within the Department of Graduate Studies at Salve Regina University (SRU).  Prior to FGCU and SRU, she taught at the University of San Francisco in the Department of Exercise Sport and Science.

Prior to academia, she served as the Director of Marketing for KCBS-Radio, a division of Viacom, in San Francisco, Calif., managing all regional sport marketing partnerships, including an on-air partnership with former NFL color commentator John Madden. Before working in radio, she was the Area Marketing Manager for Reebok International Ltd. During her tenure at Reebok, she managed all licensed partnerships for the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS for the Western United States working extensively with teams such as the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. She also managed multiple professional and collegiate women's sports programs and several youth sport and fitness programs throughout the Western U.S.  Prior to Reebok, Susan worked for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles as a field producer, overnight assignment editor, researcher and news associate.

She received her M.A. in sport management from the University of San Francisco and her B.A. in communication from Michigan State University. Additionally, she earned a M.A. in communication and leadership studies from Gonzaga University. Her research has focused on women in sport and the media representations of female athletes in popular advertising, apologetic behavior of women in sport, and crisis and brand management in sport.