Faculty Advisor Award of Excellence

For more than fifteen years, Associate Professor of Marketing Robert Boostrom has shown up! He's gone to every general chapter meeting, every competition, every one-on-one conversation with a member figuring out their resume or rehearsing for an interview. That consistency is the foundation of his advising style at the Beta Gamma Chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon, where he has built a reputation as someone who leads with empowerment: giving members real ownership of their leadership roles while always being close enough to catch them if they stumble.

Professor Boostrom has folded professional development directly into the chapter experience, delivering sessions on artificial intelligence in the workplace, resume-building, and the STAR interview method, and helping design large-scale experiential events like the Perfect Pitch competition and Interview Gauntlet, which together have given more than 140 students hands-on practice in pitching, communicating, and interviewing. He currently serves as President of Mu Kappa Tau, the national honor society for the top ten percent of marketing students nationwide, and has used his professional network to help establish an endowment fund securing the chapter’s future.

The results speak for themselves. Under his guidance, Beta Gamma’s Chapter Operations Points more than doubled in a single year — from 38,450 to 85,225 — earning the chapter Gold Standing, the highest recognition status in Pi Sigma Epsilon. At the 2026 PSE National Convention, Beta Gamma brought home 12 scholarships and 20 chapter-wide and individual awards, more than any other chapter.

Beyond the numbers, Professor Boostrom has built something harder to measure: a chapter culture where members genuinely trust their advisor. He meets one-on-one with members to review resumes and prepare for interviews, celebrates individual milestones alongside chapter-wide wins, and has used his professional and alumni network to connect students with corporate sponsors and industry partners long after they’ve graduated. As the chapter’s own members describe it, he has helped build an organization that “runs like a business, feels like a family” — a culture that is, more than any single statistic, his legacy at Beta Gamma.

PFA is proud to recognize Robert Boostrom as our 2026 Faculty Advisor Award of Excellence Winner!