DSEF Academic Partnerships
DSEF has long prioritized building productive relationships with leaders in the academic community to support programs that expand knowledge and understanding of business practices in the direct selling business model.
The DSEF Fellows program is an important step in deepening our connection with academic leaders who are committed to working with the Foundation to advance knowledge in their field of study and increase the impact and reach of our academic programs.
What is the Fellows Program?
The DSEF Fellows Program is a community of academics who are curious about direct selling – a business model that intersects marketing, entrepreneurship, management, sales, consumer behavior, business ethics, technology, economics, and innovation. Through access to industry leaders, research, teaching resources, and fellow scholars, DSEF helps academics explore meaningful questions while enriching both their scholarship and teaching.
Benefits and Opportunties
Despite its global scale, economic significance, and adaptation to digital technology and social commerce, the direct selling channel remains comparatively underrepresented in academic research and classroom discussion.
For scholars, that presents an opportunity.
The following benefits and opportunities help Fellows explore meaningful questions while enriching both their research and their classrooms.
Channel Insights
Stay informed with current industry research, data, trends, and emerging topics that support classroom instruction and scholarly publishing.
Research & Scholarship
Explore research ideas with real-world application and impact.
Contact us for our Call for Papers.
Teaching Content
Bring business practice to life in the classroom through:
- Course modules
- Company case studies
- Industry data & statistics
- Executive Speakers Bureau
Connect Scholarship with Practice
Get to know business executives as a:
- JDSR article co-author
- DSEF Insights webinar co-presenter
- Speakers Bureau event host
- Case study author
- Internship or company tour facilitator
Featured Opportunities
Your level of involvement is entirely up to you. Fellows can choose to participate in opportunities that best align with their interests and expertise:
DSEF and our Fellows create a range of teaching content that can easily be added to to any curriculum.
Explains CUTCO’s proud tradition of partnering with universities to teach students the fundamentals of business and sales.
Discusses how the direct selling business model has been used as a platform for empowering women out of poverty in developing nations through dignified partnerships.
JDSR is our new academic resource for advancing your research and informing business, academic, and policy discussions.
Professional and Personal Benefits of a Direct Selling Experience →
More than three-fourths of direct sellers surveyed agreed their experience improved their professional skills in other jobs and in their personal lives.
The AAC is a distinguished group of DSEF Fellows who have made outstanding contributions of service to advance knowledge and understanding of the direct selling channel and DSEF’s educational mission.
Who Can Become a Fellow?
The DSEF Fellows Program is open to full-time and part-time faculty at accredited colleges and universities.
Contact DSEF’s Senior Director of Academic Partnerships to learn more about our Fellows community and partnership opportunities.