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University of Cincinnati Endowed Chair to Benefit Sign Industry at-Large
 UC College of Business Dean Will McIntosh and James and Sharon Weinel
Cincinnati, Ohio—James and Sharon Weinel, owners of Gemini, Inc., in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, have gifted $2 million to the University of Cincinnati College of Business for the purpose of establishing the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing. The endowed chair was created by the Weinels for the purpose of forging a partnership between the sign industry and academia, thereby engaging future generations of business leaders and leveraging the talents of a nationally recognized marketing researcher.
 James J. Kellaris
The Chair will be held by James J. Kellaris, professor of marketing and the Ronald J. Dornoff Teaching Fellow. Kellaris is best known for his research in consumer psychology, and specifically the influences of music on consumers. He developed the concept of “earworm,” a phenomenon which describes the effect of music in ads and the retail environment.
The Weinels’ vision is not only to create a unique academic-sign industry partnership to yield relevant business research, but to leverage university assets such as the nationally recognized College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning as well as the College of Law. The proximity of the American Sign Museum, in its present location, and even more so when the museum moves to the neighboring Camp Washington area, will enhance the opportunities for interaction between the museum and the university.
Tod Swormstedt, president and founder of the museum, will be working directly with Kellaris in promoting the collaboration.
The museum has already contracted with the Marketing Department of the School of Business to take part in the school’s Capstone program. Headed by Associate Professor Andrea Dixon, the program will enlist a Master’s student—Lindsay Caskey—to create a marketing plan centered on the opportunities inherent in the museum’s new home.
The collaboration and the ensuing endowed chair was largely introduced and coordinated by Michael Paxton, chairman of Transport America, and a director of Gemini, Inc. Paxton is an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Business. The Weinels were recognized on December 4 in a ceremony at the University, hosted by Will McIntosh, Dean of the College of Business.
 Alumnus Michael Paxton, Jim and Sharon Weinel, and UC President Nancy Zimpher.
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