Debbie M. Thorne, Ph.D.

Debbie M. Thorne, Ph.D. is the Senior Vice Provost and a tenured Professor of Marketing at Texas State University, a designated Hispanic Serving Institution with 38,000 students located in the Austin to San Antonio innovation corridor. She is a primary advisor to the Provost and is responsible for leadership on strategic resource allocation and daily oversight of a $215M centralized budget; the recruitment, development, and enduring success of 2,000 faculty members; and an inclusive and engaged shared governance climate, including transparent management of more than 50 policies. Previously, she was the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (AVPAA), Chair of the Department of Marketing, and Presidential Fellow at Texas State. As AVPAA, Dr. Thorne chaired the university’s successful NCAA recertification, developed 40 new academic programs at all levels, grew online enrollments, enhanced engagement with co-curricular experiences, and advanced national recognition in distance learning, curriculum, and education abroad.

Before joining Texas State, she was a tenured Associate Professor at Mississippi State University where she taught at the undergraduate and doctoral level. She began her academic career at The University of Tampa as an Assistant Professor and served as Director of the Center for Ethics. In four years, she led the center to a $1M endowment, educated 4,000 businesspeople, and strengthened philanthropic commitment of the executive advisory board representing small, medium, and Fortune 100 firms.

Dr. Thorne earned a Ph.D. in business and a master’s and bachelor’s degree in marketing. She is the recipient of awards for excellence in teaching and research and has taught at universities in Austria, Canada, Mexico, and Thailand. She has the distinction of earning tenure and promotion at three Carnegie-classified institutions – R1, R2, and master’s-large. Dr. Thorne was elected President of the Society for Marketing Advances, served as the inaugural holder of the Doris and Jay Christopher Board Seat in Ethics for the Direct Selling Education Foundation, and was elected President of the Texas Women in Higher Education. Before entering academe, Dr. Thorne was in product management with Texas Instruments (TI) and participated on the engineering, marketing, and supply chain team that successfully launched TI’s first laser printers.