Lindner announces new Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing
Marketing professor Rashmi Adaval succeeds the retired James Kellaris
Professor of Marketing Rashmi Adaval, PhD, has been named the next James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
Adaval succeeds Professor Emeritus James Kellaris, PhD, as the Womack/Gemini Chair, a position founded by Sharon and James Weinel in 2007 to establish a partnership with the signage industry.
Professor of Marketing Rashmi Adaval, PhD, Lindner's new James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing. Photo/provided.
“The Weinels recognized the importance of academic research in advancing the signage industry and the establishment of the chair has spurred research and industry partnerships,” said Karen Machleit, PhD, marketing professor and department head. “Dr. Kellaris contributed significantly to both research and partnerships, and Dr. Adaval is the perfect researcher to succeed him. She is already known for her research on visual information processing, and she will continue to advance knowledge in signage and visual communication.”
Adaval holds a longtime, self-described "fascination” with humans using art, symbols and decorative elements to communicate. Those interests have shown up in Adaval's research, where she has been at the forefront of analysis on narratives and stories in the consumer domain.
“I consider how consumers notice and interpret visual information in advertising and in product design. Understanding how individuals recognize and interpret information is essential knowledge when creating signs, but also when creating any sort of visual communication that is designed to attract attention and communicate important information,” Adaval said. “This research chair will allow me to continue my work in this area and will ultimately benefit the signage industry as well as marketers that desire to effectively and efficiently present information to their customers.”
In the years since the creation of the Womack/Gemini position, Lindner has collaborated with the signage industry through involvement in Signage Foundation activities, experiential learning focused on signage and visual marketing, and UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning’s Terence M. Fruth/Gemini Chair of Signage Design.
Featured image of Lindner Hall by Gavin Vargas.
Next Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is classified as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Commission and is ranked in the National Science Foundation's Top-35 public research universities. UC's medical, graduate and undergraduate students and faculty investigate problems and innovate solutions with real-world impact.
Related Stories
Lindner graduate students shine in international simulation competition
November 10, 2025
Five master’s of information systems (MS IS) students took home fifth place out of 23 universities at the International ERPsim Competition hosted by HEC Montreal during the recent spring semester. The competition tests students’ knowledge of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and their ability to adapt to challenging business problems.
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.