Dr. Rebeca Perren

Marketing Professor

Dr. Rebeca Perren didn’t take the traditional path in becoming a professor of marketing at Cal State San Marcos. In fact, her primary motivation in leaving her native Panama was to pursue her passion of skydiving.

“There was not much skydiving going on in Panama,” she said.

While she was jumping out of airplanes and teaching others how to do the same, Perren earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of South Florida, her master’s degree in business administration from Stetson University, and her Ph.D. in business administration from the University of Central Florida. In time, she realized her true passion lay in teaching, and becoming a professor became her new goal.

Perren, who is just the 31st Hispanic woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in marketing, began teaching social media marketing and global marketing at CSUSM in the fall of 2015.

“The mission of the University resonated with me and I really valued being part of a Hispanic Serving Institution,” she said. “I feel that my approach to teaching is a good fit with the institution as I value applied hands-on learning experiences.”

Her research interests center on consumer behavior and how people in the gig, or sharing, economy use various platforms to reach their audience.

Why marketing?

“I realized how powerful consumption really is,” said Perren. “It’s not just consumption of products, but consumption of ideas and consumption of information. Everything in society is about consumption in one form or another.”

  • David Ogul