Dr Marla Royne Stafford

Professor of Marketing, Lee Business School, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)

Faculty Scholar, International Gaming Institute, UNLV

Director of Research, Cannabis Policy Institute, UNLV

Dr Marla Royne Stafford is Professor of Marketing in the Lee Business School at University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She is also a Faculty Scholar with the UNLV International Gaming Institute, Director of Research for the Cannabis Policy Institute and past Executive Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Harrah College of Hospitality. She is also past William F. Harrah Distinguished Chair. Dr. Stafford is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and is currently serving as a guest editor for an upcoming special issue of the the UNLV Gaming Research and Review Journal. In addition to her work with the UNLV IGI, Marla’s research in gaming has also been funded by AMZC Ltd and the American Gaming Association. Dr. Stafford’s has published more than a 100 refereed journal articles and she has presented at numerous conferences including the 2024 Nevada Conference on Problem Gambling.

Dr Stafford is an elected Fellow and Past-President of the American Academy of Advertising (AAA). She is the recipient of the AAA’s 2024 Kim Rotzoll Award for Ethics and Social Responsibility in Advertising and the 2016 Ivan Preston Award for Outstanding Contribution to Advertising Research.  She is a graduate of Leadership Las Vegas 2023 and was recognized as a 2019 Memphis Business Journal Superwoman in Business.

Prior to joining UNLV, Marla was Interim Dean and Great Oaks Professor of Marketing at the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at the University of Memphis, as well as Chair of the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management. Marla is past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Advertising, and current associate editor for the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing and the Journal of Advertising Research.  She received her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, her MBA from Rollins College, and her BA from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Stafford worked for Philip Crossby Associates and Tupperware Worldwide.