Professor DiVita started teaching at Aquinas in 1997, eventually joining full-time
in 2010 as Director of Graduate Management Programs. As a practicing teacher-scholar,
DiVita now serves as a full-time tenured faculty member in the business department
specializing in management, strategy, marketing and research. With over twenty-years
of experience instructing at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and 25-years of
corporate business experience, DiVita remains active in the business consulting field,
serving as President of The West Michigan Research Institute.
Prior to his transition to full-time academia, DiVita held multiple executive roles
over the years, including President of WMRI, Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Analytics;
Sr. Vice President of Strategic Research at HDI; Vice President of Client Services
at Decision Insight; Corporate Marketing Research Manager at Spartan Stores, Inc.;
Marketing Research Supervisor at Miller Brewing Company; and Global Marketing Research
Associate at Amway Corporation.
His background in marketing science includes authoring over 1,000 proprietary studies
for corporations with some of the world's largest brands including American Seating,
Amway, BMW, General Motors, Hallmark, McKinsey & Company, Michelin, Miller Brewing
Co., Motorola, Pizza Hut, Steelcase, Taco Bell and Unilever to name a few. In addition
to his Fortune 500 experience, he has also consulted with multiple not-for-profit
organizations, including hospitals, schools, national associations and private universities;
as well as local, state & federal governments, including the Department of Defense,
Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation.
DiVita's academic credentials include a post-graduate certification from the School
of Marketing Research at the University of Notre Dame; a Master of Science in Communications
with a concentration in marketing communication research from Grand Valley State University;
a Master of Management with a concentration in Marketing Management from Aquinas College;
a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing
from Aquinas College; Insights Professional Certification (IPC) from the Insights
Association; as well as an expert-level Professional Research Certification (PRC)
from the Marketing Research Association in Washington DC, where DiVita served as a
member on their Academic Advisory Board.
