School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration’s Dr. Yeasun Chung received the College of Human Sciences’ 2017 Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award.
Based on graduate students’ nominations, the award is given annually to recognize graduate faculty who contribute to the professional and personal development of graduate students, are involved in the graduate student experience including recruitment and retention of graduate students, and demonstrate leadership in their field.
Chung, who is an assistant professor, focuses on finance, asset management, health and safety strategies as they relate to a company’s value. Her students used collaborative and mentor often in their nominating materials.
“She puts students in the center of the learning process. I feel that I have become a self-directed learner after I took a class with her,” one student said.
Described as a servant leader, she shares credit with students on research projects, respects their opinions and encourages them to apply their ideas in the research context.
“Sometimes, I feel that I'm the leader of the project because she listens to me and gives me complete freedom to choose the method of the paper,” another student said. “However, if I make any mistakes she is always there to help.”
After taking a statistics class with Dr. Chung, many of her students started to enjoy research methods and statistics. She encouraged them to not think about their grades, but rather gain knowledge and skills that can be applied to other situations.
Her passion for OSU has helped recruit and retain graduate students in HRAD.
“Thanks to her enthusiasm as a researcher and mentor, I decided to stay here and learn more from her,” a student said. “She sees OSU not only as a place to work but also an environment where she learns, leads people to learn and makes learning enjoyable and fun.”