UHV business faculty member leads submission workshop, mentor program
Feirong “Jackie” Yuan, assistant professor of management at the UHV College of Business, recently spearheaded the Submission Workshop and Mentoring Program of the Organizational Development and Change Division of the Academy of Management.
“I commend Dr. Yuan for her outstanding leadership in taking charge of the submission workshop and mentoring program,” said Rhiannon Smith, assistant dean of administration and student services in the business college. “This event, driven by Dr. Yuan, showcased her commitment to cultivating the development of early-career scholars.”
The service was undertaken in her role as the elected representative-at-large at the Organizational Development and Change division of the Academy of Management. The organization represents a community of scholars and practitioners who create and disseminate knowledge to enhance constructive change management and organizational development. It also conducts academic research that impacts both theory and practice, ensures success at the organizational and individual levels by realizing the full potential of oneself and building lasting global communities.
“This is a great accomplishment both for Dr. Yuan and for the College of Business. Given the purpose and scope of this workshop, it signifies how UHV faculty can leverage resources around the world to make a positive impact in their profession and to society,” said Jifu Wang, UHV professor and associate dean of the business college. “The success of this workshop shows that collaborative efforts can be made to support individuals who are in need in academia.”
The global event brought in 37 participants who are early-career scholars, including Ph.D. students and junior faculty, to craft high-quality conference submissions for the upcoming Academy of Management annual meeting, Yuan said.
“It was a lot of communication, a lot of learning for me,” Yuan said. “But it was a great privilege to serve those registered participants.”
The virtual workshop information session was held on Nov. 30 and featured division program chairs and one past award winner as speakers. Even though there were time zone differences, more than 20 mentors, including school deans, department chairs and journal editors at various global institutions, volunteered to give individual mentoring sessions and offered their constructive feedback on submission ideas.
This was Yuan’s first time organizing a global professional event. When deciding what her initiative was going to be, Yuan said she wanted to help early career scholars with their submissions and wanted to provide it free of charge so those from small schools and Ph.D. students could get the help they needed.
“I want to say a big thank you to Dr. Jifu Wang for his great support of this workshop initiative this fall and for sharing this opportunity with all the faculty members at the UHV College of Business,” Yuan said.
“For me, this has been a great learning experience as a leader because I had the opportunity to coordinate with senior board members and I had to motivate and engage with operation team members, as well as communicate with the division board and other junior and senior professors from schools and colleges around the world.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.