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PeopleEvery day is
an opportunity to succeed for UK¹s Sunny Ham Every day is an opportunity to succeed for UK¹s Sunny HamSunny Ham's dedication to education - her own and that of others - shows in nearly everything she does. A glowing example can be found amongst her multitude of research projects. It's the time she spends working with students on projects, graduate studies and anything else they may need.
"It is a great privilege to learn anything any day," said Ham, who joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky College of Human Environmental Sciences Department of Family Studies just more than a year ago. "Everything is a learning experience, and I want to help them be published in the top journals, get chances to present at top conferences, and help reinforce any funding they get or need." Education always was important to Ham's family, and growing up in Korea, she knew she would study abroad one day. While attending Korea's private Yonsei University, she came to California State University through an exchange program. She earned bachelor's and master's degrees in food and nutrition in Korea, then after a career with Hilton Hotels, came to Purdue University, where she earned her hospitality and tourism doctorate in 1998. There she studied with Professor Stephen Hiemstra, from whom she learned much about being a qualified researcher and an inspirational teacher. Along with Hiemstra, several other professors guided her along the way. She noted Kaye Chon at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University who helped her understand the "big picture of my profession and how professors in academia should be. He taught me that hard work, sincerity, integrity and caring for people is the best policy." She also mentioned a person not to forget, who introduced her into the world of hospitality management, Insun Yang at Yonsei University in Korea. UK's Hazel Forsythe, chairperson of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, is another. "She has been very supportive and helpful to me," Ham said. "She is a good role model and has allowed me to grow and do so many things with my work." Ham's work at the University has included several independent and cooperative studies. Recently, she and department co-worker Desmond Brown released a study of perceptions of casino gaming in Kentucky. Brown had initiated the study and invited Ham to join him when she came to UK. It focused on Kentucky's need to expand hospitality and tourism across the state and the role casinos may play in that. The researchers found a strong opposition to casino gaming in the state, concluding that it is largely due to religious and moral beliefs in this Bible Belt region. "There has been a lack of study in the state's hospitality and tourism industry," Ham said. "That's partly because it is a new area for academia. But we have found that the market is growing, and the casino gaming industry is at its beginning stages. Before anyone can introduce casino gaming into this economy, we have to educate the public about the positive effects - funding of facilities and development opportunities - of casino gaming. It can be used for the well-being of the people and society." Food expenditures outside the home also have been the subject of Ham's work. She brought this nationwide study with her from Purdue. The study looked at the demographics of people who dine out, finding that Caucasians and those with college degrees and families tend to eat out more. This study, "Food Away From Home Expenditure Study," analyzed "Consumer Expenditures Survey" data collected by the USDA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That study and the unique food industry in Lexington have inspired another study, one of the Lexington area she hopes to begin in the near future. "The Lexington area has a very good market, because it seems to draw customers from the region and the state on a daily basis. There's a wide variety of attractions and customer income levels," she said. "We should do something to support small restaurants and ëmom-and-pop' restaurants. To continue to grow, something must be done to highlight areas as tourism areas." Ham also is working on a research proposal to teach small-business owners to use information technology. Her study of Japanese people's travel expenditures will be published in the Journal of Hospitality and Leisure Marketing later this year, and her study on service quality and its effect on repeat patronage will be published in the Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism. One of her intents also is to use her expertise and enthusiasm to strengthen research capabilities for UK's undergraduate and graduate students. She has guided several undergraduate students in research projects on information technology. A graduate student working with her has submitted a research paper to an international conference that will be held in May in Hong Kong. She has guided another graduate student's research project, resulting in the student submitting a paper for publication in a prestigious refereed journal. "Working with graduate students is delightful to me, because I can see my efforts transferred to a younger generation, who will lead academia in the future," Ham said. "My goal is to help my profession grow, while I help my department and our graduate program improve and receive the recognition they deserve. I want my work to help elevate the quality of hospitality management education in the United States and internationally." Ham also is using her work in the United States to improve her home. She serves on an editorial review board for hospitality management and tourism in Korea, and she has served as a guest speaker at Korean colleges. "There are so many opportunities to learn and deliver this information to the world," she said. "Every day I find new things and see new opportunities to pursue." Community college seeking nominations for alumnus awardLexington Community College is accepting nominations for the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Award, given annually to an alumnus of the community college who demonstrates a positive attitude toward the college and contributes significantly to her/his field and community. The nominee must be a graduate of the community college. Official nomination forms must be completed in writing and submitted by March 29. Forms may be obtained and/or submitted by contacting the LCC Office of Alumni Affairs, 211 Oswald Building, Cooper Drive, Lexington, KY 40506-0235, or 257-3723. Nominations will be reviewed and a winner chosen by the LCC Alumni Association Board of Directors. The award will be presented at LCC's graduation May 3. Johnson leads task force study of PDP systemThe Performance Development Partnership (PDP) system of evaluating the development and accomplishments of University of Kentucky employees is coming under the scrutiny of the Performance Appraisal Task Force.
Appointed by UK President Lee T. Todd Jr., the task force will evaluate the system and recommend its modification or a new performance appraisal method entirely. Its first meeting was Feb. 22. The chairperson of the task force is Nancy Johnson, who teaches in the Gatton College of Business and Economics and is a specialist in human resource management. Faculty members are not evaluated by PDP. "Is PDP really getting back improved performance?" she said. "That's the question we're trying to answer." Johnson said the goal of any performance evaluation process should be to help employees do their best and improve on their weaknesses. It should also lead to an understanding of institutional barriers that hinder performance, she said. The task force will seek input from staff through a series of focus groups, which will probably begin in May, Johnson said. UK has hired Marsha Collins, a human resources consultant based in Versailles, on a part-time basis to run the focus groups. Johnson said the task force hopes to issue its recommendations by October. PDP grew out of the 1996 "It's About Staff" study. Tested in 1998, PDP became fully operational the next year. Melissa Curry of Human Resource Development, UK's PDP consultant and training specialist, said she welcomes the work of the task force. "Any system should be evaluated four of five years into the system," she said. "It was always our intent to perform an evaluation." Curry said she has received mixed feedback on PDP. "Where it is used in the way it was designed to be used, it's been effective, I believe," Curry said. "But during the original training on campus, many questions went unanswered; therefore, a lot of misunderstanding of the system has occurred." Curry regularly holds PDP refresher courses. Members of the Performance Appraisal Task Force are: - Nancy Johnson,
Chairperson -Gatton School of Business and Economics; Back
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Richard "Dick" Wilson |
Wilson's appointment was approved by the University's Board of Trustees at its March 5 meeting.
He will succeed Leland "Buck" Ryan, the current director, July 1. Until then, Wilson will be a consultant to the school, which is preparing for reaccreditation by the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. Ryan, director for more than seven years, will remain a faculty member at the school and director of both the First Amendment Center and the Media Center for the Future.
Wilson, 64, retired from The Courier-Journal in 1999 after nearly 32 years as a reporter in Louisville, Frankfort and Lexington. Chief of the newspaper's Blue Grass Bureau from 1985 to 1999, he was noted for his extensive and award-winning coverage of Kentucky higher education. Since his retirement, Wilson has been an adjunct professor of journalism at Kentucky State University.
"I am delighted that someone of Mr. Wilson's professional stature will be leading the school during this critical period in its history," said David Johnson, dean of the University's College of Communications and Information Studies.
Wilson, a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, will head the journalism school until June 30, 2003. A nationwide search for a permanent director will begin later this spring.
Wilson is a 1966 graduate of UK's journalism school where he also has been an adjunct instructor and member of its Alumni Association Board. From 1965 to 1967, Wilson was faculty adviser to the Kentucky Kernel, the independent student-operated newspaper at UK. He also has been a reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader and Frankfort State Journal.
Lance G. Banning, a University of Kentucky history professor and 2001/2002 Distinguished Professor in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, will present his Distinguished Professor Lecture on Tuesday, March 19.
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Lance G. Banning |
The lecture, "The Gentry and the People: Party Conflict and the People's Role in a Republic, 1789-1793," begins at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the auditorium of the William T. Young Library. The event is free and open to the public.
Banning joined the UK faculty in 1973 from Brown University. He has authored three award-winning books, edited three collections of essays and written more than 30 scholarly articles and nearly 50 scholarly reviews and review essays.
Banning served as UK's director of undergraduate studies from 1978 to 1980 and as director of graduate studies from 1980 to 1984. Banning also has served on many departmental, college and University committees during his 30-year tenure at UK. In 1984, Banning was named a University Research Professor and was honored by his department as the Hallam Professor in 1989-1991.
In addition, Banning also has held many prestigious national and international awards, including fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the National Humanities Center.
