The KSEA North Carolina chapter recently had a faculty social, where Korean faculty in the North Carolina (NC) area gathered for scholarly and personal interactions. Jointly hosted by two local chapters in the NC area, North Carolina (NC) and East Carolina (EC) chapters, the event was held virtually via Zoom on February 18, 2021. The event was led and organized by the Presidents of NC and EC Chapters, Prof. Minyoung Suh (North Carolina State University) and Prof. Myon Hee Lee (East Carolina University). The organization team included the Vice President of NC Chapter, Prof. Sung-Ju Kim (North Carolina State University) and the secretary of NC Chapter, Prof. Kang Jae Lee (North Carolina State University).
The event started with the opening remarks by Prof. Suh, who provided a brief introduction of the North Carolina Chapter and the upcoming KSEA-NC programs. The introduction of the East Carolina Chapter followed. After the introductions, the group had a mourning time for Prof. Sang-Il Choi, the 7th President of KSEA, who passed away at the age of 89 on February 5, 2021 at UNC Hospital. Prof. Chang Nam (NC State University) had a few minutes to announce his candidacy for the 2022-2023 vice presidency of KSEA.
Two assistant professors prepared presentations and scholarly entertained the audience. Prof. Sungwoo Ahn (East Carolina University) gave the first presentation, titled “Easy Mathematics for Complex Brain”. Prof. Ahn is an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, who establishes mathematical models to understand social regulation of neuro-modulatory systems in Zebrafish motor circuits. His presentation was loved by pet lovers having issues with their animals involved in a vicious turf war. The second presenter, Prof. Jiyong Park (UNC-Greensboro), talked about “Value of IT in Building Resilience During Crises: Evidence from U.S. Higher Education’s Transition to Online Amid COVID-19 Pandemic”. Prof. Park is an assistant professor in Bryan School of Business and Economics with strong backgrounds in information systems and management engineering. He provided timely insights that were welcomed by educators dealing with the unprecedented crisis.
Breakout group meetings, which were planned for more intimate networking, had to be cancelled considering the time constraint. A good number of questions and vigorous discussions after the presentations contributed to this decision. After having raffles, the meeting adjourned to a next event.
Despite its limitations as a virtual meeting, the event ended up with a great success, having 27 participants from 9 different universities in every corner of North Carolina: 2 from Duke University, 7 from East Carolina University, 2 from Fayetteville State University, 1 from Methodist University, 1 from NC A&T State University, 1 from NC Central University, 9 from NC State University, 1 from UNC-Charlotte, and 3 from UNC-Greensboro. The virtual event promoted the active participation of diverse populations regardless of their physical locations.
KSEA NC Chapter President
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