Dr. Sung-Yeon Park, an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the School of Media and Communication (SMC) at Bowling Green State University, has distinguished herself as a focused, dedicated professional who demonstrates the utmost integrity in everything she does. Her efforts have earned her thefjkjkj Faculty Senate Distinguished Service Award, presented as part of the BGSU Faculty Excellence ceremony Tuesday (April 14).

The award highlights the importance of the service of a dedicated faculty to the development and enhancement of the University. In his letter of nomination, Dr. Thomas Mascaro, a professor of telecommunications, called Park “a highly valued colleague, a credit to our university and a credit to the entire field of Academe.”

As graduate program coordinator, she took a leadership role when the program was being evaluated, amassing data to highlight the virtues of the program and compare them to peer institutions. She also has helped improve the graduate program admissions process, established curricular standards and upgraded the program’s website, with a keen eye on attracting more students to the program.

She has “distinguished herself and our university by her international and innovative outreach to new populations of prospective students,” Mascaro added. Park collaborated on a program to accept Peace Corps volunteers and established exchange programs with colleges in China and Korea. She also has led efforts to implement certificate programs for online social media.

Since joining the faculty in 2003, Park has taken on numerous service initiatives while maintaining a high level of productivity in teaching and research. She has been very involved in department and school committees, and currently serves as an adviser to the Korean Club and as a member of the Graduate Council. She has been a judge for the Shanklin Graduate Research Award, a Faculty Senator and supervisor for a WBGU-PBS survey and digital TV conversion readiness of northwest Ohio resident survey.

She earned the Granite Tower Teaching Award from Korea University, has had the top paper at four conferences and won the Department of Telecommunications’ Chair’s Service Award. She has 23 peer-reviewed journal articles and 38 refereed papers, and has served as an editorial review board member for Communication Research and Studies of Broadcasting Culture.

“Apart from her extraordinary work as grad coordinator, Sung-Yeon Park is a stellar citizen of the SMC and BGSU,” Mascaro said. “She is an affiliate faculty member in Asian studies and women’s studies and is a worthy mentor to students interested in important subjects such as body image, minority representation and the educational messages embedded in our mediated culture.”