Hee Jung Kang appointed assistant professor of hospitality and tourism management
Hee Jung Kang has been appointed an assistant professor in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business.
Kang is one of nine new faculty members at Pamplin this fall. Their addition reflects the college’s commitment to hiring tenured and tenure-track faculty to further strengthen its teaching, research, and business outreach, particularly in the areas of business intelligence and analytics, innovation through entrepreneurship, and international programs.
Kang received her Ph.D. in hotel administration in May from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in hotel administration. She has a master’s degree in hotel management from Sejong University in South Korea.
She is also certified as a hospitality educator by the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
Kang’s dissertation examined hospitality employee engagement. Her co-authored article on how human resources executives can keep employees connected was published in the Journal of Hospitality, Financial, and Technology Professionals.
Her research in progress includes studies on employee perception of sexual discrimination and subjective career success, and the role of emotions on employee work engagement, performance, satisfaction, and turnover intention.
Her industry experience includes work as a sales manager and senior concierge in the Park Hyatt Seoul Hotel and work in other hotels and restaurants, including in Las Vegas and Guam. Her roles have ranged from front-line customer service to administrative assistance in the operations and human resource departments.
