Faculty awards, for devotion to teaching, excellent teaching methods and research competence, were based on teaching evaluations and recommendations. Profiles of the three faculty members follow.
 

Yan Feng, assistant professor, earned her Ph.D. in applied economics at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Last year, she taught microeconomics and management economics for MBA students. She encourages students to study and think independently and designs courses based on students’ interests. Feng admits that as a teacher, she shoulders a heavy burden and responsibility because each year students have different backgrounds and expectations, which requires her to constantly keep herself close to trends and the frontiers of knowledge. She said that teaching one class of students well does not necessarily mean a teacher has done a good job once and for all. Feng published two papers in key journals and completed several projects for Huawei last semester.
 
 “Teaching is not about showing off, but should focus on helping students understand and master what you have taught, said Feng. “Responsible teachers strive to make their courses better and accessible through different methods. So, I think this honor does not belong to me, but should be attributed to all the responsible and respectful teachers at PHBS.”
 


Seungjoon Oh, assistant professor, earned his Ph.D.in finance at the University of Michigan. Last year, he taught several main courses at PHBS, including corporate governance, as well as mergers and acquisitions. He designs his courses to help students reach their own conclusions instead of giving them his answers and holds that in both reality and academics, there is no right answer, but just good arguments and bad arguments. Also, Oh works to create synergy between Chinese students and international students in his classes. Four of Oh’s research papers were presented in major international conferences last year.
 
Said Oh, “Having students with diverse experience and backgrounds definitely adds value to the class. Greater diversity implies a larger knowledge-set in the class, but it requires more effort to communicate. I believe my role is to promote effective communication and motivate students to participate. There are three ways we can manage our lives: passive, responsive, or proactive. I want our students to become more proactive in the classroom and in their lives. Then they will stand out in the crowd.”



Assistant Professor Young Joon Park earned his Ph.D. in economics at the University of California at San Diego. He has taught economics courses at PHBS for six years, including advanced microeconomics, behavioral economics, and game theory. Park’s courses aim to help students gain a better understanding of practical problems in economics and improve their problem-solving ability. Using an interactive teaching approach and lots of humor, Park feels he has made his courses more accessible and interesting, attracting many students. He says that he uses different approaches to stimulate students’ participation and cooperation and encourages them to solve problems by themselves. In addition to the PHBS award, Park was honored with the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Education Excellent Teacher of Shenzhen award.
 
"Students might find my teaching style more accessible partly because I have been trying to understand where they might struggle and where they might find things difficult,” Park said. “In that sense, I think sometimes I’m better at putting myself into students’ shoes. My students often work very hard, and I really appreciate their efforts. For many students the goal is to get a decent job after graduation, and I hope they could strike a balance between their studies and other activities outside the classroom.”

 Also based on performance evaluations and recommendations, awards were made to 13 staff members for their outstanding efforts and dedication to student development, willingness to take initiative, and promote cross-department cooperation.



Nicole Chastagner, vice director of the MA-Ph.D. Program Office of PHBS, focuses on building the international student exchange program, bringing in students from abroad and sending PHBS students abroad. Last year, she was responsible for international curriculum arrangement, student activities and international cooperation to help students broaden their horizon and obtain diverse study experiences. When receiving her award, Chastagner said, “It is a great honor to receive this recognition. I enjoy my time working at PHBS, and I appreciate all of the hard work and encouragement from my fellow coworkers.”



 Xiaotian Hu, director of the EMBA Program Office, is in charge of EMBA admissions, teacher recruitment, and alumni relationship maintenance, among other work. Under her direction, the EMBA office met its annual admission and training targets and held four admission forums. Hu also planned several large alumni events to enhance the links between EMBA program alumni and PHBS, as well as helping to improve the influence of the EMBA brand in South China. With ten years at PHBS, Hu said she has seen first-hand the school’s rapid development and wishes it a bright future 



Haiwen Huang, IT engineer, is responsible for computer room maintenance, IT support, and server upgrades. Last year, he also participated in designing the PHBS financial simulation lab and assisted the PKU Shenzhen Graduate School main IT office in such work as international broadband speed testing, wireless cable planning, and weak current problem-solving projects. His supervisor said that Huang provides excellent IT service for PHBS, and his work supports IT upgrade and project innovation.

                    

Guo Jiang, assistant to the director, PHBS Development and Alumni Office, provides teaching assistance and also handles admissions, administrative work, and alumni services. Last year, she arranged remote teaching, local teaching and on-site practice, which gave students a chance to study in Taiwan and visit local enterprises. To better enhance alumni ties, she also supported bringing Chinese culture expert, Tengfei Yuan to PHBS to speak to more than 400 alumni. Since she comes from a family of teachers, Jiang said “I have always wanted to be an educator, and firmly believe I can become better by working with excellent people here.”

                   

Na Mao, director of the MBA Program Office, is responsible for everything related to the program: admissions, educational and teaching administration, student career development, and student events. In addition, last semester she helped the school prepare for the PKU Global Finance Forum and the 14th China Economics Annual Conference, as well as events for the PHBS 10th Anniversary. Receiving many greetings from students on Teacher’s Day, Mao said she would like to influence more and more students with her deep love for Peking University.


 
Yulu Peng, secretary to the dean, manages Dean Wen Hai’s daily schedule, which includes a variety of activities both on and off campus. Much of her work requires coordinating communication among different departments, as well as taking charge of special projects and initiatives, such as the PHBS Development Fund, and the PHBS 10th Anniversary, among other events and activities associated with the school. Dean Hai recognized Peng for her “extraordinary ability to handle every task well” and for her consistent efforts and attention to details. 



Xiaochun Sheng, editor in the PHBS media office, is in charge of writing and editing for the PHBS website, as well as updating its pages. Sheng has posted over 200 news articles in both Chinese and English. Last year, he covered several major events, including the 14th Economics Annual Conference, the Global Dean’s Forum, and the PHBS 10th Anniversary. On receiving this award, Sheng said that he appreciates being able to record the history of our school and that“my thanks go to the school’s leaders and my colleagues for their encouragement.”




Xiaoling Tian, customer service manager of the property service center, oversees everything that has to do with the building management and services – both indoors and outside the building. This includes logistics services for the faculty and students, conference room management, indoor environment landscaping and support for large events, such as the PHBS 10th anniversary celebration last year. Tain’s manager praises her professionalism in every aspect of her work, saying that she is a real “doer” in her position and has great problem-solving abilities. 

                         

Yi Wang, vice director of the MA-Ph.D. Program Office, is in charge of full-time student admissions, student career development and internship placement. She helped to enroll 293 students and 93 overseas students from 56 countries through exam-free recommendations, selection tests and applications. Last year, she fulfilled students ’career development and internship placements that develop their professional skills and competitive edge. Wang said that she was honored by the award and noted, “It is a privilege to work with top teachers here and witness the development of talented students who may amaze the world someday.”

                          

Fei Wang, assistant in the EDP educational administration department, is responsible for PHBS self-operated projects, school-enterprise cooperation projects, and related accounting work and education administration assistance. During the first half of 2015, Wang completed the application process for the approval of eight projects. She also helped the PKU arrange adult training courses and promote the EDP program. Upon receiving her award, Wang expressed gratitude to her colleagues for their trust, help and understanding.



Xi Wang of the PHBS EDP Beijing Office is in charge of teaching and education administration, financial settlement，and cooperation management. She was recognized for collaborating with other PKU departments in Beijing to advance the EDP program and promote PHBS’s influence in North China. Wang said that she greatly appreciates the help from colleagues in Shenzhen although she is far away from the campus.

                      

Yunni Zhao is director of the PHBS EDP Center, Shenzhen Office, responsible for a variety of events, admissions, training strategies, and relationship maintenance among EDP students. Last year, she organized staff training for professional development and worked on identifying different ways to promote EDP admissions in South China. Under her direction, the EDP office expanded enterprise training courses, and met its annual admission targets. Zhao said it is the cooperation and efforts among colleagues that made EDP successful.

                      

Shu Zhang is responsible for the educational administration and teaching work for the EMBA program. Last year, she oversaw program curricula, teaching and educational administration, event arrangements, and international courses. She also helped colleagues in other departments complete various tasks related to international admissions and accreditation. When asked about her work Zhang said, “I am privileged to be at PHBS and learn a lot here. It is team cooperation that makes the EMBA program stronger and better.”

(Awardees arranged in alphabetical order )

By  Jin and Shao
Edited by  P. Young