Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Minjung Kim

DR. MINJUNG KIM (PH.D. ‘15)

By Hyosoon Yim, doctoral student

To become a research I (R1) university professor is a dream for Ph.D. students in the United States. Dr. Minjung Kim, an assistant professor of sport and recreation administration at the University of Mississippi, is an emerging scholar in the area of sport organizational behavior. For this newsletter, Dr. Kim shared her experiences and insights for doctoral students in the FSU department of sport management.

1. Make hay while the sun shines

Striking up the conversation, Dr. Kim explained how many valuable experiences and opportunities the FSU sport management program provides. First, she named a set of high-quality doctoral seminars. “None of them were easy (especially for Dr. James’s sport marketing seminar and Dr. Giardina’s qualitative research seminar), but I could see how much I had improved from semester to semester,” she said. She also mentioned that having opportunities to teach sport management core courses was a blessing. She recalled that the teaching experience offered incredible practice that helped her a lot in her first faculty job. Dr. Kim suggests that doing your best and utilizing those opportunities is the first step to being successful.

2. Trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future

Establishing a unique research focus during the Ph.D. years is one of the biggest burdens for doctorate students. Dr. Kim said that students do not need to worry too much, sharing her experience. The central concept of her dissertation was psychological capital (PsyCap). During her Ph.D. years, Dr. Kim solely focused on sport employees’ PsyCap for their productivity and psychological well-being. Digging into this well-known area allowed her to develop a unique research concept—HERO. HERO is an acronym of redefined PsyCap resources – hope, efficacy, resilience, and optimism. Using this concept, she examines the role of the expanded sport employee’s PsyCap in creative work behaviors in sport organizations. Dr. Kim’s unique research was not established from the novel topics but from the seemingly universal dots that she marked, studying traditional concepts.

3. Constant dripping wears the stone

When asked about the way to improve writing skills, Dr. Kim underscored the importance of routine reading and discussion. Specifically, she suggested reading articles published in the top three sport management journals (i.e., JSM, SMR, and ESMQ) regularly, regardless of the topics. “It will make you not only learn from the most prominent researchers in our area but also come up with more original research ideas,” she said. The ideas she got from the readings are polished through her daily notes and bi-weekly research meetings. Dr. Kim tries to make a note whenever she thinks of some ideas, even for one word. In organizing her daily notes, she comes up with new research questions and shares them in research meetings to make them more transparent and compelling. Wrapping up the interview, Dr. Kim added that it is vital to know how to balance learning, teaching, writing, and living our lives. Some people prefer getting more exercise to avoid burnout, and other people may want to take a short walk or quick nap. “The key is to find your own best way to handle the stress,” she says. Her final message was: “It is hard, but please enjoy the moment with your cohorts, work out regularly, enjoy the Seminoles’ games beating the Gators, and be proud of yourself!”