Honours and recognition

Professor Michael Kim is the recipient of the Research Excellence Award, Junior Category. Dr. Kim is a member of the Operations and Logistics Division. His research expertise lies in the theoretical and applied investigations of sequential decision making in the presence of statistical (primarily Bayesian) learning and model misspecification. He has assembled an excellent research record and developed a focused and independent research agenda. For example, most of his papers, including three sole-authored papers, are published in the very top journals in his field. In addition to its strong theoretical contributions, his research output has made contributions in terms of developing computationally-efficient algorithms to solve practical problems such as maintenance optimization, inventory control, and others. Dr. Kim runs the management science Ph.D. program in the Division. He is a highly competent teacher in undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. courses.

Professor Tim Huh is the recipient of the Research Excellence Award, Senior Category. Professor Huh has an illustrious research career, making fundamental contributions in the areas of inventory control and supply chain management, particularly in stochastic inventory theory, adaptive data-driven methods, pricing and revenue management, and capacity planning. He has published extensively since completing his Ph.D. in 2003, including 61 peer-reviewed journal publications, most in the top-tier journals in his field. His research on stochastic inventory theory includes both classical and emerging topics such as lost sales, random yield, multi-echelon, dynamic pricing and limited demand information addressing many topics known to be difficult to analyze. He is an international thought leader, having served as editor, associate editor, or on the editorial boards of most of the top journals in his field. His papers are highly cited and used in graduate level courses at other universities (MIT, Columbia, Duke, NYU, Michigan, Minnesota, HKUST). He received the best-paper award from Naval Research Logistics journal (Harold W. Kuhn Award) in 2007. He brought significant research funds to UBC Sauder, including grants from the National Science Foundation and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. He previously won the UBC Sauder Research Excellence Award, junior category. He currently holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair.

Jenny Dickson is being recognized for excellence in teaching undergraduate courses in marketing as well as her contribution to the Values, Ethics and Community course at UBC Sauder. Her excellence stems not only from exceptional classroom delivery, but also from her ability to bring real-world experiences and industry contacts into the classroom. She cares deeply about teaching and learning. For instance, she completely revamped the marketing capstone course involving real clients, and identified a core set of learning outcomes and deliverables that would enhance the experience for the students and clients. The course is now considered a model of experiential learning and an effective grassroots connector between UBC Sauder and the business community. Jenny’s contributions, however, go beyond excellent teaching. She is a positive influence in the school. Although a part-time instructor, she is an exceptional citizen and engages in service well beyond what is required. She attends all faculty and student events, provides professional development for fellow faculty, and provides limitless support for students in or considering the marketing option.

Chris Ryan is being recognized with the CPA Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching. Chris is a highly productive member of the Operations and Logistics Division. He is well-known for his Socratic approach to case teaching. Chris has a flair for philosophical debate and pointed questioning that often leads to lively and memorable classroom discussions. Students have shared how the discussion of some cases spill out of the classroom and into the hallways and student WhatsApp groups. Chris brings management science to life and reveals how operations is at the heart of effective business. Chris generates novel and current educational content, including cases based on the organizations and startups of his former students from around the world. More than this, Chris demonstrates a genuine caring for his students and their well-being beyond the classroom setting. He counsels and champions his students in their endeavors and aspirations. He maintains long-term professional relationships with former students several years after they have graduated. This long-term connection also informs Chris's teaching by keeping him abreast of the lives and challenges of emerging leaders.

The Talking Stick Award goes to Michael Daniels and Tamar Milne for their highly successful design and delivery of the Values, Ethics, and Community course at UBC Sauder. The course was developed to teach all UBC Sauder undergraduate students about personal and professional values and ethics, sustainability, BC Indigenous history and perspectives, non-traditional career options in business, and fostering community and connection among the students and with the world around them. Michael and Tamar jointly navigated the complexities of creating a new course – including recruiting and hiring 15 Teaching Assistants each year, setting up multiple Canvas sites, ordering course packages, filming and editing welcome videos while also coordinating this course with COMM 101 and other first-year BCom and UBC programming. They collaborated with the Student Engagement Team to provide a channel for orientation, and they designed a series of eight TA-led tutorials, which covered course concepts in greater depth and provided a general introduction to life and community at UBC Sauder (e.g., alumni panel, senior student panel, faculty/staff guest lectures). This community building was especially critical in W2020, as students began their undergraduate education in a purely online environment. Their work has contributed to a cultural shift at UBC Sauder by engendering in our first-year students the sense of personal agency, responsibility, community, and accountability.