On Nov. 14, three students in the Fox PhD program concentrating in tourism and sport were given the Dean’s Outstanding Publication Award, honoring exceptional research published a top industry journal. The awardees were acknowledged at the Research Roundtable Awards of the Fox School of Business and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management (STHM).
PhD students Nataliya Bredikhina, Xingyu Huang and SangGon (Edward) Lim published articles in top-tier journals in 2021–2022—exemplifying what it means to be Temple Made and STHM Proud. Three additional doctoral students from the Fox PhD program were recognized with the Dean’s Outstanding Publication Award as well.
These three winners, all in the tourism and sport concentration, were quick to acknowledge those who helped them along the way: the mentors and peers at STHM and the Fox School who they say helped make possible their achievements.
Sport research standout Nataliya Bredikhina
Bredikhina, who hails from Russia, came to the U.S. to study, earning a master’s in sport business management from University of Florida. Earlier this year she received a research award from NASSM, a top sport research organization and was recognized with a second place and a “People’s Choice” Award for her presentation at the PhD Program School-wide Student Research Competition in October. She just accepted a tenure-track faculty position in sport management at the University of Kansas.
For the Dean’s Outstanding Publication Award, Bredikhina was honored for her work as the co-author of “Superboosting the athlete social media brand: Events as an opportunity for follower growth” for European Sport Management Quarterly. She expressed gratitude to Associate Professor and Sport Industry Research Center Director Thilo Kunkel, her faculty mentor and co-author, for his support and advice throughout the program.
“The Research Roundtable was a very happy moment for me,” says Bredikhina. “It is great to receive an award while being surrounded by faculty members who have done so much for me. It was good to share the moment and celebrate with other students in our [tourism and sport] concentration.”
Outstanding tourism and hospitality scholars Xingyu Huang and SangGon Lim
Huang, a fourth-year PhD student, was honored for “Travel shaming? Re-thinking travel decision-making amid a global pandemic’ in Tourism Management, which she co-authored with Professor Xiang (Robert) Li, chair of the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management and director of the U.S.-Asia Center for Tourism and Hospitality Research. Huang is thankful for the faculty’s guidance and collaboration, saying, “At each phase, I have had support and role models that were necessary for me to become a qualified young researcher.”
Lim was recognized for the paper “A percentage-off discount versus free surcharge: The impact of promotion type on hotel consumers’ responses,” which he co-authored for Tourism Management with Associate Professor Chihyung (Michael) Ok. Lim joined the PhD program in 2018, after graduating from Emory University with a bachelor’s in economics and Kyung Hee University in South Korea with a master’s in culinary and foodservice management.
“There is a saying that, ‘When eating fruit, remember the one who planted the tree,’” Lim says. “I am grateful for the STHM program that has been a stepping stone in my research journey.”
Accolades from the STHM faculty
Associate Professor Laurie Wu, advisor for the tourism and sport concentration of the PhD program, offered her praise of the student winners.
“Our doctoral students and graduate faculty truly exemplify scholarly devotion and leadership,” Wu says. “Their passion and commitment to research excellence is second-to-none. This is a reflection of the nurturing culture for research excellence here at Fox and STHM, which will continue to inspire generations of scholarship to strive for thought-leadership that promotes positive change in our communities and society.”
So what’s next for this year’s winners? Bredikhina describes a clear path that represents the ambitions of all three of these academic standouts.
“I aspire to build on the foundation provided to me here at Temple,” she says, “and impact others—through research and mentorship—the way faculty members have impacted me here.”