2021 Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award

Jiyun Kang, associate professor of hospitality and tourism management, and Christi Masters, clinical associate professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences, are joint recipients of the 2021 Christine M. Ladisch Faculty Leadership Award.

Jiyun Kang, associate professor of hospitality and tourism management

Established in 2018, the award is presented annually to a female faculty member in the Purdue University College of Health and Human Sciences (HHS) who is interested in developing her leadership skills. The award provides up to $4,000 to cover the cost of participation in courses, conferences, workshops, institutes or other leadership opportunities that promote the development of faculty leaders.

With the award, Kang plans to expand her leadership skills and translate them to her Leadership Strategies course in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where she demonstrates to her students the importance of caring and authentic leadership and shows that leadership is a skill that can be learned and developed. In addition, Kang aims to further empower her graduate students to become leaders in their field and lead more service and scholarship projects to advance gender equality and protect women’s rights. To reach these objectives and acquire additional leadership strategies, Kang intends to pursue Cornell University’s five-course Women in Leadership certificate program as well as attend the University of West Florida’s Women in Leadership Conference.

Christi Masters, clinical associate professor of speech, language, and hearing sciences

As clinical director of the M.D. Steer Speech, Language, and Swallowing Clinic, Masters plays a critical role in growing the clinic and influencing her students and colleagues. Under Masters’ leadership, the clinic successfully became a Medicare provider and is continuing to secure contracts with private health insurance companies to increase community healthcare access. To advance her clinical leadership and further expand opportunities in the M.D. Steer Speech, Language, and Swallowing Clinic, Masters plans to use the award to obtain the Duke Corporate Education Certificate in Healthcare Leadership and attend the Empowered SLPs in Health Care: Breaking Barriers and Shaping Solutions online conference, which is offered by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

The award is funded by an endowment that honors Christine M. Ladisch in recognition of her outstanding leadership at Purdue University. From 2010-2018, she served as the inaugural dean of HHS. Prior to that, she served as head of the Department of Consumer Sciences and Retailing, associate dean of the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, and the University’s vice provost for academic affairs.

Next year’s call for applications will be announced in January 2022, with applications due the first Friday in March. For more information please contact Tom Berndt, senior associate dean for academic affairs and administration, College of Health and Human Sciences, berndt@purdue.edu, 765-496-1362.