Prof. Hyeouk Chris Hahm Appointed Associate Dean for Research
Prof. Hyeouk Chris Hahm, an expert researcher and faculty member, has been named associate dean for research at BUSSW, beginning July 1, 2022. Her appointment follows the tenure of Prof. Ellen Devoe, who was recently named associate dean of academic affairs.
Over her 16 years at BUSSW, Prof. Hahm’s research, teaching, and mentorship has had a significant impact on social work in the SSW community and beyond. Her research focuses on equitable health, with a concentration on health risk behaviors among Asian-American women, and she has developed both theoretical frameworks and real-life culturally-grounded intervention programs to help this population, including AWARE (Asian American Women’s Actions in Resilience and Empowerment) and Youth AWARE. Both programs have now been implemented in schools and colleges to highlight the culturally specific struggles faced by Asian-American women.
Prof. Hahm received the Outstanding Research Mentor Award from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) at Boston University and an innovator’s award from Asian Women for Health. Describing her work in this area, she says, “Being a woman, Asian, and a person for whom English is a second language, I face many challenges. But I turned these disadvantaged social positions to advantages in academia. Countless students who care about Asian American health have come to me to build research on this under-researched area. Our publications on this topic have become some of the most cited and influential works.”
Prof. Hahm has been awarded grants by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) and serves on the editorial board for renowned journals including: the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. And she has authored approximately 70 peer-reviewed journal publications and given over 250 professional talks on the local, national and global stage. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including National Public Radio (NPR), USA Today, Boston Globe, Washington Post, WGBH (Boston’s NPR).
“Prof. Hahm’s continuous history of securing external funding from numerous sources such as NIH and NSF among others, will serve to strengthen our schools’ research enterprise. We look forward to her leadership in this new role,” said Dean Jorge Delva.
As the associate dean of research, Prof. Hahm will guide all areas of research at BUSSW, including providing support for faculty researchers, identifying funding opportunities, organizing the School’s Research Seminar Series, and assisting faculty with proposal development and grant management.