The University of South Carolina College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management is proud to announce the winners of its 2024 Faculty and Staff Awards. The winners were recognized at an awards ceremony April 23 in front of their peers and colleagues.
Darron Kirkley — Harry E. and Carmen S. Varney Distinguished Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Instructor Darron Kirkley, the 2024 recipient of the Harry E. and Carmen S. Varney Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award.
The Distinguished Teacher of the Year award is the college's top teaching honor. The winner is determined by a committee of faculty, staff and students. Students across the college sent in dozens of nominations. The committee then conducted a rigorous review process, selecting one finalist to represent each primary department within the college. Further evaluation of the finalists then took place as the committee finished the difficult task of choosing a winner.
"His passion for the industry is so strong that it inspired me to switch my major to tourism management," said one student who sent in a nomination.
Others added, "His commitment to growth in the tourism industry and his students is unmatched," and, "If I ever had a problem with material or an assignment, I felt comfortable going to him, as I knew he cared about my success."
Kirkley claims the honor in his first school year as a full-time HRSM instructor, after serving as an adjunct for several years. He won the 2022 School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Adjunct of the Year Award.
A two-time HRSM alumnus, he also continues to serve as the tourism coordinator for Chesterfield County where he oversees the county’s tourism marketing and accommodations tax grant program.
The other finalists for the award were Department of Retailing Instructor Stephanie Taylor and Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Senior Instructor Steve Taylor.
Jung-Hwan Kim — Patricia G. Moody Distinguished Researcher of the Year
Congratulations to Department of Retailing Professor Jung-Hwan Kim, the 2024 recipient of the Patricia G. Moody Researcher of the Year award.
The award is the most prestigious recognition of scholarly achievement given by the college. Any full-time faculty member of the college with evidence of quality research within the previous four years may be nominated by their peers. A peer review committee reviews each nomination across criteria including the research impact and importance, creativity, authorship, grant funding, and journal rankings for published work.
Kim's research interests include consumer shopping behaviors, multichannel retailing, and online visual merchandising. Her research has appeared in Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Managing Service Quality, Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, and The Service Industries Journal. She won a $222k Humanities and Social Sciences Basic Research Support Program grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea in 2017.
Matt Brown — Brian J. and Linda L. Mihalik Global Scholar
Congratulations to Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Chair and Professor Matt Brown, the recipient of the 2024 Brian J. and Linda L. Mihalik Global Scholar award.
The award was endowed by the Mihaliks to support teachers who work hard to create pathways to global knowledge and scholarship through study abroad and international collaboration. The endowment provides funding support to one HRSM faculty member each year who best demonstrates a commitment to and advancement of the globalization of the college's students, faculty, curricula, research capabilities and image.
Brown was instrumental in establishing a joint degree option with Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in Doha, Qatar. He has also served as a faculty member with the Jio Institute in India and has led numerous study abroad trips. He will be leading the Japanese Sport Experience Maymester trip beginning May 5.
Brown's research has led to publications in journals like the Journal of Sport Management, Sport Marketing Quarterly, Entertainment and Sport Law Journal, the International Journal of Sport Finance, and Sport Management Review. In addition, he has made numerous national and international research presentations.
Tina Weaver — Staff Member of the Year
Congratulations to Director of Alumni and External Relations Tina Weaver, the 2024 HRSM Staff Member of the Year.
A tireless worker whose commitment to the college is unsurpassed, Weaver is constantly maintaining and growing a strong network of more than 25,000 HRSM alumni (with that number growing every year) who work across the country and around the world. This network builds relationships, enriches careers and makes a difference in the education of students.
She also leads the HRSM Alumni Society, dedicated to building an engaged alumni group and providing opportunities for alumni to connect with the college, our students, industry partners and each other.
Weaver came to the College of HRSM in 1995. In 2003, she received the Harry E. Varney Teacher of the Year Award and the South Carolina Business Education Association Educator of the Year Award.
In the fall of 2003, Weaver took on a new role for the college, working closely with the dean on special projects and events. This included chairing the committee that developed HRSM 301 and then being the instructor of record for the very first section taught. She also coordinated the college's signature golf tournament known as The Garnet Jacket Classic, which raised funds for student scholarships and college initiatives. In 2006, alumni relations became the primary focus of her position, and the HRSM Alumni Society was officially launched.
In 2010, Weaver added the communications role to her job description and, with the support of the dean, repurposed an existing position to create a public information director position that would focus on writing about and publicizing the activities and accomplishments of faculty, students, administration and staff.
Damla Sonmez — Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Ph.D. student Damla Sonmez, the 2024 HRSM Outstanding Doctoral Student Teacher of the Year. Sonmez is a back-to-back winner, having also earned the award in 2023.
Sonmez is from Antalya, Turkey, where she earned her B.S. in business administration from Antalya Bilim University. Sonmez earned her M.S. in hospitality management from the University of Florida. Her research interests are in the areas of consumer behavior, leadership in hospitality and organizational behavior.
As part of her Ph.D. program, she currently teaches classes on hospitality management at USC and was nominated by her students for the teacher of the year award.
Hui Jiang — Outstanding Doctoral Student Researcher of the Year
Congratulations to School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Ph.D. student Hui Jiang, the 2024 HRSM Outstanding Doctoral Student Researcher of the Year.
Hui is from Shandong, China, and received a B.S. in hospitality management and an M.S. in tourism management from Sun Yat-sen University. Her research interests include tourism investment, destination marketing and social networking.