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Published by the Public Affairs Office at San Francisco State University, Lakeview Center.

#102
Contact: William Morris
phone:(415) 405-3606
e-mail:wmsalcie@sfsu.edu

S.F. State names international business strategy scholar as Y.F. Chang Chair in International Business


SAN FRANCISCO, June 19, 2001 - San Francisco State University has completed its search for the Y.F. Chang Chair in International Business, appointing Gerardo R. Ungson, a scholar of organizational theory and international corporate strategy, to the position.

Ungson, the Victor P. Morris Professor of Management at the University of Oregon, will join the University's College of Business in a part-time position this fall and will begin his tenure as Y.F. Chang Chair in fall 2002.

"Not only is Professor Ungson an outstanding scholar, but he also won numerous teaching awards at the University of Oregon," said Joseph Messina, a finance professor who led the search committee for the endowed chair. "This combination makes him a great fit for SF State."

Ungson will teach courses on international business strategy, with emphasis on how companies enter and compete in international markets. Messina expects that Ungson, who has conducted several executive programs, will also contribute to the college's Accelerated MBA program, which trains working professionals.

The endowed chair, the second to be filled in the history of SF State, was made possible by a $1 million gift from Y.F. Chang, group chairman and founder of The Evergreen Group, parent company of the world's largest container ship operator, Evergreen Marine Corp., as well as other affiliated businesses.

"Dr. Ungson's leadership in our business faculty will help ensure that the University participates even more actively in the increasingly complex, fast-changing global business environment," said SF State President Robert A. Corrigan. "As a bonus, his administrative experience will be an asset to his college and to the University."

Ungson researches and publishes in several areas of study, including global strategic management and organizational theory, with a focus on the Pacific Rim. His research has led, in particular, to two books on Korean business practices, both of which focused on role of large corporations like Samsung and Hyundai in the development of the Korean economy as it struggles to meet the demands of globalization.

His 1998 book, "Engines for Prosperity: New Templates for the Information Age," co-authored with high-technology consultant J.D. Trudel, examined the challenges managers will face as the world shifts from an industrial-based economy to a knowledge-based, global economy.

"Not only is Dr. Ungson's research of the highest caliber, but because much of it focuses on the Pacific Rim, it is also of great interest to many of our faculty members and students," said College of Business Dean Ray Maghroori.

Ungson's recent research projects include a look at Asian entrepreneurship, the timing of U.S. Fortune 500 companies entering the Chinese market, the coming challenges for Korean industry, and the relationship between technology and global strategies.

"I am quite thrilled and honored to join SF State. The University's commitment to excellent teaching, its emphasis on key areas such as international business, and its proximity to the world's high-technology center were important factors in making this decision," Ungson said.

Ungson received a bachelor of science in management engineering in 1969 from Ateneo University in the Philippines. He graduated with a doctorate in organizational theory in 1978 from Pennsylvania State University and joined the faculty of the University of Oregon that same year. He has been a visiting professor at University of California, Berkeley; the Amos Tuck School of Business; Dartmouth University; International University of Japan; and Nijenrode, the Netherlands School of Business.

With more than 5,000 students and 120 faculty members, San Francisco State University's College of Business is one of the largest in California.

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Last modified May 17, 2001, by Office of Public Affairs