Nutrition and Hospitality Management Faculty Joins ACCI Board

Connection to organization could help attract more scholars to Ole Miss

OXFORD, Miss. – Yunhee Chang, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Hospitality Management at the University of Mississippi, has been appointed to the board of directors for the American Council on Consumer Interests, or ACCI.

Chang said her two-year stint could “possibly attract more graduate students and scholars” to the university.

“ACCI could give UM more visibility within the field,” Chang said. “Plus, as a board member, I will be more involved in important decisions and (will) become more in tune with the most recent trends of the field, which will be reflected in my teaching and other scholarly activities.”

The organization is an important professional connection for the university, said Kathy Knight, chair of the department.

“Our department’s goal is to have good academic programs and research, but to always remain relevant in the world,” Knight said. “One way to ensure a strong outreach is by making good working connections, such as the ACCI.”

Chang, who joined the UM faculty in 2004, earned a bachelor’s and master’s in human ecology in 1989 and 1991, respectively, from Seoul National University. In 2003, she earned a doctorate in agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana. Chang’s primary research is in household behavior and family economics, welfare and poverty, and demographic economics.

ACCI, founded in 1953, is the leading consumer policy research and education organization consisting of a worldwide community of researchers, educators and related professionals dedicated to enhancing consumer well-being. ACCI promotes the consumer interest by encouraging, producing and communicating policy-relevant research.