Sacred Heart University Professor Receives 2024 Student Chapter Advisor Impact Award

Seung Whan Ryu, SHRM-CP, is the winner of the SHRM Foundation’s 2024 Student Chapter Advisor Impact Award.

Ryu is an assistant professor of management at Sacred Heart University’s (SHU’s) Jack Welch College of Business & Technology in Fairfield, Conn. He graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Sogang University in Seoul. He also has a master’s degree in HR and industrial relations from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a doctorate in management from the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.

As part of the award, Ryu received a plaque, $1,000, and complimentary registration and housing for the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 in Chicago.

Ryu was faced with revitalizing a student chapter that had become dormant post-pandemic, with an inactive executive board and declining membership.

“Historically, the chapter had been run exclusively by graduate students in the master of human resource management program, which was not inclusive of undergraduate students or those from other disciplines,” Ryu said.

He addressed this by developing and implementing a two-year plan that he presented to the university—creating a heightened awareness of SHRM and the HR field, actively recruiting board members from undergraduate and graduate programs, and championing the chapter’s cause to university leadership.

Ryu was able to acquire university funding that granted all students complimentary access to SHRM membership. He created a network linking current students with alumni who offer mentorship, insight into the job landscape, and potential jobs, he said.

In his role as advisor, Ryu also leads a weekly SHRM-CP study group with students.

Lindsay Hubbell, SHRM-CP, served as president of the university’s SHRM student chapter while she was a graduate student from 2020 to 2022.

“When I graduated, the class after mine did not have as much interest in the chapter, and it greatly declined,” she said. When Ryu was hired in 2023, he “immediately took interest in the student chapter and started working very hard to revive” what is now a thriving chapter.

“Under his leadership, students are actively engaged in the chapter. I am constantly amazed and impressed at how much positive change he has brought to the student chapter and the HR department at SHU,” Hubbell said.

He also encouraged her to become a professor, Hubbell added, and to attend conferences to further her education and expand her network.

“In the one year that I have known him, he has had a significantly positive impact on my involvement in the field of HR.”

Edward Tristine, student chapter vice president, pointed to scholarships and events that he learned about from Ryu, adding that “he even came to a networking event with me to introduce me to people.”

“I get encouraged and inspired to do better and be more productive in my HR career every time we have our meetings or are in class,” Tristine said.

Brianna Pereira, student chapter president, noted that Ryu “is doing all that he can to make the SHU-SHRM experience the most beneficial opportunity for students, and asking the school for support in everything.”

Ryu may be the recipient of the award, but he said it really belongs to the university’s HR community.

It reflects “the dedication and passion of our graduate and undergraduate student e-board members, alumni, and faculty members,” he said. “I have been also profoundly impacted by their commitment, and I am so grateful for the community.”