By ABBY BRAVO
Editor-in-Chief
Communications professor, Jin Kim, has made a lasting impact on the communications department at Saint Rose over his last 12 years of employment. As he is awarded with the title of full professor, he is acknowledged for his hard work and dedication by administration, fellow faculty members, as well as his students.
Kim moved to the United States from South Korea after receiving both a bachelors and masters in Journalism and Mass Communication at Yonsei University in 2001. He continued to the University of Indiana for a masters in Telecommunication, and finally to the University of Iowa for a Ph.D. in Communications Studies.
Growing up in South Korea, Kim had also spent two years in the South Korean military, as it is mandatory for all men between the ages of 18 and 35. “I’m not a soldier type… and honestly I didn’t enjoy it,” said Kim. “The reason I say I don’t like it is because I didn’t choose it… I respect it [military], but I didn’t choose it,” he added.
Originally, he spent a lot of time going back and forth from the states to South Korea, as he had met his wife on a blind date in South Korea, and they were mostly long distance. “A lot of our relationship happened over my summers,” he said. The two moved here together about 12 years ago, right before Kim started at Saint Rose. “It was definitely an adventure… but everyone is on their own adventures” he added on his travels from South Korea to the United States.
Kim made his way to Albany in 2011 after his teaching contract at Hope College was about to expire. He applied for jobs, and Saint Rose caught his attention. “Location was one of the key things, and of course, Saint Rose,” said Kim. He cites Albany’s location as a perfect distance from New York City, which he visits often.
Since coming to Saint Rose, he has seen a lot of changes both in the school and within the communications department. “We are more diversified, when I first came here we only had three concentrations,” he said.
The concentrations when Kim arrived consisted of film and new media studies, journalism, and PR & advertising. Now, with five concentrations, the communications department is introducing more changes to both the concentrations and the curriculum for the Fall 2023 semester.
Kim teaches many of the core communications classes as well as multiple different film classes.
He has also created multiple classes throughout the years, some of which include digital culture and communications, and film genre classes that focus on various genres such as science fiction, horror and animation among others. On top of his teaching accomplishments, Kim has also been able to publish multiple scholarly peer-reviewed articles during his time at Saint Rose.
Kim is very involved with student research papers and helping them expand on their ideas in his upper level communication theory and research in communication classes.
“I really really love teaching research to students,” said Kim. He encourages students to submit the research papers from his classes to conferences such as the National Communication Association Conference as well as the research symposiums at the College.
This has taught his students a lot of time management skills as well as allowing them to see their work get recognized.
“Professor Kim is understanding, kind and funny, but also effective in getting us to get the work done on time and learning from it,” wrote communications student Maria Rivera in an email. “You can really tell that he wants us all to learn and to be able to expand and express our thoughts. He listens to our ideas and encourages us to use them.”
Submitting articles to conferences didn’t used to be part of his courses, but once he saw that student papers were getting accepted, he kept going.
“It started as an activity but it became a really serious achievement. I’m really proud of it and I’ve learned a lot from the students,” said Kim.
Communications Chair Karen McGrath was involved with both Kim’s original hiring process as well as his recent promotion.
“My favorite moments with Jin have been in doing course observations,” said McGrath. “I had the pleasure of seeing him bring his course materials to life through his passion for both teaching his students and sharing his knowledge.”
Many students value Kim’s passion and enthusiasm for the topics he teaches as it helps them engage with material that can sometimes be daunting or difficult.
“His energy and passion for the subjects he teaches is truly infectious; I always look forward to his classes,” wrote communications student Nicole Ferraro in an email.
His passion is seen by everyone he interacts with, whether that is other staff or his students.
“He’s definitely one of Saint Rose’s best professors, he cares about student wellbeing and making sure his classes are great for all,” wrote communication student Emma Tuey. “He stands out because you can tell he is passionate about what he’s teaching.”
He is seen as a very fun and well-liked professor in the department, as well as being a very good educator.
“His promotion was well deserved,” added Tuey. “He is one of the hardest workers here and it’s never gone unnoticed.”
