Biology professor joins a community of BIPOC educators to help promote equity in education and career growth.
The first time Seokyoung Kang visited the United States was just a few days before the 9/11 attacks. Kang later began his Ph.D. studies at Tulane University in New Orleans. This time, he arrived just two days before Hurricane Katrina caused massive devastation to the region. Kang was displaced for more than a semester, waiting to return to New Orleans to begin his Ph.D. in Parasitology.
Kang’s introduction to international studies has been punctuated with more than one “once-in-a-lifetime” event. Despite this, he is modest about his experiences during this time. As a new international graduate student, one might imagine he felt fear and perhaps a little anxiety having endured Hurricane Katrina, but instead, he felt grateful. “A lot of people lost their lives. A lot of people lost their property. I felt lucky because I didn’t have anything to lose,” recalled Kang.
Since earning his Ph.D., Dr. Kang completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has served as a research faculty member at University of Florida, and has co-published more than 23 scientific papers. He also has two children with his wife, a faculty member at University of Connecticut. Kang is the associate chair and assistant professor in UB’s Biology department, where he mentors and guides UB biology students toward successful careers in the sciences.
Dr. Kang was recently honored by the North Star Collective and selected as a North Star Collective Faculty Fellow. Centered around the platform of restorative justice, equity, and career advancement for BIPOC faculty members, the North Star Collective fellowship offers members a community where they can heal, support, uplift, and grow in a supportive and collaborative environment focused on their scholarship.
North Star Collective fosters career advancement and community
Since its inception in 2021, there have been three cohorts of North Star Collective fellows. These fellows represent a range of disciplines and hail from universities across New England, fostering inter-institutional collaboration and partnership.
The North Star Collective was founded on the principles of racial equity and reparative justice. Named for the impact the chattel slave trade in the Americas had and continues to have on society, the fellowship provides opportunities for support and community to faculty members from marginalized groups looking to advance their careers and promote equity in higher education.
UB joined the North Star collective in an effort to address known barriers in the field of higher education for faculty members of color. Member institutions seek to acknowledge the ways they have benefited directly or indirectly from slavery and the legacy of white supremacy.
The fellowship provides selected faculty members a space to support and uplift one another as they seek to problem-solve issues within higher education classrooms and promote their scholarship and writing. The North Star Collective recognizes that “writing is the key to tenure and promotion,” noting that barriers to getting published can hinder career growth for many, especially those whose first language isn’t English.
“The American Dream” for international faculty members
Dr. Kang is an expert in entomology and parasitology. His research interests involve the immune system of insects and the early detection systems for mosquito and tick-borne illnesses. Having grown up and earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in South Korea, Kang now calls Connecticut home. He has focused his skills and interests on addressing the surge in insect-borne diseases within the state.
Dr. Kang is among a limited number of professionals in his field in the United States. He is an affiliated scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), using his relationship with the organization to help UB students secure internship and job opportunities in biology and with CAES.
Expanding opportunities for all
While UB faculty members have a thriving and collaborative community, leadership continues to focus on connecting faculty across institutions with the goal of expanding opportunities for students and faculty alike.
The North Star Collective fellowship is one such example of inter-institutional collaboration. Goodwin University, UB’s partner institution, joined the North Star Collective in 2021. Ebenezer Afarikumah, director of Goodwin’s Business Administration program, was selected to join Dr. Kang in the 2024 North Star Collective fellowship. The two faculty members were part of a cohort of 31 faculty from 18 colleges and universities across the Northeast who came together for this semester-long fellowship.
“The purpose of the fellowship is to connect 20 to 30 faculty members in the New England area and help us make a healthy community,” Dr. Kang shared. “One example is the writing workshops, where we talk about writing and our obstacles in writing. We share our work, and we write together.”
Writing workshops are an important and evidence-based way to grow one’s writing skills, which are critical to advancing one’s academic career. For Kang, whose native language is Korean, developing his English writing skills has been a growth opportunity in his career.
In addition to forming a community centered around growing in their own scholarship, these fellows also bring opportunities to their universities. Through this fellowship, Dr. Kang has invited faculty members from NSC partner institutions to speak and present at UB, bringing outside expertise and unique perspectives to UB students.
UB proudly celebrates Dr. Kang’s achievements in his field and his work supporting and mentoring UB students. Dr. Kang encourages his fellow colleagues to apply to future NSC fellowships.
Visit here to read more about the Collective and to apply for future North Star Collective Fellowships.