INDIANAPOLIS — Lin Zheng, clinical associate professor of accounting for the IU Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, has been appointed to a faculty fellow position through the IUPUI Office of Academic Affairs.
Zheng was one of four IUPUI faculty members to receive a fellow position, and she will hold a joint appointment with the Office of International Affairs and the Kelley School.
In this position, Zheng says she will focus on one of IUPUI’s strategic initiatives: strengthening internationalization efforts.
Zheng says many units at IUPUI, including Kelley, are already doing a lot with global learning and international exchange, but she wants to make sure people recognize that and do even more.
“The concept of global learning doesn’t necessarily mean studying abroad,” said Zheng. “A student or a faculty member can get that same type of experience and insight here in Indiana—simply by connecting with people from different countries or people with different backgrounds. That’s my primary goal in this position—to identify local organizations who provide global learning opportunities and to connect them with faculty and students.”
Zheng also wants to create a sharable database with information on local and international global learning opportunities, so that all departments at IUPUI can have on-going communications to share resources.
Her third goal is to integrate global learning into the curriculum, both at IUPUI and at Kelley — a venture that has already started at Kelley and beyond.
“Many of our students stay in Indiana, so they may think that they don’t need to have these global learning experiences because they’re not venturing out of the country. But in reality, Indiana has seen a lot of globalization, and there are many local companies that have overseas operations and do business with companies in other countries. Students still need to have this awareness and these skills. This is very important for our graduates,” explained Zheng.
“We also will try to incorporate global learning and student learning outcomes, so students can easily understand why they’re learning this,” added Zheng.
Zheng received her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Alabama, and she taught at a number of universities across the United States before coming to Kelley in 2014. She recently became a Certified Public Accountant.
A newly-elected member of the Carmel Clay School Board, Zheng is also working to bring global learning opportunities to students in central Indiana before college.
The faculty fellows are appointed on one to two-year terms, beginning in January 2017.
“I hope every Kelley student will have the opportunity to have local global learning opportunities. I believe through this work, we will be proud of what we have achieved.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Teresa Mackin, 317-274-2233, tmackin@iu.edu, @KelleyIndy