NASPA, a national organization for Student Affairs administrators in higher education, thinks highly of Nehemiah Chung.
Chung is the recipient of the 2024 NASPA Region IV-E Outstanding Mid-Level Professional Award, which recognizes individuals who demonstrate outstanding commitment to their work, further programs that address the needs of students and create campus environments that promote learning and development.
He’s the director of Student Transitions and Engagement & Commuter Student Advocacy at the University of Illinois Chicago – and he’s also an Ed.D. student in the NIU Department of Counseling and Higher Education.
“I’m honored but also grateful for the award,” Chung says. “I’ve been in the field for 10 years now, so it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, I’m at this mid-level. I’m no longer entry-level.’ I also appreciate the effort that my supervisor and former supervisor put into the recommendation.”
That kind of support and the recognition it yielded has prompted him to contemplate his charge.
“What’s my focus on cultivating the incoming generations of Student Affairs professionals? What’s my role as I try to stay connected with my master’s program and my entry-level professionals to really support them?” he asks. “I encourage people to apply for awards and write recommendations. It’s great to be among colleagues who you know are doing great things.”
At NIU, that includes assistant professors Jacki Mac and Quortne Hutchings, who currently are working with Chung in the proposal-writing sequence for his dissertation.
Gudrun Nyunt, associate professor and coordinator of NIU’s Higher Education and Student Affairs program, will serve as Chung’s dissertation chair when he enters that stage this spring.
“I could not think of anyone more deserving than Nehemiah for this award. He is an engaged and passionate student affairs professional who centers the needs of diverse students in his practice,” Nyunt says.
“His contributions to class conversations in our Ed.D. program have challenged our thinking and enriched the dialogue as we grapple with the complex issues higher education institutions face,” she adds. “His dissertation, which will examine the experiences of international students, will inform his own practice, help his institution to better support this growing population and contribute to the literature base on how U.S. institutions can better serve their diverse student bodies.”
Despite growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Chung is familiar with the perspectives of students who come to the United States for college: He was born in South Korea.
“I feel like I kind of went through what international students go through when they’re transitioning to this country, so that made me interested in how we better serve our international students,” he says. “U.S. higher education institutions are focusing on recruiting international students – they put that in the forefront – but how are we actually supporting them throughout their journeys and addressing some of their challenges?”
Chung was called to this life during his undergraduate years studying political science; he was enrolled at “a primarily white institution” and wasn’t sure where or how he would fit in.
Those answers came in the student government association and alternative spring break, showing him career he hadn’t realized existed.
Places on his résumé before coming to UIC three years ago include Ajou University in South Korea (where his parents were living), North Carolina State University, University of California-Riverside and Rutgers University-New Brunswick.
UIC is home to more than 30,000 students, about 90% of whom are commuters, making Chung’s days busy and important. He’s proud of survey and focus-group research his team conducted with more than 2,000 off-campus students to measure their post-pandemic sense of belonging and to determine ways the university could take to improve their levels of engagement.
“It can be tough when you’re navigating college life while you’re commuting from home and making your own connections,” Chung says. “Being that bridge, and helping with that transition, for students brings joy and excitement for me.”
Becoming a Huskie is also bringing positive emotions.
“I was always curious about pursuing a terminal degree that works for working professionals, and I think NIU’s Executive Weekend Ed.D. in Higher Education really serves that purpose,” Chung says.
“I’m being challenged to think about the current trends and historical aspects of higher education to really prepare me for the next step when the next step comes around,” he adds, “and with the cohort system, I get to engage and interact with colleagues from truly different institutions and working in different functional areas.”
