Senator Spotlight February 2018

This month's Senator Spotlight is on Hongmin Li

What unit do you represent?   

Department of Supply Chain Management, W.P. Carey School of Business

How many years have you served in the Senate?  

1.5 years.

How many years have you been employed at ASU?

10.5 years.

What other institutions have you taught at before coming to ASU?  

None previously.

What is your research and/or creative activities focus?  

My research focuses on supply chain decisions during product transitions when a company manages more than one generation of products simultaneously, such as generations of microprocessors for personal computers.  I study production and inventory control, capacity planning, and pricing within this context.  I also conduct research on incentive designs in humanitarian and healthcare supply chains.  

Why did you decide to get involved with the Senate?  

I learned from previous Supply Chain Management senators about what the University Senate does and how it is central to the university’s shared governance, which is of great interest to me. It is also a great opportunity to interact with members from different units at ASU.

Describe what you have learned during your time in the Senate. 

I have learned about the process for establishing and approving new programs and new courses as well as the process for how existing programs are modified; how the university administrators and the Senate communicate on issues; and how faculty and staff concerns can be raised and routed to the proper committee in the Senate to be attended to and how they may eventually get resolved.

What committees have you participated in, or would like to participate in and what were you able to (or hope to) accomplish.  

I am currently serving on the Senate Personnel Committee. The committee works on issues central to faculty experience at ASU, many of which resonate with me deeply. I am tasked with two requests for consultation (RFC) items this year. I hope to push forward on both items to open a discussion with the appropriate university office on each issue to ensure that the administration is aware of and has a clear understanding of the cause of the issue and to reach a resolution.

What would you say to your peers who might be considering accepting a nomination or nominating himself or herself for a position in the Senate?  

I strongly recommend my peers who might be considering a position in the Senate to talk to past or current senators as well as members of the senate committees about the issues that the Senate has worked on previously and currently. This will help one see whether these are activities and issues which s/he is passionate about and would like to contribute to.