Jihyun Kim-Vick, Ph.D.

Since July 2019, Dr. J has served as a Graduate Studies Coordinator. Her role is to advance practical, research-based collaborations between the fashion industry and graduate students. As a Senior Management Team member, she also supports the School of Fashion’s vision and commercial activities. 

Dr. J’s aim is to help students build the foundational skills and competencies they’ll need to succeed, whether she’s teaching or mentoring. In her classes, students build their collaborative and independent working skills by analyzing business data and industry trends. She primarily teaches Fashion Accessories, Seminar in Fashion Merchandising, Fashion Industry as a Unifying Lens, and Fashion Industry Practicum. 

Through her research program, Dr. J focuses on helping the worlds of fashion, commerce and academia better understand consumer motivations behind how they use and dispose of fashion. She investigates influencing factors that can extend how long fashion goods are used, which can reduce their negative impact on the planet. Recently, Dr. J studied key motives and user behavior of the pre-loved luxury goods acquired in a sharing economy context.  

Before stepping into her current role as Graduate Program Coordinator, Dr. J led the Fashion Merchandising program. She facilitated still ongoing discussions about how to refine the curriculum and oversaw annual outcome assessments and reporting between 2014 and 2019.  

During this time, Dr. J also held the Faculty Director role for the Fashion School Store (FSStore). She oversaw everything from fiscal budget planning to store operations and established useful policies and procedural documents. Dr. J also spearheaded a 2017 project – A Redesign of the FSStore – which saw students from across the university work together on a real-world, holistic redesign project. 

Dr. J is a former Faculty Senator to KSU (2015-2017) and is currently serving her second term as a School Representative to the AAUP-KSU Chapter. She’s also a College Representative to the Honors College’s Policy Committee.

Education

• Ph.D., Clothing and Textile, Iowa State University (2004)
• M.A., Apparel and Textiles, Apparel Design concentration, Michigan State University (2000)
• B.S., Home Economics Education, Korea University, Seoul (1998)