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Minkyung Kim

Profile picture for Minkyung Kim

Contact Information

Lincoln Hall, 4002

Office Hours

Fall 2024: by appointment
Assistant Professor

Biography

Minkyung Kim is a scholar in the field of organizational communication, with a focus on its implications for community resilience and sustainability. Her research primarily explores how organizations serving vulnerable populations utilize communication processes—such as inter-organizational networks—to enhance their impact on communities. Kim also investigates the role of symbolic, material, and mediated artifacts as organizational tools, examining how these elements empower culturally and politically marginalized groups.

Kim’s work has been published in esteemed journals, including the Journal of Communication, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, and the Quarterly Journal of Speech. Her research has also gained recognition in mainstream and ethnic news media across South Korea and Europe.

Prior to her academic career, Kim worked as a Public Relations specialist in both the private and nonprofit sectors. In addition to her research, she has made significant contributions to English as a Second Language (ESL) education in Korea. She authored a series of textbooks designed for learners of various proficiency levels and was instrumental in launching a 1:1 English education platform tailored for professionals in finance and engineering.

Research Interests

Organizational communication, community resilience, global/ intercultural communication, inter-organizational networks, digital inequality, ethnic media, intercultural rhetoric

Education

Ph.D. Communication, Rutgers University

B.A. & M.A., Communication Studies, Colorado State University

TESOL, Ewha Womans University

Grants

Global Partnership Grant

Provost Research Grant

 

Awards and Honors

Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Award, National Communication Association

Outstanding Doctoral Student Award

Top Paper Award in Intercultural Division, International Communication Association

Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award

Outstanding Master's Thesis Award

Courses Taught

Organizational Communication

Organizations and Community Impact

Additional Campus Affiliations

Assistant Professor, Communication

Highlighted Publications

Kwestel, M., Kim, M., Doerfel, M.L., and Randazzo, C. (2024) Formal and social structures as organizing mechanisms of disaster response: A longitudinal social network analysis. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 1-18. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/02807270241283777

Kim, M., & Doerfel, M.L. (2024). Engaged interorganizational networks and resilience in the humanitarian sector. Journal of Communication, 74(4), 299-309. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqae018 

Kim, M., & Doerfel, M.L. (In press/2024). Digital inequality and resilience in humanitarian refugee organizations. International Journal of Communication

Kim, M., & Williams, E.A. (2022). Emotional sustainability in human services organizations: Cultural and communicative paths to dealing with emotional work. Sustainability, 14 (15470), 1-17, doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215470.

Doerfel, M.L., Kim, M., Kwestel, M., Youn, H., & Quow, J. (2022). Resilience organizing: A multi-level communication framework. Journal of Communication, 00, 1-14. doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqac027.

Kim, M., Kwestel, M., Youn, H., Quow, J., & Doerfel, M.L. (2021). Serving the vulnerable while being vulnerable: Organizing resilience in a social service sector. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 00 (0), 1-22, Doi:10.1177/08997640211013912

Khrebtan-Hörhager, J., & Kim, M. (2020). Re-Membering Comfort Women: From on-screen storytelling and rhetoric of materiality to re-thinking history and belonging. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 106(4), 427-452, Doi:10.1080/00335630.2020.1828606.

Recent Publications

Kim, M., & Kwestel, M. (2023). Unengaged Presence: The Paradox of Refugee Voices on Humanitarian Organizations’ Websites. In J. Sergio, J. Khrebtan-Hörhager, A. Soto-Vásquiz, & M. Lechuga (Eds.). Migrant World Making, East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press.