Hokey Min named a Distinguished Research Professor

BGSU professor recognized for his contribution to study of global logistics, supply chain technology and health care supply chain management

Dr. Hokey Min, professor of operations and supply chain management in the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business, has been honored as a Distinguished Research Professor as part of the 2021 Faculty Excellence Award celebration.

The University reserves the recognition as a Distinguished Research Professor for those members of the Bowling Green State University faculty whose work has been deemed exceptional while also establishing outstanding national or international recognition through their research and publication, or outstanding achievement in their disciplines.

Min, the James R. Good Chair in Global Supply Chain Strategy, was cited for his contribution to the study of global logistics, supply chain technology and health care supply chain management. In his nomination of Min for this prestigious award, Department Chair Dr. William J. Sawaya cited Min's extensive work that has produced more than 207 peer reviewed journal articles, a trio of single-authored books, as well as book chapters and more than 50 papers.

“Throughout his career, Dr. Hokey Min has consistently conducted widely cited, outstanding, award-winning research that has had a significant impact upon the field,” Sawaya said. “He has earned an international reputation, distinguishing himself by performing groundbreaking analytical/exploratory/empirical research and introducing an innovative theory and applications of supply chain management.”

Sawaya also emphasized Min's prolific success with externally funded research on various challenging transportation and logistics problems — work that has earned grants from both the federal government and the private sector. Min received a grant of $1.5 million from the UPS Foundation to establish two UPS Centers which were designed to serve as world-class executive education and research facilities, focusing on the logistics and supply chain management fields. He was also awarded a federal grant of $785,822 from the Department of Labor to establish the Center for Supply Chain Workforce Development.

Min, who joined the College of Business in 2006, pioneered research dealing with the infectious disease controls from the logistics angle, and his work proved valuable when applied to the handling of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Long before the coronavirus outbreak, Min was conducting innovative research on the control of chronic malaria outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa, and he is currently focusing on the surveillance, contact tracing and medicine supply distribution associated with the COVID-19 outbreak.

Ray Braun, dean of the College of Business, called Min “an internationally recognized thought-leader in logistics” and cited Min's research that especially related to dealing with disease around the world, as having a positive impact on society. Min has been named one of the top 100,000 most influential scientists in the world, a distinction currently shared by just 10 BGSU faculty members, and he currently serves on the editorial review board for 11 academic journals.

“During the last 14 years at BGSU, Dr. Min's ability to conduct high-quality, impactful research has been an inspiration for other faculty members,” Braun said. “Further, BGSU students have benefited from the research he brings into the classroom.”