Dr. Chuleeporn ‘Nikki’ Changchit Named Texas A&M Systems Regents Professor
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A long-serving member of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s College of Business, Dr. Chuleeporn “Nikki” Changchit has been recognized by the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) as a Regents Professor for her contributions and achievements as a mentor, educator, and researcher. Her dedication to providing students with practical and comprehensive experiences has created a lasting impact at the Island University in the field of Management Information Systems (MIS). The Regents Professor Award is the highest honor that can be earned by a TAMUS faculty member.
“It is a huge honor for me to receive this distinguished award. This accomplishment is not something I could do alone,” Changchit said. “There are many others who deserve to share in this award. I feel blessed to live and work with these great people. I am very grateful for their support and encouragement.”
Changchit has completed 22 years of service at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ‒ she joined the Department of Decision Sciences and Economics as an associate professor in 2001. Changchit earned tenure in 2004 and was promoted to a full professor five years later.
“Dr. Changchit devotes herself to service to students, her department, the college, the university, and the Corpus Christi community,” said Dr. Brian Tietje, TAMU-CC Dean of the College of Business. “Throughout her teaching career, she has studied effective teaching techniques and spent extensive time developing her own teaching materials which exhibit innovation and interaction.”
Changchit’s scholarly activity has global impact, as much of her research focuses on information technologies and behaviors in Thailand and the U.S. Not only has her research has resulted in numerous grants and awards, but she has received many awards for her excellence in the college, university, community, and profession. She won the TAMUS Teaching Excellence Award, as well as TAMU-CC’s Digital Innovator of the Year Award, Teaching Excellence Award, Excellence Award in Creative Activity, and the College of Business’s Professor of the Year, to name a few.
In the classroom, Changchit develops practices for both in-person and online teaching by incorporating real-world examples, project-based learning, proposal writing, group work, and service-learning projects. She teaches beyond the textbook by sharing current research with students, which enhances the quality of teaching by introducing them to real-world data.
“It’s quite boring to teach based on just the contents in the textbook, especially when the class involves technology which always changes rapidly. There are many findings from the empirical research where I could share with students and make them feel more excited about what we discussed in the class,” Changchit said.
She also helped develop a new IT Project Management course for students majoring in Management Information Systems (MIS), which has proven to have remarkable success for students and organizations alike. As a result, students are allowed to gain hands-on experience while collaborating with local businesses.
“I can honestly say that I have never learned so much from one course throughout my whole life of education,” said Humberto Saenz ’17, an MIS student who took the IT Project Management course. “I have never worked so hard on a single project, but as time consuming and stressful as it was, the experience I gained from the course was worth the struggle.”
Changchit has committed a great deal of her time outside of the classroom to service on university and college-level committees, and she has been elected to Faculty Senate numerous times. As part of her deep dedication to the Islander community, Changchit also served as a mentor for the Islander Women in Leadership program, was co-advisor of the MIS club for three years, and was a graduate advisor for MBA students for four years. She has given many presentations, served on panels at conferences, and has written a number of book reviews.
“I have a strong belief in giving. My father always said ‘Remember, there will always be someone behind each of your achievements. So, do not forget what you take and make sure you give back at least twice.’ It also makes me feel happy knowing that there is something no matter big or small ‒ I can do to help,” she said.
