Ivey is excited to welcome several new faculty members to campus this year! To get to know our new colleagues, we asked them some questions to learn about their interests inside and outside the classroom.
Get to know: Yuqian Chang
Yuqian Chang is an assistant professor of marketing. Before earning her PhD in marketing from Rutgers University, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in international business and a master’s degree in marketing from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Her research focuses on understanding visual aesthetics and digital technology applications in marketing and business management, utilizing machine learning, econometrics, and experiments.
Chang says she is excited to bring diverse perspectives to the classroom while teaching marketing core courses in Ivey’s HBA program. Before joining Ivey, she taught text mining for business intelligence in the master’s in business analytics program at Rutgers.
Q & A with Yuqian Chang
What is the most important thing business executives can learn from your research/area of expertise?
My research examines how visual aesthetics influence consumers and how digital technologies can enhance societal well-being. I hope business executives can keep in mind that making money is not the only goal. A more meaningful mission is to recognize and fulfill consumer needs and to create a better world for them.
Where did you grow up and what was it like there?
I grew up in Nanyang, a historic city in China that is rich in natural resources and historic heritage. There were always interesting places for me to explore there, including nature reserves, dinosaur relics, stone carved art, and more.
Who have been your strongest influences in life?
My parents. They always gave me the space and freedom to explore my interests and I am grateful for their strong support along the way.
What led you to your career?
I took an advanced course in college that required extensive reading of academic literature in marketing. It made me realize marketing is a rich field involving knowledge from diverse areas, such as business, economics, psychology, sociology, statistics, and computer science. I have always been curious about different subjects, and doing marketing research is a fascinating job that allows me to explore various fields!
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I enjoy watching movies and performing arts. You may see me hopping between cinemas, musical theatres, and opera houses during film/art events. I also love travelling during holidays and breaks.
What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I enjoy exploring seemingly contrasting things. For example, my favourite music genres are classical and rock music. I am also an amateur fan of physics and poetry.
What is the most played song on your playlist as of now?
Symphony No. 4 and No. 3 by Johannes Brahms.
What book would you recommend to others? On the personal side? On the business side?
I highly recommend Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Both are excellent books that help me stay grounded and oriented regardless of how environments and life change.
On the business side, I would suggest The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions by Thorstein Veblen. It is an old yet classic book, with valuable insights on consumption and economics from a sociology perspective.
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