Penn State Brandywine’s Byeong Chul Ben Park promoted to professor

MEDIA, Pa. — Byeong Chul Ben Park, a faculty member in Penn State Brandywine’s Human Development and Family Studies department, was promoted to professor, effective July 1. He had been an associate professor since 2006.

"We are delighted at Dr. Park's promotion to full professor of human development and family studies,” Director of Academic Affairs Cynthia Lightfoot said. “The promotion recognizes his outstanding accomplishments in the classroom, research and service. Dr. Park has an international reputation for his scholarly contributions, and we are fortunate and proud to have him as a member of our Penn State Brandywine community."

One of Park’s major research interests is suicidal behavior, which has been an emerging public health issue in many Pacific-rim countries. He focuses on how increased suicidal behavior in the modern era is related to the classic sociological problem of how macro-level historical and structural forces have impacts on the micro-level of individual lives. He has also developed research that addresses politically inspired suicide, a controversial but little-studied phenomenon that has had profound impacts on modern societies. Some of Park’s other research projects include the personal impacts of immigration and the socialization of youth.

Park has a doctoral degree in sociology from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and a master’s degree in sociology from the College of William and Mary.

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