She leaves newsroom to pursue life goal of teaching

In her native South Korea, Hyangsook Lee said that teaching is of the noblest of professions. That is why she chose to come to Kent State to take the reigns of JMC's information design program. That comes after working at Newsday, the New York Times, the Nashville Tennessean and the Louisville Courier Journal.

Raised in Gangneung, a small town on the east coast of South Korea, Lee became interested in the ever-changing technology of computers long before design. She attended Hongik University in Seoul and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. Lee wanted to get her master’s degree in the United States, and she was especially interested in the Midwest region. So in 1997, Lee first came to the United States and studied computer education and technology at Ohio University. She finished her master’s degree in 1998 without changing her field of study. However, it was at Ohio where she took an interest in software like FreeHand and took as many courses as she could in graphics and visual communications.
	Prof. Hyangsook Lee
	A VIDEO CONVERSATION
	•Why Lee switched to the classroom •What she likes most about graphic design •What she expects from her students

In the middle of her graduate studies, Lee applied for a summer internship at Newsday in Long Island, New York. She designed there for 10 weeks in 1997, and used clips from that experience to land an internship at The New York Times the following summer.

Because of her valuable internships, Lee said she wants to make sure all of her students have a couple of good clips for their portfolio, and maybe even a couple internships, by the time they graduate.

After finishing at Ohio, Lee spent five years as a graphic artist and page designer at The Tennessean in Nashville before she got a job at The Courier Journal. Lee designed the business page in Louisville for two-and-a-half years before starting at Kent State in January.

GRAPHICS AND DESIGN

Lee said she moved to Louisville because she wanted more responsibility in page design. However, she did not leave behind her talent as a graphic artist. Since she was in charge of the business section, Lee said she would often combine the skills and create informative graphics into centerpieces.

Visit Prof. Lee's online design portfolio

Jeff Fruit, director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said he was looking for someone to take the design sequence in a new direction, and Lee’s portfolio, resume and education background proved she had the skills to do so. He said her design skills were strong, but it was her interest in researching new design techniques and ability to learn new software that made her the most attractive candidate.

Fruit said that in the next couple of years Lee would likely alter and expand the curriculum for the sequence and look into new software and technology options. He hopes to see her teach some courses about Web graphics and 3-D graphics after she is settled in here.

WELCOME TO THE CLASSROOM

But for now, Lee’s short-term goal is to just get used to teaching.

“When I was designing pages and graphics, it just became my second nature and I did it automatically without thinking,” Lee said. “Now in the classroom, I have to go break down every step – teaching it to people who have never learned these concepts. I spend a lot of time trying to breakdown something I did in five seconds into a five-minute lesson.”

Carl Schierhorn, an associate professor who chaired the search committee that brought Lee to campus, said her lack of teaching experience did not concern him. He said only two of the four candidates who came to campus during the final round of interviews had classroom experience.

“(She) had a terrific portfolio,” Schierhorn said, “and she was especially good at what is called the ‘visual metaphor:’ combining images to tell stories.”

Schierhorn used to teach the news design courses and said Lee is the first full-time design professor the school has ever had.

“She can definitely teach at a creative level that I couldn’t,” Schierhorn said. “I was a news editor teaching skills I had picked up over the years. She is a professional designer.”

Produced for The Co-Lab by Sean Joseph and Kaitlyn Lionti

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