43 BRAND STORY tions, crisis management or beyond. Take Cavusoglu’s, and co-investigator Prof. Russell Belk from York University, Canada, and their production of “Face Value,” a short film compiling qualitative data that documents the psychological, cultural, and social barriers for people with facial differences, such as a scar or deformity. Recipient of the 2023 Association for Consumer Research Best Film Award, the documentary strives for face equality and gives a platform to people with facial differences who are marginalized and stigmatized within the society. “All my work is about giving those communities a voice,” Cavusoglu notes. “Students tell me, ‘We thought we were just going to make people buy more.’ Marketing research does not necessarily have to be all about branding and marketing strategy. It can also be about advocating for consumer wellbeing. Through my research I aim to foster a more egalitarian society with a marketplace that is inclusive.” While Cavusoglu’s research focuses on creating a positive impact toward DEI and true representation, especially for historically marginalized or stigmatized groups, Rikhtehgar Berenji’s seeks to identify models that boost sustainability, inform related public policy, optimize resource management, and improve farm operations and agricultural productivity. “We can use business analytics, operations and project management along with technology to save human lives by utilizing it in humanitarian operations and crisis management” he elaborates. “I think that, more and more, people will see that business school graduates can be helpful in finding solutions that resolve high-level challenges.” Presenting and tackling real-life scenarios in the classroom helps prepare students to hit the ground running post-graduation, or even before. To solidify their problem-solving abilities, Rikhtehgar Berenji incorporates experiential simulation games that let students resolve dynamic situations related to supply chains and operations management. His proposal, titled “Online (Simulation) Games with Stochastic Factors and New Feedback Structures to Enhance Student Engagement and Learning,” has since received one of Pacific University’s Teaching Advancement and Research Grant in Educational Technology (TARGET) grants. The researcher’s approach to teaching— which involves first-hand accounts, guest speakers, case studies, relevant data and new research methodologies—results in a learning experience that bridges the classroom with the wider world, priming students to bring forth a new wave of solutions. Dr. Lena Cavusoglu Assistant Professor of Marketing n Specialty: Transformative Consumer Research n Focus Area: DEI, including stigma, bias, misrepresentation and underrepresentation n Research Highlights: Face Value Documenting the psychological, cultural & social barriers for people with facial differences through an award-winning short film “More-Than-Human Prejudice: Using Netnography to Investigate Perceptions of Algorithmic Bias” Examining consumer & producer perceptions of fairness, prejudice & bias in platform algorithms “Extending the Diversity Conversation: Fashion Consumption Experiences of Underrepresented and Underserved Women” Giving voice to the experiences of female consumers of various races or ethnicities, social classes, buying power, sexual orientations and physical appearances Dr. Hossein Rikhtehgar Berenji Assistant Professor of Operations Management; VP, Colleges, Production & Operations Management Society n Specialty: Business Analytics & Operations Management n Focus Areas: Humanitarian operations & crisis management; social & environmental responsibility; and pedagogical research n Research Highlights: COVID-19 Business Operations & Supply Chains Studying the concurrent management of multiple phases of vaccine development; and the shortage of swabs for COVID-19 testing kits Sustainability & Operations Management Investigating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; the significant role of a sustainable & efficient food supply chain in eliminating hunger; & agribusiness, specifically optimization via new technologies “Online (Simulation) Games With Stochastic Factors & New Feedback Structures to Enhance Student Engagement and Learning” Proposing the use of simulation games in learning; recipient of Pacific University’s TARGET grant Pacific University Faculty Spotlights
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