Matt Dunn

Harry E. and Carmen S. Varney Distinguished Teacher of the Year

Congratulations to Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Clinical Instructor and Internship Coordinator Matthew Dunn on receiving the 2022 Harry E. and Carmen S. Varney Distinguished Teacher of the Year award — the college’s top teaching honor. The winner of the annual award is determined by a committee of faculty, staff and students. Students across the college sent in nearly 200 nominations for the teacher of the year award this year. The nominations were followed by a rigorous review process by the committee, selecting one finalist to represent each primary department within the college. Further evaluation of the finalists then takes place as the committee finishes the difficult task of choosing a winner.

When the call for nominations went out, dozens of Dunn’s students responded to say he deserved recognition.

“I cannot think of a professor who cares more about both his students’ future and his students’ present health. He does not look at his students as a letter grade, but instead he looks at each of them as his own children to invest in,” says one nomination letter. “Additionally, he has created such an incredible curriculum and has been a key advocate for all of those involved in the entertainment side of the Sport and Entertainment Management degree. I truly cannot imagine what my college career would look like without him steadily cheering me on and pushing me to become the best industry professional I can be.”

Dunn teaches courses on event and venue management, entertainment event promotion, live entertainment management and more. He has more than 20 years of entertainment industry experience and joined the College of HRSM in 2019 after earning his M.S.in music industry leadership at Northeastern University. In addition to teaching classes and coordinating internships, Dunn led a group of students to England over spring break to study the business of soccer.

Finalists for this year’s award were School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Senior Instructor Jessica Chavis and Department of Retailing Instructor Kristy Ellison.

Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Ph.D. student Ryan Dastrup won the Harry E. and Carmen S. Varney Distinguished Ph.D. Student Teacher of the Year award. 

Nicholas Watanabe

Patricia G. Moody Researcher of the Year

Congratulations to Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Associate Professor Nicholas Watanabe, the 2022 recipient of the Patricia G. Moody Researcher of the Year award.

The award is the most prestigious recognition of scholarly achievement given by the college. Any full-time faculty member of the college with evidence of quality research within the previous four years may be nominated by their peers. A peer review committee reviews each nomination across criteria including the research impact and importance, creativity, authorship, grant funding, and journal rankings for published work.

Since 2017, Watanabe has authored or co-authored 29 publications in refereed journals, including nine in A+-rated journals and four in A-rated journals, serving as first or sole author on eight.

He has delivered 33 presentations at national and international conferences. His research was introduced as evidence in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court in the Alston / Jenkins v. NCAA case, and articles featuring his work have been published by the BBC, Washington Post, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Yahoo News and Boston Globe, among many others.

Watanabe is a North American Society for Sport Management Research Fellow, a recipient of the University of South Carolina’s Breakthrough Star award for research and a member of numerous editorial boards.

The primary focus of his research analyzes the complex market relations between consumers, organizations, and stakeholders, through utilizing theories and methods from economics. His research interests also include sports economics, big data and analytics, sport finance, social media, communication, international sport and collegiate athletics.

School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management Associate Professor Marketa Kubickova and Department of Retailing Associate Professor Jung-Hwan Kim were also finalists for the award.

Andy Gillentine

Brian J. and Linda L. Mihalik Global Scholar

Congratulations to Department of Sport and Entertainment Management Professor Andy Gillentine, winner of the 2022 the Brian J. and Linda L. Mihalik Global Scholar award.

The award was endowed by the Mihaliks to support teachers who work hard to create pathways to global knowledge and scholarship through study abroad and international collaboration. The endowment provides funding support to one HRSM faculty member each year who best demonstrates a commitment to and advancement of the globalization of the college’s students, faculty, curricula, research capabilities and image.

Gillentine has made facilitating global study opportunities for students a key part of his mission as an educator. He helped lead the development and operations of the HRSM London Summer Olympics Internship program in 2012, placing 50 students in experiential learning positions during the games.

In 2011, he was the first representative of the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management to teach at the University of Aruba. He led a community outreach program on the island as part of the collaborative exchange program between the university and HRSM. He initiated the development of the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management 570 Global Sport Class, and has led several study abroad trips, as well as working to establish, develop and maintain partnerships between HRSM and academic partners all over the world.

Gillentine’s research interests include sport marketing, professional development, and management issues in sport. He is also recognized as one of the leading experts in the study of the legal, managerial and marketing aspects of tailgating at sport and entertainment events.

He has conducted research projects for numerous sport organizations that have resulted in more than 50 publications, four books and over 100 national and international presentations.

Pam Osman

HRSM Staff Member of the Year

Congratulations to Business and Grants Manager Pam Osman, the 2022 College of HRSM Staff Member of the Year.

Osman has more than 20 years of financial management experience and plays a vital role in the college’s operations. She works closely with the college’s chief financial officer to monitor, approve, prepare, and process all financial actions for the college. In her role as grants manager, she assists faculty with grants, including applications, budget development, USCeRA and overall grants management for the college. She also manages the TouchNet online payment system and oversees the college copy center.

“Just about every person in this college relies upon her expertise to get their jobs done,” said one nomination. “She excels at her job, puts forth effort beyond the call of duty, and responds in a positive manner to nearly every curve ball thrown in her direction.”

Prior to joining the College of HRSM, Osman worked at UofSC as the business manager in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Geography Department.

Hyunsu Kim

College of HRSM Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year

Congratulations to Hyunsu “Henry” Kim, doctoral student in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, on winning the Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year award.

Kim won Best Paper at the 27th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism earlier this year. He is also a University of South Carolina Support to Promote Advancement of Research and Creativity (SPARC) Graduate Research Grant winner.

Kim’s research interests include technology-driven consumer behavior and marketing management in the hospitality industry.

Omid Oshriyeh and Somang Min, both doctoral students in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, were also finalists for the award.

Eric Nichols

College of HRSM Best Doctoral Paper of the Year

Congratulations to Eric Nichols, doctoral student in the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, on winning the 2022 College of HRSM Best Doctoral Paper of the Year award.

Nichols serves as the senior associate athletics director for marketing and branding/chief marketing officer at the University of South Carolina. Nichols oversees marketing, digital and social media and the university band and spirit programs as well as serving as the primary liaison for licensing, merchandise sales, and outsourced entities including IMG for multimedia rights and IMG/Learfield Ticket Solutions for outbound sales. Additionally, he serves as the secondary sport administrator for men's and women's soccer.

His winning paper was titled, “The Impact of Authenticity on Celebrity Athlete Social Media Endorsement Messaging.” It is currently in review for publication at Sport Marketing Quarterly. His research interests are in the area of the athlete as a brand.

Runners-up for the award included Chan Hyeon Hur (Sport and Entertainment Management) and Ningqiao Li,  Xiaonan Zhang and Hongxiao Yu (Hospitality Management).