Meet Marketing Professor Sijun Wang

Meet Marketing Professor Sijun Wang

Sijun Wang is an accomplished academic, a global consultant and even a farmer! For the past five years, she’s served as Professor of Marketing at LMU where she teaches “Marketing Strategies” and “International Business” at the Executive MBA level, “Customer Relationship Management Strategy” and “Consumer Behavior” at the MBA level, and several undergraduate marketing courses.

Sijun Wang
“My students gain authentic business experience by working with industry professionals to solve a problem.”

Before joining LMU, Sijun taught marketing at California State Polytechnic University, the University of Alabama and the Beijing Institute of Technology. She feels very fortunate to be a part of LMU, and admits the students here are different from other institutions.

“LMU students are so motivated, committed, engaged and have such a positive attitude toward learning,” said Sijun. “It makes being a professor so much more rewarding.”

While growing up in a small village in China, Sijun had dreams of operating her own business empire. She moved to the U.S. in 2000 to attend the University of Alabama where she earned an M.A. in applied statistics and a Ph.D. in marketing.

“I turned to academia because I wanted to make a theoretical contribution to the marketing field,” said Sijun. “What better way to advance your career than to get a Ph.D. in the U.S?”

Besides teaching, Sijun is a consultant for various international companies, including BASF Group (USA), Educe Software Co. (India), China Aluminum Group (China) and Kaile Technology Co. (China). She’s also a member of the American Marketing Association and Academy of Marketing Science Association.

“My passion for business helped me become a better business professor,” said Sijun. “I discovered teaching is more rewarding than running a business. I find meaning and purpose every day.”

Sijun leverages her industry contacts to find opportunities for her students to conduct “live case studies” with real companies such as InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton Hotels and Forbes. Students gain authentic business experience by working with industry professionals to identify a problem and come up with a solution.

“I try to encourage my students to get out of the classroom, meet new people and make connections between concepts and real problems,” said Sijun.

At any given time, Sijun is working with 10 other marketing professors on research. Her main interest is service marketing – how to motivate employees to deliver a desirable service experience for customers. She also wants to start a movement to inspire a new generation of Chinese leaders to be more Culturally-Intelligent (CQTM) both inside and outside of business.

In her spare time, Sijun enjoys farming and gardening in her sprawling one-acre backyard in La Habra Heights. She donates a lot of the produce she grows to various charities and homeless shelters. Being in nature and getting her hands dirty reminds her of growing up in China and makes her feel more creative. Sijun is definitely enjoying the fruits of her labor.