PULLMAN, Wash. — Patriya Tansuhaj, a faculty member in the Washington State University College of Business and Economics, was named director of the college’s International Business Institute.
“Patriya takes the helm at an important time, as we focus the institute even more on study abroad opportunities for our students and faculty so that we can broaden and enrich their international experience,” said Len Jessup, dean of the WSU College of Business and Economics.
WSU’s undergraduate program in international business was recently ranked seventh in the nation among accredited schools in international business, according to a survey sponsored by the Academy of International Business.
Tansuhaj joined the WSU marketing department in 1985 and has been a key player in the institute since it began in 1997, serving as its acting director in 1998. She is an expert in international marketing strategy, marketing practices in emerging economies and effects of globalization on firms and societies. Her research examines firms’ responses to drastic environmental changes and cross-cultural consumer behaviors. Her most recent article, “The Impact of Gender on Ad Processing: A Social Identity Perspective,” is forthcoming in a marketing academic journal.
Tansuhaj recently initiated and supervised research into the business aspects of international human trade, making it is among the first research done on the subject. She and a number of doctoral students will travel to California to present four resulting research papers at the annual Academy of International Business Conference in early July.
The topic of their panel is “International Trade of Human Beings and Globalization,” which will examine the business of selling humans and human organs, part of what’s known as the “dark side of globalization.” The subject needs immediate attention by scholars in business administration, Tansuhaj said. The overall theme of the conference is the “Power of Ideas.”
She was a Fulbright Scholar at Mahasarakham University, a Fulbright Senior Specialist at Chiang Mai University and a visiting associate professor at Prince of Songkla University, all in Thailand. Tansuhaj has served for three years as a peer review committee member for the Council for International Exchange of Scholars and is an editorial board member and reviewer for marketing journals. She led the doctoral program in international business and coordinated a WSU-hosted event for the director designate of the World Trade Organization when it met in Seattle in 1999.
Her academic degrees include a doctorate in marketing from Oklahoma State University, an MBA from Wichita State University and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from William Smith College (Geneva, N.Y.).
Tansuhaj lives in Pullman with her husband, Gear, and their son, Todd (7). Her husband owns and operates a micro-business, the International Store of Asian Groceries, in downtown Pullman.
