A Florida State University professor at the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship is among the select few to win a prestigious international award for outstanding sustainability leadership.
Eundeok Kim, a professor specializing in sustainability, social entrepreneurship and product management, is one of 10 faculty members globally to be chosen as a Sustainability Fellow by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The association serves a full range of higher education faculty, administrators, staff, and students who are change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation.
“I am very honored and humbled to be recognized as a 2026 AASHE Fellow,” Kim said. “This recognition encourages me to further incorporate sustainability and sustainable development into my teaching, research and service and strengthens my commitment to the urgent call for action. I am deeply thankful to the numerous colleagues, community partners and students who have collaborated with me for various teaching and research projects and services to the community, which allowed me to grow as a sustainability agent.”
“This recognition encourages me to further incorporate sustainability and sustainable development into my teaching, research and service and strengthens my commitment to the urgent call for action.”
– Eundeok Kim, Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship Professor
Kim has contributed to her field in several ways: producing impactful refereed journal articles and books that highlight her important research into sustainability and social entrepreneurship. She teaches Sustainability and Human Rights in the Business World, developed with FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights Director Terry Coonan, to all majors at FSU. She was recognized with numerous awards, including the 2024-25 University Teaching Award for Community Engaged Teaching and the 2023 Social Entrepreneurship SIG Award for Social Entrepreneurship Teaching from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). Her research was also acknowledged with the 2024 Minority and Women Entrepreneurship SIG Scholar Award by USASBE.
“The 2026 AASHE Sustainability Award recipients reflect the momentum and innovation driving change across higher education,” added AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser. “Among their community, these individuals are true change makers — turning bold ideas into action and setting a powerful example of leadership and impact for the field.”
Kim is one of several FSU Faculty Senators who founded the Faculty Senate Sustainability Committee in 2020. She served as Chair of Education in 2024-25 and serves as deputy editor for the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education by Emerald.
Among her core research areas, Kim has investigated on sustainable business models and strategies, the role of social entrepreneurship in advancing sustainable development, and cross-and trans-disciplinary sustainability education. Her case study on Ten Thousand Villages, a nonprofit fair-trade organization, explored business models that empower marginalized groups.
Her most recent publication, “Using Artificial Intelligence in Sustainability Teaching and Learning,” examines how AI tools can be integrated into curricula to enhance sustainability education.
To learn more about AASHE, visit the association’s website at aashe.org.
More information about the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship can be found at jmc.fsu.edu.