Welcome to the #DragonFamily: Feng Cheng

Meet MSUM’s new Assistant Professor in the Paseka School of Business, Feng Cheng. She brings her past working experience and deep-rooted knowledge of business analytics to the classroom. One of Feng’s specialties is in teaching online, which she knows will be helpful to her students during this time.

Start Date: August 18, 2020

Q: What unique experience or skill from your past job do you bring to MSUM?
A: [My unique skill lies] in the long term of building the student career. I recently graduated from the PhD program, and before that I was working in the industry. So, I have exposure to both the academia life and industry life. If any of our students want to go either way, then I believe my experience will be valuable for them to listen to.

Q: How do you prefer to start your work day?
A: Coffee is a must. 80% to 90% of the time, my work days will be starting with coffee, then will be focusing on my students, how to prepare the class and answer their questions, then the rest will be service to the department of service and my own research to keep myself updated.

Q: What book are you currently reading?
A: One book I’m into is by an American couple who wrote down their experience while they were traveling around the whole country. I feel like while I’m reading their book, not physically but mentally, I’m traveling around America too. The book is called “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America,” by James Fallows and Deborah Fallows.

Q: What’s the best advice you were ever given? Who was it from?
A: My mentor told me that when you look back, you want to tell yourself, ‘I really tried my best’ so that you will not regret anything. The next thing he told me was that in order to devote yourself to that one career, you need to make sure that you’re really interested and you have passion for it.

Q: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
A: There is a national park several hours away to the north, Maplewood State Park. I heard that you probably wanted to go before October, because fall in Fargo is about one or two days and the park is one of the best spots to see fall in Fargo.

Welcome to MSUM, Feng. We’re glad you joined the #DragonFamily!