Government is usually not thought to be innovative, and businesses are not viewed as purpose-driven, but one Texas Tech University professor is researching and teaching that both the public and private sectors can be entrepreneurial while providing a greater social good. 

Wendy Chen always wanted to make an impact with her life and to make the world a better place to live.

Chen is an assistant professor in Texas Tech University's Department of Political Science. She studies and teaches topics including public innovation, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, and strategic fundraising.

Chen has been honored as a 2023 Integrated Scholar at the university. Integrated Scholars are known for outstanding teaching, research and service, but also are recognized for creating synergy between those three functions by promoting active learning and infusing the results of their research and scholarship in courses. Each Integrated Scholar was nominated by faculty colleagues at Texas Tech University. In 2023, six Integrated Scholars were named.

Having spent time on Capitol Hill, Chen witnessed how the policymaking process works firsthand. Her experiences there attracted her to the public policy and administration domain.

“I hope to use my research in the domain to provide policy and managerial suggestions to public leaders to create real-life impact,” she said.

Chen uses research to inform her teaching and to inspire her students. She introduces them to her new publications and research findings and encourages them to ask questions.

Teaching is one of the main reasons Chen was drawn to academia. She loved being a class representative while in school, as well as being able to tutor her classmates and see them understand.

“In my opinion, good teaching connects knowledge from books and research with real-life practice,” she said. “Good teaching also involves helping students with different needs and backgrounds.”

She said she also believes that good teaching helps students to develop active learning habits and should create a safe environment for all students to share and voice their views.

Since her arrival at Texas Tech in 2020, Chen has created classes on social entrepreneurship for graduate and undergraduate students. The course has attracted students from different majors and backgrounds, she said. This has given her a sense of pride when students tell her that the class has deeply influenced their future careers and changed their views of life.

In addition to teaching social entrepreneurship, Chen has advised Texas Tech's Innovation Hub at Research Park on how to start a new track for social entrepreneurship competition. The track gives students a chance to learn how to start a purpose-driven business and create social value rather than exclusively prioritizing financial values.

“My proudest professional accomplishment is my success in mentoring our students to be purpose-driven, entrepreneurial and to think as a government and nonprofit leader,” Chen said.

She also volunteers for multiple public and nonprofit organizations, including the National Science Foundation, Lubbock Area United Way and YWCA. She connects students with local nonprofit organizations to give them first-hand experience with nonprofit management.

She also asks local public and nonprofit leaders to share their experiences with students.

“Students do not only learn new knowledge from practitioners' views but also new career tips and goals,” Chen said.

While Chen's work with local leaders is one element of her outreach and engagement as a Texas Tech faculty member, she also is an academic journal editor for Management Decision, in which she developed a new “In Motion” initiative to connect academic research with real-life practice. The journal is the longest-running academic journal with a focus exclusively on management.

“I am leading the journal to a new level to integrate both research and practice by requiring scholars to provide actionable advice to practitioners while providing a platform for practitioners to provide invaluable insights into the pain points they are experiencing,” Chen said. “Through this innovative approach, the future of research can be more implementable and usable by both the academic and practitioner fields."