Texas A&M University Kingsville

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS (News Release) - The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has designated 18 faculty members and 13 agency service, extension, or research professionals within the A&M System as Regents Professors and Regents Fellows for their exemplary performance during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Chosen as Regents Professor from Texas A&M University-Kingsville is Dr. Jieming Chen, sociology professor in the psychology/sociology department. “It is a great honor to be named the 2023-2024 Regents Professor at our university and I am truly honored and humbled,” he said.

“The award provides a good opportunity for me to reflect on what has been done in the past, and more importantly, what needs to be done in the future to better perform one’s duties as an educator and scholar, ultimately for the purpose of serving the university and our students,” Chen said.

“The department of psychology and sociology is a large academic unit that houses multiple undergraduate and graduate social science programs. I am hopeful that having one Regents Professor in the department will help increase the name recognition of the department among out students, so that we can continue to attract many students into our programs and make significant contributions to our university’s remarkable growth and development,” he added.

“Each of these distinguished individuals has made significant contributions to their fields and to the state of Texas,” said Bill Mahomes, Chairman of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. “Their achievements embody the A&M System’s mission of service and innovation, and I hope their dedication will motivate others.”

About Dr. Jieming Chen

Dr. Jieming Chen’s research focuses primarily on intergenerational relations, family change, old age support and social stratification. His work explores the dynamics within families and how social, economic and cultural changes brought on by modernization impact intergenerational relationships and family old age support.

A significant portion of Chen’s work is to understand old age support by exploring the mechanism through which elderly parents receive care and assistance from children. His interest in stratification involves investigating how intergenerational relations impact the ways social hierarchies are perpetuated across generations.

As a dedicated educator and mentor, Chen shares his research experience and knowledge with students, inspiring them to critically engage with sociological theories and methods.

Chen came to Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1997 as assistant professor. He served as department chair on two separate times. He was made full professor in 2007.

He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Xi'an Jiaotong University, his master’s degree from Sun Yet-sen University and his doctoral degree in The University of Michigan.

About the Regents Professor Award

The Regents Professor Awards program was established in 1996, and the Regents Fellow Service Awards program was created in 1997 to honor employees who have made extraordinary contributions to their university or agency, as well as to the people of Texas.