Eunjoo Cho, U of A professor of apparel merchandising and product development, has been named assistant dean for the honors program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, Dean Jeff Edwards announced.

Cho, who begins this appointment with the start of the fall semester, has served as an honors thesis mentor, honors faculty committee, and is highly regarded for her commitment to academic excellence and student success.

"I was interested in this position because I believe in the transformative impact of undergraduate research," Cho says. "The honors program plays a vital role in shaping future leaders, scholars and innovators. Engaging in meaningful research at the undergraduate level sharpens critical thinking and analytical skills and fosters intellectual curiosity, creativity and a sense of purpose. These are essential skills for personal and professional development."

As assistant dean, her focus will be increasing research opportunities for honors students. She will provide leadership for the Bumpers Honors Program, serving as the liaison between the college, the Honors College, the Faculty Council and other campus stakeholders. She will be working with Isabel Whitehead-Adams, coordinator of Bumpers College's honors program and expanding program offerings to improve student leadership and learning opportunities beyond the classroom.

"I am committed to fostering an academic culture that supports high achievement and interdisciplinary research, inspiring highly motivated students to reach their full potential," she says. "My goal is to contribute to the continued success of the Bumpers College Honors Program. It will continue to cultivate a transformative community that fosters innovation, collaboration and professional growth."

Cho has been mentoring eight honors students and advising on eight master's theses. Her honors advisees secured research funding from the Student Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) grant, Honors College or Bumpers honors. Honors theses were presented at an international conference and published in refereed journals. She contributed to the Bumpers Honors Program by developing guidelines for research and creative honors thesis projects in 2015-16. She has been serving as one of the Honors College undergraduate research grant reviewers since 2018.

Cho joined the AMPD faculty as an assistant professor in 2013, was promoted to associate professor in 2019 and to professor this spring. The AMPD program is housed in Bumpers College's School of Human Environmental Sciences.

She honed her leadership skills through her institution and national programs. From 2018-22, Cho led a graduate program in HESC as a graduate coordinator. She completed the UARK Leaders Program in 2020-21 and the national leadership program (LEAD 21) in 2024-25. Cho serves as the director of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles of global chapter and is on the editorial boards for two reputable journals in her field.

Cho has taught three undergraduate and three graduate level courses such as Merchandising Application, Fashion Brand Management and Theories and Practices in Apparel Merchandising. Her research primarily focuses on digital fashion branding, retailing and sustainability in the fashion business. She has authored 22 peer-reviewed journal articles and 41 peer-reviewed conference presentations at national and international conferences.

Her significant contribution to the fields of fashion marketing and consumer behavior is the development of a fashion brand image scale emphasizing experiential perspectives in brand image assessment. Cho has successfully secured funding of more than $356,000 from various external and internal sources, including USDA's NIFA and Cotton Inc. 

The U of A and the International Textile and Apparel Association have recognized her excellence in teaching and research. She received the 2025 Outstanding Mentor Award, the 2024 John W. White Outstanding Teaching Award, the 2024 Outstanding Honors Thesis Mentor Award, the 2023 Graduate Student Outstanding Mentor Award, was named a 2021 U of A Teaching Academy Fellow, the 2021 Paper of Distinction Award in Merchandising/Retailing II marketing track from ITAA and the 2021 Gamma Sigma Delta Teaching Award of Excellence.

Cho received a bachelor's degree in apparel design and product development, and a master's degree in apparel merchandising, both from Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. She earned her Ph.D. in apparel merchandising and consumer behavior at Iowa State University. Her experience includes working as an associate merchandiser at Sourcing & Vendor Development Korea, a branch office of Gap Inc., from 2003-07. She supported the merchandising division in driving sales profitably through textile and apparel product sourcing, product development, costing, production execution and quality assurance. She taught retailing and CAD design courses at Iowa State University as a teaching assistant and lecturer from 2007-11.

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About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege. 

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $3 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.