This story was originally published in the fall/winter 2024 issue of Shidler Business.
By Dani Douglass
First Insurance Company Distinguished Professor Jing Ai wears many hats at Shidler College. In addition to teaching several undergraduate and graduate level classes, she’s also a researcher, director of Shidler College’s Ph.D. program and a faculty advisor to insurance and risk management track students.
Her own journey in the field began as an undergraduate finance major in her home country of China. Her interest was piqued when Tsinghua University in Beijing introduced a concentration in risk management, which focused on managing everyday uncertainties to improve lives. This curiosity inspired her pursuit of a doctoral degree in risk management. She chose to focus on schools in the United States because she wanted a rigorous academic program, which she got when she was accepted to the University of Texas at Austin. Ai earned her master’s in risk and operations management and doctorate in risk management in Texas before moving to Hawai‘i to begin her academic career.
Attending graduate school in the United States broadened Ai’s perspective and shaped her teaching and research approaches. Her global lens enriches her classes, which combine foundational knowledge with real-world projects. Ai enjoys inviting guest lecturers from the local and national business communities into her classroom to provide students with industry insights.
She also provides her students the opportunity to participate in professional events that coincide with the academic semesters. Collaborative learning is important to Ai and she encourages students to learn from one another as they apply theoretical concepts learned in class to practical scenarios. For example, students from a recent class proposed an Enterprise Risk Management framework for companies based on research they conducted. One group used artificial intelligence to help them prioritize the risks based on very specific evaluation criteria they set out. Other groups of students did the same while conducting case studies on the Maui wildfire, Baltimore Bridge collapse and the BP deep water drilling explosion event.
In her classes, Ai bridges complex topics like behavioral insurance and risk management with practical applications through a variety of activities including case studies. She encourages students to explore the vast career opportunities available to them in the risk management industry–spanning from data analytics to marketing and urges them to leverage internships and industry connections.
“We work on real-world inspired projects, which I help them build toward throughout the semester,” she said. “So there is definitely a collective learning aspect to all my courses. I have thoroughly enjoyed these, and the students learn from their teammates, teams learn from other teams, and I also learn from all of them.”
Having lived the international experience, Ai has a deep understanding of the unique challenges international students face. “My own experience as an international student definitely provided me with a deeper understanding of the challenges many students and young researchers face and also afforded me to be more willing and able to help support them in my various capacities,” she reflects.
Ai’s research spans behavioral insurance, healthcare financial management and social equity in risk management programs. A recent project examined racial equity in the National Flood Insurance Program, offering insights into public policy. Her research interests focus on gaining a better understanding of how consumers made financial decisions given rational, behavioral and institutional constraints and what the implications of those decisions are. When she steps into the classroom, her research drives her pedagogy.
“It has always been one of my aspirations to connect my research to the classroom and beyond to the real world to help foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as I think they are so important for the success of our students, whatever career path they choose,” she said.
As director of the Ph.D. program, Ai prioritizes structured support for doctoral students. She collaborates with faculty to ensure they have a smooth transition from undergraduate studies, to graduate and then to academia. She addresses students’ unique challenges through the introductory Ph.D. course and provides personalized guidance.
Ai is also a mother to a young child and with such a full plate, Ai says that she strives to maximize her time by setting clear priorities for herself to make the most efficient use of her time. She has a personal goal to strive for excellence in all her roles while having fun in the process. Ai describes her career as rewarding and a great choice. With more than a decade under her belt, she is looking forward to many more years doing what she loves.
“What I enjoy most about Shidler College is our ‘ohana, the people of the Shidler community,” she shares. “I feel really fortunate to have great colleagues who are inspiring, diligent and supportive, and to have a diverse set of students who I learn from every day.”
