Lina Xiong, assistant professor in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources department at the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University, was recently awarded the APACC Award for Outstanding Faculty 2022 from CSU’s Asian Pacific American Cultural Center.
The APACC Outstanding Faculty and Staff Award recognizes a CSU faculty or staff member who has been involved with and positively impacted the Asian American Pacific Islander and Desi American community at CSU and has helped students achieve inside and outside of academic life.
Xiong was presented the award at the APACC Awards ceremony on Friday, April 22, which she attended with her 6-year-old son, Darwin.
“I really wanted my kid to see me get this award, and I didn’t realize how important that was to me,” Xiong said after receiving the award. “I feel very proud to be awarded this recognition as a mother, a faculty member and a researcher in the CSU community.”
An ongoing commitment to diversity
In line with the award, throughout Xiong’s career, she has had a vested interest and commitment to diversity, aiding students in achieving their goals and creating accessibility in the tourism industry.
Xiong, who came to the U.S. in 2006 from mainland China, completed her Ph.D. in business administration at Temple University in Philadelphia. She began work at CSU in 2014 as a non-tenure-track instructor. She became a leader in starting the collaborative Master of Tourism Management – China program offered jointly with Central China Normal University.
Xiong spent half her time in the first few years living in China to get the program off the ground. She played a key role in developing several MTM courses in mandarin, as well as acting as a liaison to students in the MTM China program.
“My international work brings Chinese students the American education experience in class. We also bring them here for field trips and graduation ceremonies. We further encourage and lead CSU faculty and students to visit China. This cultural exchange is very important to build that understanding across the two cultures,” Xiong said.
“The APACC award reflects my contribution to building this connection between our Chinese students and CSU.”
In 2017, she became a tenure-track assistant professor in the department. At CSU, her teaching assignments include tourism strategic management and tourism promotion.
Accessibility outdoors research
Along with teaching, Xiong’s research also takes on an inclusion and accessibility lens. Her research interests include internal branding, employee wellbeing and service management.
A recent study Xiong co-authored called “Open space visitors’ attitudes toward Ebikes on natural surface trails” published in Journal of Park and Recreation Administration focused on visitors’ attitudes toward electric motorized bikes (ebikes) on natural surface trails and the reasons for support or opposition to ebikes on trails in Larimer County, Colorado.
The findings of the study suggested that concerns over safety, crowding and beliefs that ebikes do not belong in natural environment were major reasons for opposing ebikes. However, the potential to expand trail access to people with mobility difficulties was the main reason for a supportive attitude. Therefore, among the practical recommendations for regulating ebikes in natural areas, the researchers suggested that exceptions could be made for users with mobility disabilities to expand their access to open space.
“The whole purpose of this study to provide guidance for policy making by Larimer County Department of Natural Resources. With the growing popularity of ebikes, it is important to also consider other trail users’ attitudes toward ebikes. The findings show that although people in general don’t like more ebikes on trails because of concerns over safety, crowding, etc. they are highly supportive of people with disabilities to access trails with ebikes, which can bring more convenience and ease for them,” Xiong said.
“These results become the foundation for ebike policy making in Larimer County.”
As a result of this study and other accompanying studies, since July 1, 2021, the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources expanded ebike access on natural surface trails for individuals with a mobility disability. The expansion allowed individuals with a mobility disability to access all LCDNR’s paved and natural surface trails where bikes are allowed with Class 1 and 2 e-bikes as an “other powered mobility device.”
