Meet Baifu Chen. Chen is a first year Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Strategic Management at Rice University. Chen is from China and is a Rice Graduate Ambassador. Ambassadors are students who represent the university and help prospective students gain knowledge of student life as a graduate student at Rice.
Chen chose Rice as a graduate school because of his passion for research. His research interests lie on the antecedents and consequences of social evaluations, such as status, reputation, celebrity, or stigma of organizations. He is also interested in how organizations can manage these intangible assets and liabilities.
Chen advises prospective students to think about their long-term goals when planning to pursue a graduate degree.
“Be sure you have an idea of what you want to do with your Ph.D.,” said Chen. “There are multiple pathways, but knowing early can put you on the right track for your goal.”
Chen advises current students to do the following two things while they are in graduate school:
Tip 1: Network. Network. Network.
“Don’t be shy to talk to people,” said Chen. “Many of your opportunities come from our direct networks.”
Tip 2: Choose the track you would want to pursue, either industry or faculty, and align yourself with the resources to get you there.
“If you know you want a faculty position, express that goal with current faculty members to help you achieve that,” said Chen.
Outside of academics, Chen enjoys playing intramural sports in his leisure, going to restaurants in Chinatown, and eating at LiuYishou.
Graduate ambassadors can be contacted via email at gradambassadors@rice.edu. Baifu Chen can be contacted directly by email at bc55@rice.edu.