When we last spoke with Pingping Tang for eDividend’s PhD Profile in December 2023, she was a few years into the Carson College of Business PhD program and working toward several clear goals. She wanted to become a faculty member at a research university, conduct research with practical value, and use her experience to help students and businesses.
At the time, her story focused on her path back to academia, her accounting background and CPA work, and her service through WSU’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Her research interests in e-commerce supply chain management were still taking shape.
Now, much of what Tang envisioned has become reality.
She completed her doctorate in May 2026, published research aimed at helping third-party Amazon sellers make better promotional decisions, and gained valuable experience as an online instructor and mentor. This August, she begins her faculty career as an assistant professor at the Campbell School of Business at Berry College in Georgia.
Turning teaching into opportunity
The final year of Tang’s Carson doctoral program took her back to Central Washington University (CWU), where she had earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Tang spent the 2025–2026 academic year in Ellensburg teaching supply chain management while finishing her dissertation and preparing for the faculty job market. The opportunity grew from conversations with Chuck Munson, her WSU advisor and Carson professor of operations management, about how she could strengthen her teaching experience and distinguish herself as a candidate.
What began as a strategic career move quickly became one of the most meaningful parts of her PhD journey.
At CWU, Tang mentored students participating in the university’s Boeing case competition. She also helped create a new competition with Fastenal, a business-to-business supply chain solutions company. Two students from Tang’s class later accepted full-time supply chain positions with Boeing after participating in the Fastenal competition.
Tang says the experience reinforced her belief that students learn best when they can apply classroom concepts to real problems.
“I really enjoy organizing case competitions,” she says. “Students get to work with real data, and they can demonstrate their analytical, presentation, and teamwork skills.”
Her interest in experiential learning began at the Carson College, where a doctoral course on teaching management encouraged her to look beyond lectures and consider how applied projects and classroom activities could help students engage more deeply with the material. Opportunities at WSU to independently teach undergraduate courses also gave her time to build confidence and develop her own approach in the classroom.
“If you want to be a faculty member, then you have to have teaching experience,” she says. “It helps you realize what kind of teacher you want to be, how you want to help undergraduate students learn, and how to develop your own teaching philosophy.”
Munson says Tang showed the same initiative in her research, strengthening her quantitative skills through additional coursework and independent study.
“Pingping’s progress has far surpassed my expectations,” he says. “She leaves us as a shining example of a self-starter who displayed tremendous growth, selfless community service, and tangible success. I believe she will become a highly impactful professor in our field.”
Research with practical value
As Tang grew as an educator, the research interests she discussed in 2023 also became more concrete.
Her latest paper, coauthored with Munson and Zhezhu Wen of California State University, Fresno, examines how third-party sellers can use Amazon Lightning Deals more strategically. The project began with conversations with Amazon sellers who questioned whether the promotions generated enough benefit to justify their costs.
Tang and her coauthors found that Lightning Deals can improve product performance in the short term, but their effectiveness declines when sellers use them too frequently. The findings suggest that sellers should take a strategic approach rather than assume that running more promotions will continue to improve results.
The paper builds directly on Tang’s earlier research direction. What was then a broad interest in e-commerce and third-party sellers developed into published work with clear, practical business applications.
Looking ahead, Tang plans to continue conducting research that helps sellers make more informed decisions.
Carrying service forward
Berry College appealed to Tang in part because of its emphasis on experiential learning, an approach that aligns closely with the work she began at Carson and expanded at CWU.
Tang intends to continue creating opportunities for students to analyze real data, solve real-world business problems, and demonstrate their abilities to future employers.
Her accounting background may also become part of her new role. Berry previously operated a volunteer tax assistance program, similar to WSU’s VITA program, and college leaders have expressed interest in Tang restarting it. Although the plans are not yet final, the opportunity would extend the type of service work she had become known for at WSU.
“They asked whether I would be willing to help restart the program, and I said, ‘Yes, of course,’” she says. “I still have my CPA license, and I would love to lead it.”
That continuity feels fitting for the journey she is now on. Accounting first brought Tang to Carson for her master’s degree, and faculty mentorship helped draw her back for her PhD in management operations. Her research grew from questions facing real businesses, while her teaching experience showed her how hands-on learning can open doors for students.
Now, those experiences have come full circle as she embarks on this latest chapter of her career.