Great teaching: Roger Yin
February 26, 2025
Written by Chris Lindeke | Photos by Kyle Winter, Craig Schreiner | Video by Kyle Winter
As he was waiting for students to arrive for his information technology infrastructure class, Roger Yin picked up a blue marker and wrote a simple phrase in large lettering on the whiteboard overlooking the classroom:
Think like a problem solver!
This statement empowered the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students in Yin’s class that day as they deconstructed — then reassembled — desktop and laptop computers for an exercise in figuring out system specifications as a skill related to IT asset management without the use of a keyboard, a mouse, or power.
Yin, a professor of information technology in the university’s College of Business and Economics, has emphasized ownership of their education to his students for nearly 30 years in teaching at UW-Whitewater.
“We have to prepare students with critical thinking skills,” Yin said. “When they are able to take ownership of their own learning, that’s the moment they know that they’re steering their own boat. That’s what I call empowerment — equal opportunity ownership of any sort of teaching and learning experiences in the classroom and, especially, outside of the classroom.”
After starting his UW-Whitewater career in staff positions with the Learning Technology Center and the School of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education, Yin shifted to teaching full time in 2000, when he joined the faculty of the Department of Business Education and Office Systems (currently Information Technology and Supply Chain Management).
He is the 2024 recipient of the W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award, the highest teaching honor for faculty in recognition of outstanding teaching and the improvement of student learning. Yin was recognized by carrying the ceremonial mace at the winter commencement in December 2024.
Li Chung Roger Yin, professor of information technology and supply chain management, carries the ceremonial mace, an honor reserved for the annual W.P. Roseman Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. UW-Whitewater celebrated commencement on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Kachel Fieldhouse. (UW-Whitewater photo/Craig Schreiner)
For Yin, teaching is an extension of his own educational journey — he was a first-generation college student who realized that a college education was a life-changing experience.
“I come back to the Wisconsin Idea — every citizen has the opportunity, and should be provided with the opportunity, to have a college experience, and preferably a college degree,” Yin said. “That is the spirit instilled in me (…) working with individuals and empowering them with the idea that, through higher education, they can realize their potential.”
Ashley Lee, a computer science major from Lake in the Hills, Illinois, and Kamryn Abney, a computer science major from Roscoe, Illinois, explore computer components in Roger Yin's IT Infrastructure class in Hyland Hall on Feb. 6, 2025. (UW-Whitewater Photo/Kyle Winter)
Yin is a passionate Warhawk — he’s adamant about the offerings and growth opportunities available to members of the university community.
Pictured right: Professor Roger Yin of the information technology and supply chain management program is the current W.P. Roseman Award honoree, the university’s highest teaching honor.
“As a UW-Whitewater family, we are forward-looking,” he said. “We care about who we serve. We serve the students, their family members, their extended network, and also — more importantly — the community we’re situated in.”
Yin expressed his indebtedness to many college and campus leaders, colleagues, and alums, and cited two UW-Whitewater colleagues who were important to his development as a teacher. Roger Pulliam, a champion of equity and inclusion who held various faculty and staff roles during his three decades at the university, taught Yin about student empowerment. Marcia James, professor emeritus of information technology and business education, hired Yin to teach full time and showed him the importance of being courageous and keeping his passion.
Yin also has close family ties to UW-Whitewater — his wife and “biggest champion,” Xiaohong Zhang, is a professor of art and design in the College of Arts and Communication.
The university’s family-like atmosphere drives Yin’s love of teaching.
“The environment is very encouraging within the departments and the college (…) we agree to disagree, and that’s fantastic,” he said. “We seek the best interests on behalf of our students.”
A White House visit years in the making
Rob Shriver, acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, greets Balaji Sankaranarayanan, professor of information technology and supply chain management, in Hyland Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. To the right is Roger Yin, professor of information technology and supply chain management, who was instrumental in making the visit come to fruition.
Yin is a faculty advisor for UW-Whitewater’s Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) chapter. He founded the group more than 10 years ago with Carol Normand, professor emeritus of accounting, after seeing the potential growth in career opportunities in information technology audit.
The student organization was eventually recognized by ISACA International, becoming the first — and still the only — student chapter recognized by the global association. He sees it as a key co-curricular partner to the IT and supply chain management program for students to build expertise and character.
Yin regularly shares developmental opportunities that take place outside of the classroom, noting the importance of networking and hands-on experiences through internships for successful placement after graduation. Students in the ISACA chapter often engage in simulations where an enterprise they’re working for is under cyber-attack.
“That is exactly what the industry is looking for in hiring,” Yin said. “Employers want to see — if there are nerve-wracking circumstances, how do you react? How do you stand firm and be able to perform not just according to the job description, but as a true professional?”
Countless hours of hard work by Yin, his department faculty, and his ISACA student leaders culminated in 2022, when UW-Whitewater was designated as a Center of Academic Excellence by the National Security Agency (NSA-CAE). It was a big reason the university earned a visit from the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) in October 2024.
“The students benefit from it — they can explain to future employers that they graduated from an NSA-CAE designated school,” Yin said. “UW-Whitewater was put on the map as a result.”
