Chan Ki Hahn passed away peacefully surrounded by his children and grandchildren on August 12, 2024, after complications from a stroke. Chan sorely missed his wife, Young, who preceded him in death in 2022.
He is survived by his son, Irving (Jennifer); son, Thomas (Cathy); his grandchildren, Christopher, Michael (Michaela), Jonathan, Ally, Andrew; and his great granddaughter, Daisy.
Chan was born in Seoul, Korea on November 19, 1939. As a child, his family was split and reunited multiple times while fleeing Seoul during the Korean War. After re-settling back in Seoul post war, Chan proudly attended and graduated from Paichai high school and Yonsei University where he met Young. Once he completed his compulsory military service, Chan immigrated to the United States in 1964 to pursue his MBA and doctorate at The Ohio State University. He and Young were married in 1966 in Columbus. They moved to Bowling Green in 1970 when Chan became a professor at BGSU and they called the city home for the rest of their lives.
Chan dedicated his professional life to BGSU. He worked tirelessly to build the Supply Chain Management program into a top program in the country. He served as the Department Chair for 13 years and founded the school’s Supply Chain Management Institute. As an academic, he believed it was important to research/publish, to teach and mentor, and to establish connections to corporations. He excelled in all three areas. Chan was a prolific researcher. He earned awards and leadership roles at the Academy of Management and the Decision Sciences Institute. He was BGSU’s first endowed professor becoming the Owens-Illinois Chaired Professor in 1988. As a teacher he made a lasting impact on countless graduates and was named Outstanding Teaching Professor three times and was named Distinguished Teaching Professor by BGSU trustees. He worked hard to develop relationships with leading corporations so they would recruit Supply Chain Management graduates and donate to the University and the program. The conduit he worked so hard to build still exists today. In recognition of his lifetime of dedication, the University established the Chan Hahn Professorship in 2022. Humorously, even with all his accolades his grandkids felt his two greatest honors from the University were having an office at the business school for life and a parking pass for life.
Chan always remembered his home country. He and Young helped dozens of students from South Korea attend BGSU. They treated those students with the same care and attention as their own children which included guidance that was sometimes uncomfortable yet necessary. Many of his students went on to become professors themselves and three former students are currently University Presidents in South Korea.
Outside of BGSU, Chan enjoyed spending time with his family, golfing, following politics, and passionately watching his beloved Ohio State football team. He and Young saw their children and grandchildren frequently and created an annual family tradition of spending the last two weeks of December together in Hawaii. As a golfer he was never quite able to reach his goal of scoring his age but did have three hole- in-ones in his lifetime all after retirement.
Those that knew him will remember that Chan was disciplined, hardworking, dependable in tough times, stern because he possessed a definitive compass, but also modest and caring. He made a lasting impact on so many of the lives he touched.
The family is hosting a Celebration of Life at BGSU Schmidthorst College of Business, 819 E Wooster St, Bowling Green, OH 43403 on August 17, 2024 at 2:00 pm. Memorials can be made to the Bowling Green State University Foundation earmarked to either the Young Hahn Memorial Scholarship or Chan Hahn Professorship.
Condolences for the family may be left at toledocremation.com.
