Dr. Jian (Jay) Wang is Director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy and an Associate Professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He previously worked for the international consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he advised clients on matters of communication strategy and implementation across a variety of industries and sectors.

Dr. Wang has written widely on the role of communication in the contemporary process of globalization. He is co-editor of the newly published book Debating Public Diplomacy: Now and Next. He is the author of Shaping China’s Global Imagination: Nation Branding at the World Expo and several other books. His research has been published in academic journals, including Journal of Communication, Journal of Broadcast & Electronic Media, Management Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Review and Place Branding & Public Diplomacy. He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Communication.

Dr. Wang has led successful partnerships on research and programming with organizations, including the BBC, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the European Union Delegation to the U.S., Global Affairs Canada, Global Ties U.S., the Japan Foundation, NATO, Pew Research Center, the United Nations Foundation and the U.S. Department of State, on topics ranging from soft power in global affairs, U.S. public diplomacy and national security, to digital advocacy, public diplomacy performance and evaluation. He has been instrumental in developing professional training programs as new essential skills have arisen, including data-driven public diplomacy, storytelling for public diplomacy, and public diplomacy strategy and evaluation.

Prior to joining USC, Dr. Wang taught at Purdue University.

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