Dr. Jian (Jay) Wang, a scholar and consultant in the fields of strategic communication and public diplomacy, is Director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) 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 published widely on the role of communication in the contemporary process of globalization. His books include Shaping China’s Global Imagination: Nation Branding at the World Expo, Soft Power in China: Public Diplomacy through Communication (editor), Foreign Advertising in China: Becoming Global, Becoming Local, and China’s Window on the World: TV News, Social Knowledge and International Spectacles (co-author). His research has also been published in academic journals, including the Journal of Communication, the Journal of Broadcast & Electronic Media, Management Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Review and Place Branding & Public Diplomacy. His contributions to policy reports include “U.S. Public Diplomacy and National Security” (a CSIS-CPD report) and “Data-driven Public Diplomacy” (U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy). He serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Communication and is a member of the Public Diplomacy Expert Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Fund.

Prior to joining USC, Dr. Wang taught at Purdue University. He received his B.A. degree from Beijing University, and holds an M.A. from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.