Meng

About: Dr. Juan (pronounced as “Dren”) Meng is the Head of the Department of Advertising and Public Relations in the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. Dr. Meng is a professor of public relations. She is the founder and director of UGA‘s Go Global Choose China study abroad program. She also founded the College’s Cooperative Education 3+1+1 programs with Shanghai Normal University and Shanghai International Studies University, and serves as the programs‘ academic advisor.  

View Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
M.S., University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
M.A., Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH
B.S., Fudan University, Shanghai, China

Research Interests and Activities

Dr. Meng’s research specialization includes public relations leadership, leadership development, diversity and leadership in PR, measurement in PR, and global communication. She has published more than 70 refereed journal articles, scholarly book chapters and research reports on leadership-related topics. She is the co-editor of Public Relations Leaders as Sensemakers: A Global Study of Leadership in Public Relations and Communication Management (Routledge, 2014). Her most recent scholarly book, PR Women with Influence: Breaking through the Ethical and Leadership Challenges (Peter Lang International, 2021), is the Volume 6 of the AEJMC-Peter Lang Scholarsourcing Series. She has been invited to present at various panels, workshops, webinars, podcasts, and symposiums nationally and internationally.  

Meng serves on the national advisory board of The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations and leads several signature research projects funded by The Plank Center, including the largest global study of PR leadership, Millennial Communication Professionals in the Workplace, the biennial Leadership Report Cards, the biennial North American Communication Monitor, and Women and Leadership in PR. Meng also serves on the national advisory board of Ragan Communications and PR Daily. She was recently tapped to serve as an inaugural member of the Institute of Public Relations new initiative called IPR ELEVATE, a group of PR leaders dedicated to advancing the research-focused mission in the industry. She currently serves as the Research Vice Chair on the executive leadership committee of the Educators Academy at Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). 

Dr. Meng is an elected member of the Arthur W. Page Society since 2019, a member of the Page Up Society (2017-2019), the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (2006 to present), and the International Communication Association (2006 to present). She also serves on the editorial advisory board for six leading scholarly journals in the field, including Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Journal of Promotion Management, and Journal of Public Relations Education. Dr. Meng has received multiple awards for teaching and research in public relations, including the International ABERJE Award, the Arthur W. Page Top Ethics Paper Award, the Wilcox Award for Best Teaching Paper, and other top research paper awards from PRSA, AEJMC, ICA and IPRRC.  

Teaching Specialties

Dr. Meng’s teaching areas include public relations campaigns, research, global PR, PR leadership and ethics. Dr. Meng founded and directs UGA’s ADPR Choose China study abroad program. She leads the program since 2014 and takes students to Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong to learning global advertising and public relations. To know more about the program, please visit the Choose China website.

Experience

Prior to moving to the United States, she practiced communication in Shanghai for a few years, including being a journalist and editor at the Shanghai TV Network, correspondent in Xinhua News Agency (Shanghai Bureau), media relations specialist in Shanghai Media Group (SMG), and other strategic communication & marketing consulting service for various organizations. Before joining the faculty at Georgia, she was faculty at the University of Dayton and Oklahoma State University.

Awards and Fellowships

Dr. Meng has received multiple awards for teaching and research in public relations, including the Wilcox Award for Best Teaching Paper from AEJMC, the Red Raider Award from the Institute for Public Relations (IPR), and several top research paper awards from AEJMC, ICA and IPR.

• Member, The Page Society, since 2019
• Women's Leadership Fellow, 2019-2020
• Board Member, The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, since 2018
• Member, The Page Up Society, since 2016
• Fellow, 2015-2016 UGA Service-Learning Fellowship Program
• Fellow, 2013-2014 UGA Teaching Academy Fellowship Program