Inaugural East Asia Studies Career Development Professorship Awardees

From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Each year, Boston University has the pleasure of recognizing a handful of talented junior faculty emerging as future leaders within their respective fields through the award of Career Development Professorships.

This year, we are delighted to announce the addition of a new Career Development Professorship in the area of East Asia Studies. Made possible through the generous support of a BU alumnus based in Taiwan, the East Asia Studies Career Development Professorships recognize assistant professors in the College of Arts & Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Communication and the School of Management whose research is concentrated in areas of inquiry specific to East Asia.

As with other Career Development Professorships, each professorship provides three years of partial salary support for the awardee’s school or college, plus an annual research fund for the faculty member. Two East Asia Studies Career Development Professorships have been awarded this year with an additional two professorships expected three years from now. Nominations are submitted by academic deans, and awardees are selected by the Office of the Provost.

This year’s inaugural East Asia Studies Career Development Professors have been cited for their extraordinary accomplishments in their areas of study, for their innovative approaches to research and teaching, and for impactful work that bridges disciplines and cultures. Through their hard work and rigorous scholarship, they are demonstrating firsthand BU’s continued and growing commitment as a global research university. I am pleased to announce that this year’s East Asia Studies Career Development Professors are:

  • Edward Cunningham, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor of Earth and Environment, College of Arts & Sciences
    A China specialist, Edward Cunningham’s research in comparative political economy explores how policy and institutions affect the technology and fuel choices of Chinese and Asian corporations, and therefore the environmental intensity of their development. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and received his Master’s degree in Regional Studies (East Asia) from Harvard University and his doctorate in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  • Lei Guo, Ph.D.
    Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations, and member of the Division of Emerging Media Studies, College of Communication
    Lei Guo’s scholarship in cross-cultural journalism explores the role of new media technologies as agents of democratic development in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, utilizing social networks as data science tools to provide a clearer understanding of East Asian culture. She is a graduate of Fudan University in Shanghai and received her Master’s degree and doctorate in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin.

Please join me in congratulating these talented educators for this achievement, and in wishing them the best of luck with their teaching and research in the years ahead.

Inaugural East Asia Studies Career Development Professorship Awardees – 1.29.15