Sung-Un Yang

Sung-Un Yang (PhD, University of Maryland, 2005) is the Harold Burson Endowed Chair in Public Relations and Department Chair of Mass Communication, Advertising, and Public Relations at Boston University. His recent research focuses on strategic communication management, with particular emphasis on how emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, reshape public-organization relationships, employee communication, and organizational change. His recent work examines how communication professionals adopt AI and how leadership, internal communication, and organizational readiness drive successful integration.

Beginning in September 2026, Sung-Un will serve as a coeditor of Journal of Communication, the official flagship journal of the International Communication Association. Sung-Un currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Public Relations Research, the official flagship journal of the AEJMC Public Relations Division, and has served on the editorial boards of leading journals, including Communication Research and Communication Theory. He has been named among Stanford University and Elsevier’s World’s Top 2% Most Cited Scientists since 2020.

Prior to joining Boston University, Sung-Un held faculty positions at Indiana University’s Media School, where he was the Ralph Winslow Professor of Strategic Communication, and at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he served as a tenured faculty member and Newhouse Endowed Professor. He is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, a prestigious international organization of corporate communication leaders and educators.

Sung-Un’s broader research program centers on organization–public relationships, organizational reputation management, and the role of social and digital media in strategic communication. His work has appeared in leading journals, including Communication Research, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, and Journal of Public Relations Research, among others. He is the author of two books and numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed articles.

His scholarship has received major recognition, including the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award from the International Communication Association (ICA) Public Relations Division and top paper awards from ICA, AEJMC, PRSA, and IPRRC. In addition, he has received university-wide teaching honors, including the Meredith Teaching Excellence Recognition Award at Syracuse University and the Board of Trustees Teaching Award at Indiana University.