Chuqing Dong, assistant professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, has been selected to receive the 2025 Early Career Award from the Association for Chinese Communication Studies (ACCS). Founded in 1991, the ACCS is a non-profit, ethnically inclusive professional organization dedicated to promoting the study of Chinese communication behaviors. It is affiliated with the National Communication Association (NCA). The award will be formally presented at the 111th NCA annual convention, taking place November 19–23 in Denver, CO.
The ACCS Early Career Award honors a scholar who is still in the early stage of their academic career. Eligible recipients must be within eight years of earning their Ph.D., and their body of work must significantly contribute to shaping the intercultural or international communication involving Chinese culture, broadly defined. Selection is based on the strength of the scholar’s published research, including its conceptual depth, originality, methodological rigor, and impact on the field.
“I am deeply grateful for this recognition, which I view as an encouragement to continue advancing globally engaged communication scholarship,” Dong said.
“As a public relations scholar, my work seeks to shed light on how organizations navigate complex social environments where expectations for transparency, care, and ethical responsibility are evolving. My background and identity enable me to approach theories and concepts through a culturally comparative lens that centers non-Western perspectives. My research aims to contribute to a more inclusive and contextually grounded understanding of corporate social responsibility and ethical public relations in a global context.”
Dong has long participated in and benefited from the ACCS community’s webinars and events focused on cross-cultural and international communication research and education. At this year’s NCA convention, she will also present a co-authored paper with graduate student Qi Zheng (ABD) on diversity leadership in the public sector, supported by the Arthur W. Page Center.
By Claire Dippel