Faculty

Suman Lee

Professor
Director, M.A. in Media and Communication in Strategic Communication
Director of Visiting International Scholars (VIS) Program

Carroll 354

suman@unc.edu

Suman Lee is a scholar specializing in international public relations, public diplomacy and global communication. His research has been published in leading journals such as Communication Research, Public Relations Review, Corporate Reputation Review, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, International Journal of Business Communication, Journal of Communication Management, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research and Visual Communication Quarterly. 

According to a 2017 study by Ki and Ye in Public Relations Review, which analyzed 163 journal articles published between 2001 and 2014, Lee ranked among the most prolific authors in the field of global public relations. His contributions have earned him multiple top paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the International Communication Association (ICA). 

Lee’s research includes comprehensive studies on foreign nations’ public relations investments in the United States, focusing on their impact on news content, return on investment through time-series analysis and public sentiment. His recent work explores the public diplomacy strategies of Japan and South Korea in the context of historical disputes, with a particular emphasis on outreach to younger generations. 

He currently serves as director of the M.A. in strategic communication and director of the Visiting International Scholars (VIS) Program at the University of North Carolina. Prior to joining UNC, Lee served on the faculty at Iowa State University, where he played a pivotal role in establishing the public relations major. Before entering academia, he worked as a public relations professional at Samsung in Seoul, South Korea. 

Education