Wenhong Chen

Dr. Wenhong Chen is a Professor of Media Studies and Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts. She holds the Distinguished Scholar title at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law and serves as Vice Chair of the Global Communication & Social Change Division at the International Communication Association.

• PhD in Sociology, University of Toronto
• SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Duke University

Her research examines digital media technologies in entrepreneurial/organizational contexts, focusing on digital inequalities, privacy, social capital, and US-China AI policy dynamics. Funded by institutions like Pew Internet, Ford Foundation, and Woodrow Wilson Center, her work bridges communication, sociology, and technology policy.

Key article trends include: network power in China's media industry, digital inequality frameworks, privacy implications of health apps, transnationalism in digital governance, and the evolving role of social capital in technology adoption.

• President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award (2023)
• Barry Sherman Teaching Award (2022)
• Provost’s Teaching Fellow (2021-2024)

Dr. Chen has secured grants from Pew Internet, Ford Foundation, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She previously co-founded UT Austin's Center for Entertainment and Media Industries (2018-2023) and leads a current project analyzing US-China AI policy impacts on tech entrepreneurship.