Ben Lee earned his Ph.D. from USC Annenberg in 2005, and now serves as a Clinical Professor. His primary instructional duties involve teaching with fellow faculty in the Communication Management graduate core and research practicum courses.
In the Communication Management program, Lee also serves as its Associate Director. In this role, he acts as the equivalent of a chief operational officer – coordinating faculty efforts with key staff functions in admissions, academic advisement, and career development, as well as supporting faculty in building rigorous and quality experiences for students.
Many of his students hail from China, and through them he has learned much about the nation's economy, society and people. He has been consulted much about developments in China's higher education, by both public and private institutions. He now leads USC Annenberg's collaboration with different Chinese universities, advising on faculty, curriculum, and programs. He also directs a research center in Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry. The research from the center and his students focus on the most current social media entertainment, new television formats, new media firms' strategies and execution, and American entertainment firms seeking to understand Chinese audiences.
As a scholar and practitioner, Lee is intensely curious about human performance – how individuals, organizations and societies survive and thrive, especially in volatile and uncertain environments. His expertise has been especially relevant for China's experience.