
Haoran “Chris” Chu, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor - Department of Public Relations
Bio
Chu most recently was an assistant professor in the Department of Public Relations at Texas Tech University, as well as an affiliated faculty member in the university’s Climate Science Center.
“Dr. Chu’s research and teaching expertise combined with his academic accomplishments make him an excellent addition to our Department and College,” said Dr. Marcia DiStaso, Public Relations Department Chair.
Chu’s research interests include risk, science, environmental, and health communication. He is interested in understanding the roles of psychological distance and motivated reasoning in people’s response to messages communicating different environmental and health risks.
He has authored or co-authored 18 peer-reviewed articles with seven additional articles currently under peer review. He has presented or co-presented 40 presentations at academic conferences and has won four top paper awards.
His funded grant activity has included research on perceived risks about climate change, psychological distance in risk communication, and the roles of online social networks and social capital in fostering disaster resilience in underprivileged communities.
Areas of Expertise
Health Communication, Media Sociology, Science Communication, STEM Communication, Vaccine and Climate Change CommunicationEducation
Ph.D., Communication, University at Buffalo, 2019
Master’s, Journalism, Media, and Communication, Cardiff University (Wales, U.K.), 2015
Bachelor’s, City University of Hong Kong
News
- Haoran “Chris” Chu Will Join CJC Public Relations Department in Fall 2021 (June 9, 2021)
- All News About Haoran "Chris" Chu
Courses
Syllabi from the current and three previous semesters:
- MMC 6936 - Risk Communications - Spring 2023 (PDF)
- PUR 3500 - Public Relations Research - Spring 2023 (PDF)
- MMC 6400 - Mass Communication Theory - Fall 2022 (PDF)
- PUR 3500 - Public Relations Research - Fall 2022 (PDF)
- PUR 3500 - Public Relations Research - Spring 2022 (PDF)
- MMC 6400 - Mass Communication Theory - section 2980 - Fall 2021 (PDF)