Rate My Professor Baobao Song

Baobao Song, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Richard T. Robertson School of Communication at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she serves as Director of Undergraduate Studies and Public Relations Sequence Coordinator. She joined VCU as an Assistant Professor in 2017 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2025. Song received her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, where her doctoral dissertation examined emotional appeals in CSR communication and how prosocial emotions encourage stakeholder engagement. She earned her B.A. in English with a minor in Marketing from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.

Song's research specializes in public relations and corporate social responsibility, exploring topics such as stakeholder engagement, crisis communication, internal CSR outcomes, corporate social advocacy, and the effects of communication strategies on consumer and employee behaviors. Her scholarship appears in top journals including Public Relations Review, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, International Journal of Communication, and Journal of Business Research. Key publications include "Employees’ prosocial behavioral intentions through empowerment in CSR decision-making" (Public Relations Review, 2018), "The interplay between post-crisis response strategy and pre-crisis corporate associations in the context of CSR crises" (Public Relations Review, 2020), "Unpack the relational and behavioral outcomes of internal CSR: Highlighting dialogic communication and managerial facilitation" (Public Relations Review, 2022), "Celebrity-nonprofit partnerships: Exploring the drivers of fandom advocacy behaviors" (Public Relations Review, 2025), and "Examining the mechanics of gamified sustainability communications: A field experiment" (Journal of Business Research, accepted). Song has earned prestigious honors, including National/International Recognition Awards from VCU in 2024 and 2025, Page and Johnson Legacy Scholar awards from Arthur W. Page Center in 2015, 2016, and 2022, Top Faculty Paper Award from the International Communication Association Public Relations Division in 2018, and Outstanding Journal Article Honorable Mention from the National Communication Association Public Relations Division in 2025. Her work contributes significantly to advancing CSR communication theory and practice.