David Hudgens is a Clinical Associate Professor of International Business in the Sonoco International Business Department. His work and teaching focus on the intersection of international business, public policy, and development, with particular emphasis on public-private partnerships (PPPs), cross-sector collaboration, and the role of firms in addressing complex development and governance challenges. He has more than thirty years of experience as an international educator, researcher, clinician, counselor, and consultant to firms, governments, institutions of higher education worldwide, and related international organizations.

Dr. Hudgens currently teaches Introduction to International Business and Globalization & Business, and Public-Private Partnerships and International Business: The Business of Development. He also leads short form graduate and undergraduate courses, including courses in Vietnam and Japan. He serves on the faculty of the South Carolina Honors College, where he directs undergraduate student theses, and is a Faculty Fellow in the Center for Integrative and Experiential Learning (CIEL). He is the Faculty Director for the International Business & Chinese Enterprise (IBCE)Cohort Program at the school of business in partnership with the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He works closely with ESSEC Business School in Cergy, France; Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico; Foreign Trade University in Vietnam; the Mandarin Training Center at the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei; and the Beijing Language and Culture University in China. Prior to joining the University of South Carolina, he served in government as a Trade Development Specialist with the International Trade Division of the South Carolina Department of Commerce.

In addition to his academic training in the behavioral and social sciences and international affairs, Dr. Hudgens has advanced clinical training in psychoeducational studies. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the State of South Carolina and holds national certification (NCC) from the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).

Dr. Hudgens’ projects, research and applied work examine PPPs and cross-sector governance in emerging and developing market contexts, with particular attention to stakeholder coordination, institutional design, and the role of private actors in development initiatives. He has served as a principal investigator on international research teams based in the Americas and Southeast Asia, with fieldwork conducted in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. His broader research portfolio includes work on international careers, mental health and resilience, economic development, globalization, and changing patterns in international education. He served as an editor on digital curriculum initiatives curating international business cases for undergraduate, graduate, and executive education and is currently an editor of the student publication Journal of Global Business and Community (JGBC).