María del Carmen Rico Menge is a Sociologist, PhD in Information Sciences, Honorary Professor in the Department of Social Communication at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where she previously was a full professor (2002–2015). She is a former Dean of the Faculty of Social Communication and Director of International Relations at the Catholic University of Uruguay, and first holder of the UNESCO Chair in Communication. Also served as Coordinator of Latin American chairs in the global network of UNESCO Chairs in Communication (ORBICOM).

Carmen was a guest lecturer at universities in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Italy, the United States, Mexico, and Ecuador, as well as researcher in international and intercultural communication, development, and critical epistemologies. She was director of international projects and evaluator of academic communication programs at Latin American and Canadian universities. She is a honorary member of FELAFACS, and honorary professor at the University of Santa María in Arequipa.

Carmen is a member of the editorial committee of Latin American, European, and Canadian journals. Consultant for the United Nations, UNESCO, IDRC, and the Research Institute of the Syrian-Lebanese Hospital in Brazil. Among her publications: (2015) Cultural industries, media and audiences: from reception to appropriation in contemporary socio-political contexts. PANAM, University of Córdoba, Argentina (co-directed with S.Morales; (2012) International Communication, Colab, UQAM, Montreal; (2012) Communication and Media in the Americas: Between Governance and Governability. Bogotá: Universidad Javeriana. (co-directed with A. Roveda); (2011) Social Protection in Health in Latin America and the Caribbean: research and policies, PAHO/IDRC, Universidad Javeriana de Bogota.(co-directed with Amparo Hernández). She has translated and published articles by Michel de Certeau, Luce Giard, Jesús Martín Barbero, Martín Becerra, Luis R. Beltrán, Alain Modoux, François Cooren, Jean Louis Denis, J.P.Lafrance, among others.