Kent State School of Communication Studies Has New Director

Dr. Paul Haridakis has been chosen as the seventh director of The School of Communication Studies at , as the school celebrates its 80th anniversary of providing communication education and scholarly work to the professional and academic community.

Haridakis earned his bachelor of arts degree in communication & rhetoric and his law degree from The University of Akron before receiving a Ph.D. in communication studies from Kent State.

His legal research focuses most specifically on issues related to freedom of speech and access to information. Haridakis’ communication research focuses on media use and effects.

His published research covers a wide array of topics such as the effects of television violence on aggression, the use of social media and YouTube videos for news and political information, the role of sports viewing on social identity, the protection of online privacy, the influence of media coverage of terrorism and internet addiction – to name just a few.

Haridakis has co-authored or co-edited four books and about 45 articles, chapters and encyclopedia entries. His books are: Sports Fans, Identity, and Socialization: Exploring the Fandemonium; Research Methods: Strategies and Sources (7th ed.); War and the Media: Essays on News Reporting, Propaganda and Popular Culture, and Sports Mania: Essays on Fandom and the Media in the 21st Century.

Haridakis has a notable tenure with Kent State, first serving as an editorial assistant for the Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media in 1986. He also was an editorial assistant for the Journal of Communication before turning his attention to teaching. He moved up the ranks from a teaching assistant to assistant professor to associate professor to full professor all in less than 12 years.

"We are delighted to have Dr. Haridakis joining our leadership team in the college,” said Stan Wearden, Ph.D., dean of the College of Communication and Information at Kent State.

“He is an experienced manager and an outstanding leader. Dr. Haridakis also is one of the nation's premier scholars in two distinct areas: Uses and gratifications research and legal scholarship on the right to information. His colleagues and I agree that he is clearly the right person to lead the school at this critical time," Wearden said.

Haridakis, an Akron resident, is the recipient of a number of professional awards, including the 2011 Distinguished Teaching Award from the Ohio Communication Association.

Kent State’s School of Communication Studies offers bachelor's and master's degrees and participates in a college-wide doctoral degree program with majors in global, health, organizational, public, interpersonal and applied communication. 

The school is nationally recognized for its scholarship, and its students have received national recognition for their academic and professional accomplishments. The school has been recognized as Ohio's distinguished program in communication by the Ohio Communication Association of Ohio.