Emily Metzgar, Ph.D.

Emily Metzgar, Ph.D., joined the School of Media and Journalism at Kent State University as director in 2020. Since assuming this role, she has led the school’s efforts to remove barriers to student retention, review course offerings and prerequisites, develop new minors and certificates, update school facilities, create new channels for communication with stakeholders, and identify opportunities for the school to meet the needs of communities served by the university.

A former U.S. diplomat, policy analyst, and journalist, Metzgar brings a rich mix of professional and academic experience to her work. Her research focuses on the intersection of media and foreign policy and  the evolving information landscape. She is author of The JET Program and the U.S.–Japan Relationship: Goodwill Goldmine and editor of The Course Reflection Project, with publications in International Journal of Communication, Journalism Practice, New Media & Society and Political Communication, among others.

Metzgar is immediate past president of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC) and just completed two years of service on the board of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). She serves as a site team member for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). She earned her Ph.D. in Media and Public Affairs from Louisiana State University, M.A. in International Politics from The George Washington University, and B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of Michigan.

Recent and forthcoming work:

Metzgar, Emily T. (forthcoming). “Filling the void: The geopolitics of information after U.S. international broadcasting cuts,” in Celeste González de Bustamante, Jeannine E. Relly, Ammina Kothari and Jyotika Ramaprasad (eds.) Routledge Companion to Global Journalism and Media Beyond Borders.

Metzgar, Emily T. (forthcoming). “Beyond the classroom: Reframing the JET Program and its legacy in the United States,” in Mary McCarty (ed.) Handbook on U.S.-Japan Relations. Tokyo and Amsterdam: Japan Documents and Amsterdam University Press.

Metzgar, Emily T. (2025). “Commissioning public diplomacy: Reviewing Congressionally mandated reporting about American public diplomacy,” in Sean Aday (ed.) Handbook on Public Diplomacy. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Metzgar, Emily T. (2025). Review of Hots mics and TV lights: The American Forces Vietnam Network, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2025.2533789