A Kent State University alumna has been named one of Ohio's top educators.Rachel Johnson, who graduated from Kent State's deaf education program in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in education, was named the State Board of Education's Teacher of the Year for District 10, which includes Summit County and portions of Cuyahoga and Geauga counties. She is one of 11 teachers recognized across the state, and four of the honorees will be selected as finalists for the 2027 Ohio Teacher of the Year.Johnson has taught deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Akron Public Schools since 2011. This past school y...

Kent State University has named Michael Beam, Ph.D., as the interim director of the School of Media and Journalism (MDJ). His appointment started July 1, after MDJ Director Emily Metzgar, Ph.D., began a new role as dean of Penn State University’s Bellisario College of Communications. Beam joins MDJ as the interim director after serving as director of the School of Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT) for five years (2020–2025). He is a highly accomplished researcher, teacher and leader. Beam spent more than a decade working as a computer system administrator and network technologist ...