This page is maintained by Michael A. Beam.
I am the Interim Executive Director, Academic Operations & Strategic Planning, supporting the College of Architecture & Environmental Design, the College of the Arts, and the College of Communication & Information at Kent State University. I am also a Professor in the interdisciplinary School of Emerging Media & Technology. I served as Director of EMAT from 2020-2025.
My research has explored personalized social and algorithmic recommender systems for news exposure and health communication, the influence of partisan media sources on political polarization and political information processing, how design choices impact user experience, and the way new media systems change information distribution patterns. I have taught college courses covering communication technologies, human-computer interaction, media effects, political communication, and research methods.
Before entering graduate school, I spent over a decade working as a computer systems administrator. I also worked in community radio for over 20 years and produced a radio show & podcast, The Beat Oracle.