The College of Communication and Information at Kent State University is proud to announce the appointment of Kendra Albright, Ph.D., to the Goodyear Endowed Professor in Knowledge Management in the School of Information (iSchool). This professorship is endowed by generous support from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
As the Goodyear Chair, Dr. Albright will combine the strengths of our nationally ranked School of Information with a vision for the development of new leaders in the knowledge management (KM) profession. Our commitment to the KM program complements the iSchool’s current strengths in library and information science, health informatics, information interaction, knowledge organization systems and usability design. This will build bridges between the academy and professional practice in industry, government, and other institutions.
Dr. Albright has taught a range of graduate and undergraduate level courses in knowledge management, including Business Intelligence, Environmental Scanning and Information Economics at four institutions in three countries (the University of South Carolina, the University of Tennessee, the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs in Tbilisi, Georgia).
Dr. Albright’s research has focused on the ways users understand and employ information to facilitate positive change and solve organizational problems. Her current work concentrates on investigating and comparing worldwide KM educational competencies and programs, developing a theoretical framework for KM practice through a systematic review process and assessing curricular areas for KM education.
“I am excited about the future of the KM program under Dr. Albright’s leadership,” said CCI Dean Amy Reynolds. “Her research and professional experience, as well as her decades-long record of interdisciplinary work across relevant disciplines, makes her the perfect fit for this signature endowed professorship.”
Dr. Albright has served as a consultant to numerous corporations and government agencies. Most recently, she served as program reviewer for the Master of Science program in Intelligence Studies at the University of South Florida. She has also worked for Information International Associates, Inc., the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Whittle Communications. Dr. Albright has been invited to speak and keynote at numerous conferences including the Henley Knowledge Forum in the UK.
The author of the highly cited, “Environmental Scanning: Radar for Success,” published in the Information Management Journal in 2004, she has published many other papers and books and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for Libri, the international journal of libraries and information studies. She holds a Ph.D. in Communications, a Master of Science in Library Science and a B.S. in Human Development. From 2016-2020, Dr. Albright was the Director of the School of Information.
The School of Information at Kent State University has evolved over its 70+ year history to serve the ever-changing needs of information professionals and organizations that employ them. The largest graduate degree program at the University, the school boasts a faculty of world-renowned researchers and offers five different master’s degree programs entirely online.