Joni Koneval

Joni Koneval started her role as associate director of communications in Kent State’s Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement in August 2022. In this role, Joni is the project manager for philanthropic and alumni communications and engagement for the College of the Arts, the Honors College, University Libraries and the Wick Poetry Center. She also is a project manager supporting DPAE's events team and the DPAE website.

She previously worked in the College of the Arts beginning in 2013 as the marketing staff member for the School of Theatre and Dance and Porthouse Theatre. She then served as the director of communications and marketing for the College of the Arts from 2020-2022. Joni led the College of the Arts marketing team, comprised of marketing staff members in the Schools of Art, Fashion, Music, and Theatre and Dance, and coordinated the college's marketing and communication efforts, the website and social media. She has written articles for the aroundKent Magazine and the Kent State Magazine and has served on Kent State University's Social Media Action Committee and Strategic Enrollment Management External Visibility and Brand Awareness subcommittee.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History and a Master of Arts degree in History, both from Youngstown State University. Her master's thesis analyzed the legal, social and gendered perceptions of sexual violence in the Early American Republic (1790-1850). Previously, she coordinated the Youngstown Area Jewish Film Festival and worked as an editorial assistant for the academic journals Ohio History and the Journal of Jewish Identities.