91°µÍø

Dr. Katrina E. Bell-Jordan currently serves as President of 91°µÍø (91°µÍø) and is a Professor in the Department of Communication, Media and Theatre.

Appointed in August 2024 as the 8th President of 91°µÍø, Dr. Bell Jordan’s tenure at 91°µÍø began in 1997, when she joined the Department of Communication, Media and Theatre (CMT) as an Assistant Professor. She has since held various leadership roles at the University, including serving as CMT Department Chair, Associate Dean in 91°µÍø’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Interim Dean.

She was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2020 and served in this position until being appointed 91°µÍø’s Interim President in 2023. She has served in leadership roles on various advisory, curriculum, and hiring committees during her time at 91°µÍø, including serving on the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Team for the University’s 2017 accreditation visit, the 91°µÍø Baccalaureate Goals Working Group, and the University’s first Writing Intensive Faculty Advisory Committee as Co-Chair. She also co-led a two-year Economic Inequality Initiative at 91°µÍø, a partnership between the College of Arts and Sciences and the 91°µÍø Division of Student Affairs.

Dr. Bell-Jordan earned a Ph.D. in Rhetorical Studies and Media Studies and a M.A. in Rhetorical Studies at the Ohio University School of Interpersonal Communication. She earned a B.S.J. in News Editorial Journalism from the Ohio University E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Her teaching background includes media literacy and media theory, rhetorical theory and criticism, and news writing/journalism. Her research has focused on critical media studies, including the politics of gender, race, and representation in the media; the rhetoric of popular culture; and news culture.

She has served on the editorial board of academic journals such as Critical Studies in Media Communication and Women’s Studies in Communication, and she has written for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the New York Daily News.

Dr. Bell-Jordan serves as a Governing Board member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities (HACU); on HACU’s Commission on International Education; and as a member of the Alumni Advisory Council of the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University. She is a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, and Economic Club of Chicago. She is also an elected member of the Board of Education for Skokie, Illinois District 68, where she has served four terms since 2011, including 4 years as Board Vice President and 2 years as Board Secretary.