Kent A. Ono

Kent A. Ono is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah, where he has held faculty appointments since 2012. Previously, he served as Department Chair (2012-2017) and has held leadership positions including Director of Asian American Studies at UIUC (2002-2007) and Director of Cultural Studies at UC Davis (1999-2002). He earned his PhD in Rhetorical Studies from the University of Iowa (1992), MA from Miami University (1988), and BA from DePauw University (1987).

Professor Ono's research examines critical media analysis through frameworks of race, gender, sexuality, and nation. His work spans rhetorical theory, intercultural communication, and cultural studies, with emphasis on:

• Representations of Asian Americans in media
• Immigration discourse and border rhetoric
• Postcolonial media criticism
• Critical race methodologies
• Transnational cultural flows

His recent publications demonstrate sustained focus on immigration rhetoric, racial representation in media, and critical intercultural communication. Thematic analysis reveals consistent engagement with power structures, identity negotiation, and resistance narratives across 30+ years of scholarship, with emerging work on K-pop globalization and digital culture.

Awards & Honors:

• Presidential Citation, National Communication Association (2024)
• Fellow, International Communication Association (2021)
• Douglas W. Ehninger Distinguished Rhetorical Scholar (2018)
• Distinguished Scholar Awards from NCA (2015, 2022), WSCA (2020)
• Teachers on Teaching Award, NCA (2015)

He has held editorial leadership positions including Editor of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies and co-editor of NYU Press's Critical Cultural Communication series. As NCA President (2020), he advanced equity initiatives and disciplinary transformation.

Ono founded the Asian American Cultural Politics Research Cluster at UC Davis and secured grants including 'Portraits of Courage: Photographs by Shane Sato' (2019). He teaches graduate seminars in Rhetorical Studies and International Communication.