Adam Christopher Earnheardt is an American academic and author, sports and communication researcher, and social media critic. He is professor and former chair of the Department of Communication at

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

, located in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

. He researches the effects of communication devices and social media on society, and studies the media uses and psychology of sports fans and families."The psychology of sports: Why do fans care so much?"
''Canton Repository''. Earnheardt was a columnist with Mahoning Matters, a news outlet with the

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

- McClatchy Compass Project where he wrote about family and parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earnheardt was a weekly columnist for

The Vindicator ''The Vindicator'' is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio, United States and the Mahoning County region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. ''The Vindicator'' was established in 1869. As of September 1, ...

and Tribune Chronicle newspapers from 2014 to 2021, where he focused on the impact of technology and media on relationships and society.

Early life and education

Earnheardt was born in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Bell County. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is ...

in 1970 and grew up in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania. He attended Cheswick Christian Academy in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, and then Roberts Wesleyan College in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

for three years before earning a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in communication at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and a Doctorate of Philosophy degree in communication studies at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

where he received the Outstanding Dissertation Award in 2007.

Career

In 2012, Earnheardt was named chair of the department of communication at Youngstown State. Earnheardt has co-authored several articles and books on the subject of communication, relationships, sports, media and fan behavior. He has published a number of articles about fan attachment and the effects of social media on fandom, is frequently quoted in the media on this subject, delivers talks on the role of sports in society, and is called on to advise issues related to social media and technology. He was interviewed for the ViceTV docuseries The Dark Side of Football for an episode which focused on fandom and the National Football League. Earnheardt has interviewed notable individuals invited to lecture as part of the

Skeggs Lecture Series. In 2016, he interviewed former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, and in 2017, he interviewed author

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...

as part of the lecture series.

Honors and awards

Earnheardt was presented with the Diversity Leadership Award in 2016. In 2012, he received the Smith-Murphy Award for Outstanding Teaching, as well as a Young Professional Award from Kent State University. In 2009, he was recognized as one of the top 40 young professionals under the age of 40 by the MVP 20/30 Club, and then recognized as one of the "Top 5" MVPs from the group of 40. The award is given to residents in the

area who have excelled in their professions and have demonstrated a commitment to community involvement. Also in 2009, Earnheardt received the Distinguished Professor for Public Service.

Published works

* * * *"United we boom"
''Spokesman-Review'', FEB. 1, 2015, By Paul Turner * * * *

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20121108070638/http://web.ysu.edu/gen/fpa/Department_Chair_m61.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185805/http://web.ysu.edu/gen/fpa/Dr_Adam_Earnheardt_m190.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Earnheardt, Adam 1970 births Living people People from Killeen, Texas Clarion University of Pennsylvania alumni Kent State University alumni Roberts Wesleyan University alumni Youngstown State University faculty American textbook writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers American columnists Academics from Ohio Academics from Pennsylvania 21st-century American male writers