Jan Leach
Assistant Professor/News

305C Franklin Hall
Tel: 330-672-4289
Fax: 330-672-4064
Email: jleach1@kent.edu

Spring 2008 Office Hours
TR 2:00-4:00 PM
W 9:30-10:30 AM

Jan Leach is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kent State University. She teaches media ethics, copy editing and other news courses and is a member of the graduate studies committee. Jan also is director of the Kent State’s Media Law Center for Ethics and Access.

Jan is an Ethics Fellow at the Poynter Institute for Journalism Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla., where she works with other media professionals to define and address media ethics issues.
Jan also edits manuscripts for Gray & Co. Publishing in Cleveland. She was the editor of two books by Terry Pluto. She is the author of a chapter in the forthcoming book “Trailblazers: Women in Newspapers” to be published this year by the University of Illinois Press, and she is featured in the book “Leading by Example: How Leaders Make a Difference in Their Newsrooms and Communities,” published by The Poynter Institute (2002.)

Before joining the faculty at Kent, Jan was editor and vice president of the Akron Beacon Journal for five years. She was responsible for news content, coverage and design. During her tenure, the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists named the Beacon Journal “Best Newspaper in Ohio” three times.

As editor, Jan and her staff coordinated coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks, including publishing an “Extra” edition, and launching the “Fire Truck Fund” that raised more than $1.3 million for new safety equipment in New York City.

Jan came to Akron from the Cincinnati Enquirer where she had been managing editor for nearly five years. She also was managing editor at the Phoenix Gazette, city editor at The Arizona Republic, and held various reporting and editing positions at newspapers in Cincinnati, Findlay and Fostoria, Ohio.

She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in journalism ethics from Kent State. Jan is a member of the board of the Millennium Fund for Children and the Beacon Journal Charity Fund. She also is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, the Akron Press Club and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Jan graduated from Leadership Akron Class XV. She was co-chair of Junior Leadership Akron Media Day for two years. She also graduated from Valley Leadership in Phoenix, Arizona.