R. Kelly Garrett, professor and interim director of the School of Communication, was named director of the school for a three-year term, effective July 1, 2022. Garrett, who was appointed interim director in July 2021, has been a communication faculty member since his arrival in 2007. He studies online political communication and discourse, digital news dissemination and how the internet and social media influence engagement with contentious political topics. He has recently been published in journals such as Science Advances, JAMA Network Open, the Journal of Communication and Political Communication. During his tenure at Ohio State, Kelly has secured research funding from numerous organizations, including the National Science Foundation, Social Science One and Facebook, and he was twice named School of Communication Faculty Member of the Year.