Chenyang Xu

Chenyang Xu is a first-year Ph.D. student from Shanghai, China. His research interests focus on utilizing social media and data science to support higher education and international student services.

 In 2015, Chenyang received Master of Education degree at Kent State University (KSU) and started his career at the Alumni Association of KSU. During this experience, Chenyang realized the necessity and potential of digital systems in the higher education field. Therefore, he began a second master’s degree program, Master of Digital Sciences, at KSU.

During his study at KSU, Chenyang co-founded the Chinese Alumni Association and established the university’s first alumni public account on WeChat, the social media platform most used by Chinese students and alumni. As the manager of this account, Chenyang was in charge of reaching out to Chinese alumni, sharing the latest University notifications and information with international alumni, planning online campaigns and assisting with international alumni events. Today, the WeChat account has over 800 followers.

In 2019, Chenyang completed the study of Master of Digital Sciences degree at KSU. In order to further his study and research in education and digital technology, he joined the academic community of the College of Education as a doctoral student. His goal of doctoral study is:

 "Throughout my career in managing the university’s official social media accounts, I realized the potential of utilizing social media as a supportive tool and outreach method in higher education.. The success of utilizing social media in my career motivated my passion for furthering my research and studies. Therefore, I wish to investigate this issue deeper in my doctoral studies."