UA Wayne College Professor Named to Ohio Humanities Council

The University of Akron Wayne College announces that Dr. Debra Johanyak, professor of English, was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Ohio Humanities Council. Based in Columbus, the OHC promotes the humanities in Ohio through public programs, grants, and community projects that help individuals and communities explore, share, and be inspired by the human experience. An independent and non-profit organization, the OHC was founded in 1972 and is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and private contributions. Johanyak’s three year term begins in November.

“For years I have been participating in humanities-based research,” Johanyak says. “I look forward to helping connect Ohioans with history, literature, philosophy, and other humanities in exciting and unexpected ways.”

In addition to teaching English and Shakespearean studies at UA Wayne, Johanyak is a successful author and producer. Her film More Than Chance, based on the true story of a Russian-born girl who overcame tragedy suffered at the hands of her first adoptive father to find love and acceptance in a permanent family, won best feature film in the 7th Annual Colony Film Festival in 2012. She is currently producing the romantic comedy House Calls, due out by the end of the year. Her acclaimed books include Shakespeare’s World and Behind the Veil, a memoir of her experiences as a graduate student in Iran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.

Wayne College is a regional campus of The University of Akron and offers a number of associate degree programs along with the first two years of general bachelor’s degree courses for students who intend to complete their studies at the Akron campus or another college or university. UA Wayne also offers bachelor’s degrees in organizational supervision, business administration, and social work in addition to a Master of Business Administration (MBA).