Kent State University’s School of Fashion welcomes two new faculty members whose experience spans fashion entrepreneurship, sustainability, supply chains, textile education, biomaterials and emerging technologies.
Ashley Chenn joins the School of Fashion with experience in communications, technology, marketing, sourcing and fashion entrepreneurship. Chenn earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications and began her career in technology, working in social media and content marketing for Adobe Marketing Cloud. She later led marketing for a Shanghai-based supply chain sustainability start-up and founded a venture sourcing household goods in Mainland China.
Chenn’s work in sourcing and supply chains has shaped her research interests in new models of fashion consumption, early-stage fashion ventures and entrepreneurship education. She also studied patternmaking and design at the Hong Kong Design Institute and is completing a Ph.D. in fashion business from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Fashion and Textiles.
Sunidhi Mehta, Ph.D., joins the School of Fashion with eight years of teaching experience in fashion and textile education, including approximately five years in the United States and more than three years internationally. Her teaching connects science, sustainability and technology with fashion education, preparing students to think critically and address complex industry and societal challenges.
Dr. Mehta’s research focuses on environmental sustainability, circular biomaterials and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive modeling for big data analytics. She has secured more than $1 million in research funding, published 11 refereed journal articles and presented more than a dozen conference papers. Her students have participated in community-focused projects and co-authored peer-reviewed work.
Please join the School of Fashion in welcoming Chenn and Dr. Mehta to Kent State University. Their teaching, research and professional experience will support the school’s continued commitment to preparing students for meaningful work across the fashion industry.
