Charles Opong

Professor of Communication Studies | Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES

Biography

Dr. Charles Opong (he/him/his) is a social scientist of critical theory, economics, and global leadership. Dr. Opong is a native of Los Angeles born to Ghanaian parents from the Accra Region and the Ashanti Kingdom. Dr. Opong wears a proud Ghanaian flag, embraces Ghanaian roots behind Ghana yet to all Black people of the African diaspora, and speaks to Pan-Africanism. Dr. Opong earned his Bachelor's in Communications from California State University Dominguez Hills, a Master of Educational Psychology from Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education & Psychology and holds a Ph.D. in Social Science from Pepperdine as well.

His research includes communications, film, critical race theory, economics, and human development. Dr. Opong is a faculty lecturer in the College of Ethnic Studies, in the Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, a professor of Africana Studies at California State University Dominguez Hills, and is also a Subject Matter Expert and thesis Chair at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, while teaching research methods at Loyola Marymount University.

Dr. Opong’s other research aspects include Black Male Theory (Opong, 2024), which he designed from African American Male Theory (Bush, 2013), and Critical Media Literacies (Kellner & Share, 2017), and Critical Media Analysis (Opong, 2024). Dr. Opong is a filmmaker, photographer, and published researcher with publications accomplished and current publications set to be published. Dr. Opong’s film credits can be found on IMDB. Dr. Opong is happily married to his wife of 9 years residing in Los Angeles with their three children.

Education (3)

Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education & Psychology: Ph.D., Social Science 2021

Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education & Psychology: Masters, Educational Psychology 2015

California State University Dominguez Hills: BA, Communications - Public Relations & Advertising 2012

Industry Expertise (3)

Photography

Education/Learning

Writing and Editing

Affiliations (3)

SAG
City of GOD
A2Mend

Languages (3)

Twi
Spanish
English

Articles (2)

New Horizons in Positive Leadership and Change A Practical Guide for Workplace Transformation

Collaborative and Spiritual Inquiry: Positive Leadership in Organizational Change and Higher Education

Sharififard S., Opong C., Ghazi A. (2020)

This chapter explores the structural, oral, and attitudinal aspects of positive organizational change strategies among leadership by addressing and analyzing the paradigms of leadership and how they connect to organizational change management (Cameron. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 44(1):7–24, 2008). Specifically, the authors sought to determine how women encounter, serve, and work within organizational structures and understand the levels of discourse present in elevating personal and professional identities for future leadership efforts and contributions in the workplace. This analysis focuses on positive leadership and the outcomes of assumed, administered, and perceived changes. The authors recommend that institutions of higher education must articulate and develop an environment where academics can be nurtured and exposed to a more broadened range of professional experiences from the beginning of their employment and continue their spiritual development as an investment to enable the development of potential leaders. The authors further suggest that educators who seek a place to enhance aspects of their leadership formally acquired through personal life histories should also promote the acquisition of new leadership experiences among the human resources, political, and referential contexts when practicing mindfulness in the workplace.

Team-based Learning in the Social Sciences: Leading Change, Translating Critical Thinking to Practice

Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Education Division Scholarship Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Sharififard S., Opong C.

Sharififard, Sonya and Opong, Charles, "Team-based Learning in the Social Sciences: Leading Change, Translating Critical Thinking to Practice" (2019). Pepperdine University, Education Division Scholarship. Paper 102. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/gsepedu/102 This Conference Proceeding is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Education Division Scholarship by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact