Mr Essien Oku Essien

Essien Oku is a PhD candidate in the Communication, Culture, and Media Studies (CCM) Department at Drexel University. His research focuses on Climate Change Communicology. He explores social constructions, climate change disinformations, religion and spirituality, semiotics, media effects and Critical Theory. Essien holds a honorary doctorate in climate advocacy from the American Management University, and a First Class (Honors) bachelor's degree in Communications from Cross River University of Technology, Nigeria. He has received multiple Emerging Scholar Awards at prestigious Communication/Media Studies, and Climate Change conferences in Ireland, Argentina, and the U.S., and recognitions for his involvement with the UN-SDGs, World Bank Group, Global Landscape Forum in Germany, and the Thirst Foundation in Australia.

Essien currently volunteers with the Al Gore's Climate Reality Project – Philadelphia and Southeast PA Chapter and was awarded the Action for the Climate Emergency Fellowship (Cohort 2, 2024). He serves as a member of Drexel’s Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) Advisory Board, the Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) of the Graduate College, and he is the President of the International Graduate Students Association (IGSA). Before joining Drexel’s CCM PhD program, Essien worked as a media research consultant with Real Plexus Education Consult in Nigeria. He is also the author of the book “The Church of the Last Age.”