Lauren Onkey: Vice President of Education & Public Programs

Dr. Lauren Onkey joins the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum after spending her career exploring the intersection of popular music with cultural studies, literature, and women’s studies. Her teaching and publications have focused on the impact of rock and roll and African-American culture in England, Ireland, and the Caribbean. She has published essays and book chapters on Van Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, U2, and Bruce Springsteen, and has presented numerous papers at national and international literature, cultural studies, and pedagogy conferences. Onkey has also taught courses on rock and roll history. Her book, Celtic Soul Brothers: Blackness and Transatlantic Irish Identity, will be published by Routledge Press in 2009.

“Rock and roll has helped me make sense of the world and my place in it ever since I can remember. It keeps my ears open to the many different voices and ideas in our culture.”

Most recently, Onkey has taught courses in post colonial literature, cultural studies and writing at both the undergraduate and graduate level at Ball State University and was the recipient of research fellowships at Oxford University and Boston College. She also served for five years as Director of Graduate Programs in English.  Lauren took part in Ball State’s immersive learning initiative, which emphasizes university-community partnerships and collaborative learning, producing an award-winning radio series for Indiana Public Radio.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of moving the vibrant and innovative mission of this unique Museum forward. The education programs offer an extraordinary opportunity to communicate the history and transformative power of rock and roll to a large, diverse audience, and to discover what the music means to that audience.”

Lauren received her master’s and doctoral degrees in English from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. She resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.