Loren Ezra Whitman
Doctoral Student
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About
Loren Ezra Whitman is a PhD Candidate in Communication at UIC with a concentration in Black Studies. Their research primarily focuses on political media, social movements, and coalition building within Leftist activist struggles. Loren Ezra is currently a full-time union organizer in Chicago representing workers across the city and the states of Illinois and Indiana. Whitman was the Grievance Chair for the UIC Graduate Students union, GEO, between 2020 and 2023. They joined UIC’s Communication Dept. to continue their ethnographic work on intersectional coalition building among activist groups, unions, and non-profits in fights to end the deportations at the Gary-Chicago Airport.
They received their Bachelors in Cultural Anthropology at Indiana University Northwest and their Masters in Communications from Purdue University Northwest. Loren Ezra was awarded the Eugene V. Debs 'Communication for the Common Good' Award by Purdue University Northwest and the United Steelworkers’ Local 1010 for their dedication to social justice and activist research. Whitman is currently working on their dissertation proposal while working full time. They live in Northwest Indiana with their partner and pets.
Education
Bachelors in cultural anthropology, Indiana University Northwest
Masters in communication, Purdue University Northwest