Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez Bio
Mia Moody-Ramirez, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of journalism, public relations and new media in the Baylor University College of Arts & Sciences.
Her leadership experience and skills are diverse and comprehensive. She has served in many capacities—both at Baylor University and in professional organizations.
Her research emphasizes mass media representations of women, minorities and other underrepresented groups. The author or co-author of four books, Dr. Moody-Ramirez has also been widely published in a variety of academic and industry journals and. In 2018, she co-authored from Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics and Gender (Peter Lang Publishing) with Dr. Jannette L. Dates of Howard University. The book analyzes and offers insights into the intersections of race, gender and politics in the humor developed by, for and, or about black people. Also in 2018, she co-authored Race, Gender, and Image Repair Theory: How Digital Media Change the Landscape with Dr. Hazel James Cole, West Georgia University.
In 2013, she co-authored The Obamas and Mass Media: Race, Gender, Religion, and Politics (Palgrave Macmillan) with Dr. Jannette Dates. She solo authored Black and Mainstream Press’ Framing of Racial Profiling: A Historical Perspective (University Press of America) in 2009. She has presented papers at numerous regional, national and international conferences and has been published in publications such as Public Relations Review, Journalism Educator and the Journal of Magazine & New Media Research.
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Moody-Ramirez is a very active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the flagship organization for the journalism discipline. In this organization, she has participated in the Minorities and Communication division from 2009 to present. She served as Head for the AEJMC Minorities and Communication division from 2018 to 2019. Other appointments include the MAC Faculty Research Chair, Graduate Student Research Chair and the Midwinter Conference Chair. Additionally, she is a member of the Commission on the Status of Women. In this capacity, she served as secretary for three years. She also served on the AEJMC Strategic Plan Implementation Committee from 2013 to 2016 and and was elected to serve on the AEJMC PF&R committee from 2017 to 2020. She has served as reviewer for many divisions and interest groups.
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Among other noted achievements, Mia has earned research and service awards, research grants and served as a panelist and speaker for various university, regional and national events. She was the recipient of the 2018 AEJMC Lionel C. Barrow Jr. Award for Distinguished Achievement in Diversity Research and Education, which is jointly supported by the Minorities and Communication (MAC) Division and the Commission on the Status of Minorities (CSM) and recognizes outstanding individual accomplishment and leadership in diversity efforts for underrepresented groups by race and ethnicity, in Journalism and Mass Communication.
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In 2016, Moody-Ramirez was named the 2016 AEJMC Commission on the Status of Women Outstanding Woman of the Year. This award honors a woman who has represented women well through excellence and high standards. She completed the Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy at LSU in 2014. She was the recipient of the third-annual Baylor University Diversity Award. She is a 2016-17 Academy of Teaching & Learning Baylor Fellow.
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She teaches courses in public relations, research methods and gender, race and media studies. Her expertise on these topics has been featured in various local, national and international media outlets.
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Her journalism experience includes working as a blogger, staff writer and columnist for the Waco Tribune-Herald, editor and publisher of FOR Seasons magazine and Elegant Woman magazine and managing editor for Stevens Publishing.
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She received her B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M University, M.A. in journalism from Baylor University, M.S. in Educational Psychology, and her Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.
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She is the proud mother of Heidi, Timothy and William and wife of Augustine Ramirez.
