Dr. Mia Moody is a professor and chair of the Baylor University Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and New Media in the College of Arts & Sciences. She joined the faculty in 2001 and has maintained an active research portfolio in addition to her teaching, mentorship, and leadership roles. 

​

Moody-Ramirez's research focuses on image repair, intersectionality, critical race theory, and the media framing of women and people of color. She is the author or co-author of four books and has been widely published in several academic journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Howard Journal of Communication, Journalism Educator, Journal of Black Studies, and Public Relations Review.

​

During her tenure as department chair, she has had the privilege of collaborating with an exceptional team of faculty and staff. Together, they have accomplished numerous milestones, including re-accreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) in 2022, the successful launch of a broadcast sequence in 2023, the introduction of updated concentrations and curriculum, and the establishment of several scholarships. Her efforts have led to job placement and first-year student recruitment rates of 90-100% for multiple semesters.

 

Moody-Ramirez is an active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and will assume the role of President in 2026. She served as Head of AEJMC's Minorities and Communication Division for two years and was Secretary for the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Women for three years. Additionally, she contributed to the 2018 AEJMC strategic planning committee and participated in various fundraising and ad hoc committees. She has been elected to the PF&R committee, served as Vice Head of the Commission on the Status of Minorities, and participated in the elected teaching committee.

She has received various AEJMC honors, including the Barrow Minority Doctoral Student Scholarship, the Outstanding Woman in Journalism, and the Lionel C. Barrow Jr. Award for Distinguished Achievement in Diversity Research and Education. She is a 2019 Fellow in the AEJMC Institute for Diverse Leadership.  

​

She is currently an affiliate faculty member of Baylor University's Ethnic Studies and Women and Gender Studies programs and a member of the Faculty and Staff of Color Association (FOCA) and BFSA (Black Faculty and Staff Association). She served on the A&S Deans Executive Chair Committee from 2022-24. In the past, she was co-chair of the Baylor United Way Fundraising campaign for two years ($94,000 raised) and co-chair of the Arts & Sciences Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. She also served on Baylor's Commission on Historic Campus Representations, Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE), and Underrepresented Racial Minorities (URM) Faculty Experience Working Group.

She has been the adviser of the Baylor National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) since 2003. She is the honoree of the Moody-Ramirez Belden Endowed Scholarship for Diversity in Journalism, which is given to students who are members of NABJ-Baylor. She has received several awards, including Baylor's 2020 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year and Baylor's Newsmaker Award. She was also a Baylor Research Fellow.

​

Her journalism experience includes working as a Waco Tribune-Herald staff writer, Elegant Woman magazine's editor and publisher, and Stevens Publishing's managing editor. She is the social media chair of the Western Area Links, Incorporated. She has served in many roles in the Waco Central Texas Chapter of the organization, including chairing the ACE Baylor Links Digital Media Program for students in Hearne in Calvert, which she initiated in 2023. She is also Jack & Jill of America, Inc.'s lifetime member. She served as President of the Waco chapter for several years while her children were active members. 

 

She received her B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M University, her M.A. in journalism from Baylor University, her M.S.Ed.. in Educational Psychology, and her Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.  

​

She is the proud mother of Heidi, a pastry chef, and Tim and Bill, both Baylor students.