Dear UT Community,
I am pleased to announce that Rachel Davis Mersey has been appointed Interim Dean of the Moody College of Communication, effective June 1. She has served as Associate Dean for Research at Moody College and held the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Professorship in the School of Journalism and Media since 2020. In addition to her teaching, research, and leadership roles at UT, Dr. Mersey has spent the last two years collaborating with Meta to build the company’s platform for research partnerships.
With experience as a professional journalist at The Arizona Republic and more than a decade in higher education and academic administration, Dr. Mersey brings a passion for connecting scholarship and professional practice into impactful grant-funded research and initiatives. She joined UT after serving at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, and Integrated Marketing Communications since 2008, most recently as Associate Dean for Research and Professor. She also served as the Executive Director of the Media Leadership Center and was a Fellow at the Northwestern Institute for Policy Research.
Specializing in the study of the psychology of media use, community engagement and the impacts of effective message dissemination, Rachel is the author of two successful books — the first exploring whether America’s local news efforts could be recast as community-driven initiatives and the second examining opportunities for mobile media innovations in the Gulf states. She earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from Wake Forest University.
I want to thank Dr. Mersey for her enthusiasm to lead Moody College until our national search for a permanent dean concludes. She cares deeply about the UT community, and I am confident she will continue to advance Moody College’s strategic plan priorities through the leadership transition.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Mersey on her appointment as Interim Dean, and once again, join me in wishing Dean Bernhardt well as he prepares to serve as the next President of Emerson College.
Sincerely,
Sharon Wood
Executive Vice President and Provost