Robin R. Means Coleman, PhD is a Professor of Media Studies and of African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia. She has held several senior leadership positions. Before joining the University of Virginia, Dr. Coleman was the Vice President & Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer, and the Ida B. Wells and Ferdinand Barnett Professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern University. There, she implemented diversity accountability processes by working collaboratively with Northwestern’s 12 schools and colleges on three campuses.

 

Previously, Dr. Coleman was on the faculty at Texas A&M University, the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh, and New York University. At Texas A&M, she was the Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity. At Michigan, she served as the Associate Dean of Social Sciences in the Rackham Graduate School, as well as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies.

 

An award-winning, internationally recognized scholar and film producer, Dr. Coleman’s work focuses on media studies and the cultural politics of Blackness. She is the author/editor of eight books, and countless articles, essays, and book chapters. An engaging speaker, she has delivered hundreds of talks.