Rachel Mersey named UT Austin interim provost; Anita Vangelisti appointed Moody College interim dean

Interim dean anita vangelisti stands in front of moody college wearing a blue outfit

 

Moody College of Communication’s seventh dean, Rachel Davis Mersey, has been selected to serve as interim provost of The University of Texas at Austin. Anita Vangelisti, the senior associate dean for faculty affairs and graduate education at Moody College, has stepped in as interim dean.

Vangelisti, who has been with Moody College since 1991, holds the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair in Communication and is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies. She and Mersey began their new roles Sept. 1.

“The selection of Dean Mersey to serve as interim provost says something that the students, faculty and staff in Moody already knew, that she is an exceptional leader,” Vangelisti noted. “UT will benefit from the visionary ideas, keen sense of strategy and collaborative approach she brings to her work. My goal as interim dean is to ensure the excellent projects that she set into motion move forward so that Moody achieves even greater things in the coming years.”

In her time with the college, Vangelisti has successfully negotiated significant increases in the number and size of graduate fellowships and stipends, increasing the financial support available to students. She led the launch of Moody College’s first Option III program, which includes graduate certificates and a master’s program, working closely with a team of college leaders to expand academic offerings. Additionally, Vangelisti has expertly managed the promotion and tenure process within Moody, ensuring a fair and rigorous evaluation of faculty performance.

“Doctor Vangelisti has been an invaluable member of the Moody community, demonstrating exceptional leadership, dedication, and a deep commitment to our college’s mission and values,” Mersey said. “Her extensive experience in faculty affairs and graduate education, coupled with her collaborative approach, make her an outstanding choice for this role.”

As the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair in Communication, Vangelisti has received the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award from The University of Texas System and the College of Communication Teaching Excellence Award. Her highly acclaimed work has been recognized with numerous awards, including several from the National Communication Association (NCA) and the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR). She served as president of IARR and is a distinguished scholar of NCA and a fellow of the International Communication Association and IARR.

Mersey, who came to UT Austin in 2020 as the associate dean for research, was named interim dean last year and selected as permanent dean in January. Previously, she was a professor and the associate dean for research at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. She also worked as the director of global research partnerships at Meta, the parent company of Facebook. 

As Moody College’s dean, Mersey focused on experiential learning through programs such as Bevo Video Productions and collaborations with Texas Athletics; partnerships across campus and industries, particularly in Austin, Los Angeles and New York; and accelerating impactful research and creative activities across disciplines. As interim provost, she will oversee faculty and academic affairs, the graduate school, the undergraduate college, global engagement, resource planning and management, and the vice president of research.