Communications Archives

Surabhi Sahay

Dr. Surabhi Sahay is a scholar of organizational and health communication whose work centers on participatory processes during periods of change and crisis. Her research explores how individuals and institutions navigate uncertainty; it pays particular attention to the intersections of communication, organization, and healthcare. She has published widely in leading journals such as Management Communication Quarterly, Health Communication, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, and Communication and Democracy.

Dr. Sahay is the author of an upcoming book with Johns Hopkins University Press that examines the transformation of nurses’ work roles and professional identities from the pre- through the post-COVID-19 era. She is also a special issues associate editor for Management Communication Quarterly, contributing to ongoing scholarly conversations about adaptation and recovery in complex systems. An engaged and dedicated educator, Dr. Sahay teaches courses on organizational communication, crisis and change, and research methodologies. She is deeply committed to experiential learning and has led student groups to Japan and Iceland, thereby broadening their global perspectives. In addition to research and teaching, she has held various leadership roles within her university and professional community. Outside of her academic work, Dr. Sahay enjoys traveling with her husband and their two daughters, embracing opportunities for exploration and connection around the world.

For her Fulbright-Nehru project, Dr. Sahay is examining how cesarean section decisions are made in rural, small-town, and semi-urban India, focusing on women, families, and healthcare providers. Using qualitative interviews, it is exploring how communication, trust, cultural norms, and socioeconomic factors shape maternal agency and informed consent. The study is also attempting to highlight both the overuse of cesareans without medical need and the lack of access when they are necessary, thus putting the spotlight on inequalities in maternal healthcare. Drawing on sensemaking, sensegiving, sensebreaking, resilience, and social support theories, it is analyzing decision-making dynamics and power relations. The findings will inform community-based interventions and communication toolkits to promote equitable, patient-centered childbirth practices, and improve maternal health outcomes.

Jyotika Ramaprasad

Dr. Jyotika Ramaprasad is professor in the School of Communication at the University of Miami, Florida. Her major teaching areas are: communication and global social change; cultures and communication; media literacy; communication theory; participatory action research; and quantitative research methods. She is trained in dialogic pedagogy and is now under training to teach a course on collaborative learning across cultures. Her current research is in international communication, social change communication, and journalism studies.

Dr. Ramaprasad has been involved in curriculum development in East and Southern Africa and South Asia. Her work in Europe involves teaching in Austria and working in North Macedonia with the Romas and healthcare providers to facilitate social change towards more positive interactions. Her health-related social change communication work has been implemented in Uganda, and health is the focus of her current project with migrants in Florida. Besides, Dr. Ramaprasad’s environmental projects have been implemented in Vietnam (on flood preparedness) and Miami (on artificial coral reef development and testing).

Dr. Ramaprasad’s research has been published in reputed journals like Social Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, International Communication Research Journal, Asian Journal of Communication, Mass Communication and Society, The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Journal of Advertising, and Digital Journalism. She has also edited two books, one of which received the 2020 Best Book Award of the International Journal of Press/Politics. She is on the editorial board of publications like Journalism and Mass Communication, Journalism Studies, and International Communication Research Journal. Dr. Ramaprasad has also served as vice dean for graduate studies at the University of Miami and as associate and interim dean at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Dr. Ramaprasad’s Fulbright-Nehru project is involved in teaching social change communication in instructional settings and through experiential engagement in a community social issue to enable participatory learning and outreach. The goal is to guide ethical corporate social responsibility among MICA’s business students and to localize solutions and creative communication through research-based understanding of community culture and communication practices.

Sundeep Muppidi

Dr. Sundeep Muppidi is a tenured professor of communication in the College of Arts and Sciences. He has close to 30 years of global experience in administration, research, film-making, and teaching. His research and teaching interests are in global communication, emerging media technologies, Indian cinema, and communication for social change. He has a doctorate in mass communication from Bowling Green State University, Ohio. He has four co-authored/edited books and has published over 50 book chapters and journal articles.

Dr. Muppidi served as the associate provost/director of special programs at Eastern Connecticut State University. At the University of Hartford, he held leadership positions like the special assistant provost for strategic initiatives. At the College of Arts and Sciences, he has been the director of the School of Communication. Dr. Muppidi has also served as the secretary general of the Asian Media Information and Communication Center in Singapore. In his administrative capacities, he has led efforts in strategic planning, academic program review, accreditation, fund-raising, educational technology, institutional review, and faculty development.

Dr. Muppidi is a trained peer reviewer for the Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation. In 2021, he was honored with the Oscar and Shoshana Trachtenberg Award for distinguished service to the University of Hartford. He was also a fellow of the American Council on Education and a fellow of the Journalism and Mass Communication Leadership Institute for Diversity of the AEJMC; besides, he is an alumnus of the Management Development Program at Harvard University.

In the last decade, the creative media industries in Telugu have registered an increased pan-Indian and global presence. Dr. Muppidi’s Fulbright-Nehru project is a political economy case study on the Telugu television, film, animation, and other creative media/communication industries in the state of Telangana. The research’s focus is on understanding the factors driving planning and decision-making about local production and digital distribution, as well as their complex networks, along with understanding what goes into their global marketing strategies. This project will help advance disciplinary knowledge in global media and communication regarding regional language-based global media industries.