Dr. Mia Moody-Ramirez, associate professor and graduate program director in journalism, public relations and new media, has been selected to participate in the 2014 Scripps Howard Academic Leadership Academy, to be held June 1-5 at Louisiana State University.

Each year, the Manship School of Mass Communication at LSU selects a group of between 12-15 professors, administrators and mass communication professionals to attend the Academy, which is sponsored by the Scripps Howard Foundation. It is designed for new department chairs, deans and directors, as well as faculty and professionals interested in providing leadership in journalism education.

The five-day event brings participants together to learn about the challenges and rewards of leading an academic program. Past Academy topics have included “Professional and Academic Pathways to Administration,” “Budgeting and Fundraising,” “Stimulating Faculty Performance” and “Lessons Learned from the First Year.”

Competition for a spot in each year’s Academy is intense, and Moody-Ramirez said she feels honored to have been selected.

“The Academy will provide an invaluable opportunity for me because it gives participants the chance to meet with veteran administrators to discuss trends in media education,” she said. “It also offers management training for persons interested in academic leadership positions.”

Dr. Sara Stone, chair and professor of journalism, public relations and new media, nominated Moody-Ramirez for this year’s Academy.

“Mia has the best organizational skills of anyone I’ve ever met, and when I learned of the academic leadership workshop, I immediately thought of her,” Stone said. “She is a prolific researcher, an excellent teacher, an unbelievably efficient person, and a super-nice person to boot. She gets more work done in 24 hours than any person I know. She is also a terrific mom and an acknowledged community leader on top of her academic skills. I am so happy for her.”

Past Scripps Howard Academy participants include the deans of communication or journalism at the University of North Texas, Marquette University and the University of Maryland, as well as professors from Penn State, Northwestern, Syracuse and other universities.