Biography

Kimberly R. Moffitt, Ph.D. serves as dean of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications, one of the largest academic units at Howard.  

Moffitt, a Howard alumna, is a media studies and media criticism scholar who explores meditated representations of Africana communities. She is currently co-editor of Critical Studies in Media Communication and also co-author/editor of five books, including Blackberries and Redbones: Critical Articulations of Black Hair and Body Politics in Africana Communities and Michelle Obama and the FLOTUS Effect: Platform, Presence and Agency. Her work has been published in respected journals, including our own Howard Journal of Communication, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Women, Gender, and Families of Color Journal. In addition, she has a significant research portfolio supported by philanthropic entities including the Andrew Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Recognized by “The Daily Record” as one of the “Top 100 Maryland Women” in 2025, she is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Zenobia Lawrence Hikes Career Award for Administrators (Virginia Tech Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference), the Outstanding Faculty Award from the UMBC Alumni Association, the Scholar-Activist Award from the National Communication Association's Critical and Cultural Studies Division, and the Activism and Advocacy Excellence in Leadership Award from the UNCC Black Alumni Association. 

Moffitt remains engages in the community by serving as board president for the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE), as well as a board member for Maryland Humanities, AfroCharities, and Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. She is the founding parent of the Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, a 4th-8th grade public charter school and a member of the public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

She is married with two college-aged children and the family German Shepherd.