Leadership & Community Engagement 

Leadership & Community Engagement

Ramasubramanian has served as Associate Dean for Climate & Inclusion from 2013-2017, serving close to 7000 undergraduates, 1000 graduate students, 450 faculty, and 200 staff members across 12 departments and 5 interdisciplinary programs. She has founded/co-founded several initiatives on campus and in the community such as the Difficult Dialogues on Campus Race Relations, Communicating Diversity Student Conference, First-Gen Freshmen Mentoring Program (FIG), and the campus-wide Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop Series.

 

As a community-engaged scholar, she has led week-long media festivals, community-based initiatives, arts activism projects, and media literacy workshops for youth and K-12 teachers around the world. In her role as executive director and co-founder of Media Rise (a nonprofit for meaningful media for social change for educators, policymakers, industry experts, nonprofits, and community leaders), she has organized close to 60 events convening around 3000 participants in four countries.

 

Her demonstrated diversity leadership and community engagement has been recognized with the Liberal Arts Achievements in Climate & Inclusion Award (for extraordinary dedication to climate and inclusion), NCA Mass Comm Division Service Award, ACE Award for Women’s Progress (for promoting policies for advancement of women scholars), and the Outstanding Diversity Team Award. 

Campus Leadership & Initiatives

Associate Dean for Climate & Inclusion, College of Liberal Arts, 2014-2017

​

Facilitated efforts to enhance the college’s climate and diversity, oversaw diversity-related initiatives, advised the Dean on all matters relating to climate & inclusion, served as a resource to 12 department heads and 5 program directors, chaired the College’s 25 member Climate & Inclusion committee, participated in college level strategic planning, drafted the College’s annual diversity accountability report, and served on the Diversity Operations Committee. Key initiatives include Faculty Success Program Awards for women and faculty of color, Staff Certificate Program, Lunch N Learn Series, Know Your Rights workshop, IIDEA diversity grants, inclusive classroom workshops, and coordinated trainings (on Title IX, Green Dot, Aggie Allies, and Ability Awareness).

​

Other Campus Initiatives

​

Difficult Dialogues Project

Founding Director, 2016-present

​

Interactive facilitated small group conversations format; Real-world case studies to discuss racial micro-aggressions and strategies to combat them; Conducted 2-3 times a semester with 50-70 participants; Open to the campus community; Research team includes professors, staff, graduate students, and undergrads

​

Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop Series

Convener, Center for Teaching Excellence, TAMU, 2017-2018 (campus wide) and 2016-2017 (College of Liberal Arts)

 

Organized 8-10 workshops each semester for faculty, grad students, and postdocs on campus on topics such as hot topics in the classroom, pedagogically inclusive curriculum design, enhancing learning experiences for first-generation students, LGBTQ+ student engagement, (dis)ability awareness, and universal design

​

First-Gen Freshman Cohort-Based Mentoring (FIGs Program),

College of Liberal Arts, Co-Founder & Co-Director, 2017-2019

Co-designed (with Dr. Leroy Dorsey) and taught a year-long cohort-based learning community for Liberal Arts first-generation freshmen. Students are enrolled in small freshman courses capped at 25 students apart from enrolling in a one-credit bridging course that provides mentoring support through resources on effective writing, honors program, career development, money management, campus safety, Study Abroad opportunities and so on. In the second semester, students create a social media campaign aimed at first-generation students.

​

Communicating Diversity Student Conference

Founder and Organizer, Texas A&M University, 2012 and 2013

[for undergraduate and graduate students to showcase their scholarship on diversity and communication]; Established in 2012, this conference that I founded attracts undergrad and grad students from around the nation to showcase their scholarship on diversity and communication. It is now fully student-led, has become a national event, and is an important recruitment and retention tool for our college and department.

​

Communication Writing Group

Convener & Founder, 2018-present

Weekly write-on-site sessions open to faculty, grad students, and honors students. We use the pomodoro method (25 minutes of writing silently followed by 5 minute breaks – two such rounds within the hour). We especially welcome international scholars, first-gen scholars, scholars of color, LGBTQ+ scholars, and others who are committed to making this group an inclusive and supportive writing community. We also have a closed Facebook group where we share resources about writing, call for papers, conference information, and other announcements.

​

​

​

​

Community-Based Projects & Initiatives

Community Partnerships and Outreach Programs

​

Media Rise

​

Nonprofit organization for educators, content creators, artists, policymakers, and community members committed to meaningful media for social change; Co-founder & Executive Director, 2013-present

Lead Organizer:

  • Media Rise Festival, a week-long annual festival that is held in Washington D.C. in 2013, 2014, and 2015. The festival includes:

    • Pitch Night to support innovative media projects for social good

    • 48-hour video challenge connecting causes with filmmakers

    • Youth Media Rise festival for educators and teens on critical media literacy and digital storytelling

    • The Forum for cross-sector panel discussions on best practices

    • Film screenings and discussions

    • Networking lounges, and

    • Interactive community-led workshops

  • Early Rise events: half-day symposiums with 2-3 keynote speakers organized in Austin, D.C., London, Singapore, Chennai (India), and Chicago.

  • Meet & Greet: live networking events to encourage focused conversations and collaborations amongst scholars, activists, artists, and community members

  • The Media Rise Online Community: virtual networking site for members to share announcements, upcoming events, workshops, and resources.

 

Media Literacy & Civic Engagement in the Digital Age

Lead Organizer, one day symposium with interactive workshops for media scholars, K-12 educators, students, and community members, in collaboration with the National Association for Media Literacy Education, Texas A&M University, 2018

​

Afrooz Media Literacy Program: A Global Outreach Initiative
Faculty Expert/Course Designer. This global outreach program was part of an online collaborative citizenship education initiative for the Afrooz School (www.afroozschool.org). It included designing and evaluating an innovative six-week online media literacy curriculum for Iranian high school teachers and youth educators in Summer 2015.

​

Catalyst: Media & Art for Social Change
Symposium Chair. Panel discussion, interactive workshops, and live networking with about 50 community members, creative media-makers, faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Impact: This symposium led to the Chasing Ice event at TAMU in Spring 2015 and discussions about starting a heritage center in a nearby town called Navasota; Texas A&M Univ., Nov 2014.

​

Chasing Ice: Screening, Panel Discussion, and Community Outreach
Lead Coordinator. Raised $13,500 from various campus units and worked on programming/logistics for the film screening, panel discussion, coffee hour with TAMU students, reception with informational exhibits, and visit to local high school by Director Jeff Orlowski of award-winning documentary film, Chasing Ice. About 500 students and faculty from various fields and community members attended the screening. The panel discussion included experts on socially conscious film-making, environmental ethics, climate sciences, and sustainable built environments. Impact: workshop for Texas science teachers on climate change, social media campaign by local high-school kids on climate change, faculty partnership with the Office of Sustainability to increase awareness about environmental sustainability on campus, and a breakout session on climate change at the Zooming Out conference focused on high school outreach. Texas A&M University, April 2015. It also led to the formation of the Aggie Sustainability Education & Outreach Network, an informal network of faculty and staff committed to education and outreach about sustainability and climate change on campus, in the community, and the state of Texas.

​

India Days
Lead Coordinator. Three day festival including panel discussions, keynote speakers, lecture-demonstrations, and cultural presentations that brought community members together with students and faculty, Texas A&M University, April 2010

​

India: A Changing World Symposium
Co-organizer, Office of International Outreach, Texas A&M University, May 2008 (symposium for K-12 teachers from all over Texas)

​

Workshops & Programs for Community Organizations (including K-12 School Teachers)

​

  • Media Literacy & Civic Engagement in the Digital Age symposium in 2018 in collaboration with the Journalism Educators’ Association and the National Association for Media Literacy Educators, which was attended by several high school students and teachers from all over Texas including Houston, Bryan, College Station, and Austin.

  • Texas Outreach Coordinator, National Media Literacy Week in 2017 and 2018.

  • Youth Media Rise Festival, Day-long festival on critical media literacy training for high school teachers, Washington D.C., 2015

  • Chasing Ice: Screening & Community Outreach, Lead Organizer, Texas A&M University, 2015; Film screening, panel discussion, coffee hour, reception with informational exhibits, and visit to local high school by Jeff Orlowski, director of award-winning documentary film, Chasing Ice on climate change.

  • Youth Media Rise Festival, Day-long festival on critical media literacy training for high school teachers, Washington D.C., 2014

  • Youth Media Rise Festival, Day-long festival on critical media literacy training for high school teachers, Washington D.C., 2013

  • India: A changing world, Office of International Outreach, Texas A&M University, May 2008, symposium for K-12 teachers from all over Texas.

  • A label that sticks: Stereotyping in the workplace, classroom and other social settings. “A Community of Respect” workshop for K-12 teachers and counselors from all over Texas, International Outreach, Texas A&M University, Jan 2008

  • Common myths and misconceptions about India. “India: A Changing World,” Office of International Outreach, Texas A&M University, K-12 teachers from around Texas, May 2008

  • Media literacy: Focusing the lens on Latin America. Workshop for K-12 teachers from all over Texas, International Outreach, Texas A&M University, October 2007

  • Faith and environmental sustainability. Community Conversations. Friends’ Congregational Church, April 2017

  • Problematic perceptions: Role of media in racial/ethnic stereotypes. Media Rise Festival. Washington D.C., Oct 2015

  • Media and positive human values. Muslim Family Awareness Forum, Bow Mosque, London, U.K., December 2013

  • Participant, “Alice,” Leadership Network for Women Committed to Social and Environmental Change, London, U.K., November 2013

  • Yoga as a healing practice. Brazos County Health Dept., Bryan, TX, March 2009