Dr. Chioma Ugochukwu is a branding and communications specialist currently serving as the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Communications at Anna Maria College. She is a seasoned university administrator who has served in leadership positions for more than a decade including serving as the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cabrini University. She previously served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty at Cottey College. Prior to assuming these roles, Dr. Ugochukwu was a tenured Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina, Upstate, the Assistant Dean in the J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, and the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, Business, and Education at Mount Mary University.
 

Dr. Ugochukwu earned a Ph.D. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests focus on race, ethnicity, gender, and international communication. She has written papers on women’s issues and published a contribution in the book, Women, Men and News: Divided and Disconnected in the Media Landscape, edited by Paula Poindexter, Sharon Meraz, and Amy Schmitz Weiss.
 

Prior to her academic career, Dr. Chioma Ugochukwu was a professional journalist and worked as a political reporter, columnist, and features editor. She is deeply committed to social justice and initiated an annual diversity speaker series at USC Upstate. The series attracted senators, policy makers, human rights activists, authors, and industry experts who addressed critical issues in human rights and international affairs. Ugochukwu has been featured in media interviews on Kansas City’s 103.3, the Spartanburg Herald Journal, Bill Drake’s morning show, SC 107.3’s “Pause for the Cause,” and on the cover of Fun Times Magazine as a Woman of Influence and a Black Woman Icon.

Ugochukwu received a Citation by the City Council of Philadelphia in 2019 and was named one of Philadelphia Region’s Women of Influence in 2020. She was inducted as an honorary member of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society and an honorary member of the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Scholastic Honor Society. She is a recipient of the Bank of America’s Excellence in Teaching and Advising Award, the University of Texas at Austin’s University Continuing Fellowship, and the Ada Frances Miller Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism.
 

Dr. Ugochukwu also serves as a diversity speaker and has been invited as a keynote speaker for various organizations and presented talks on cultural sensitivity issues in the workplace. She was an active member of the College Media Association where she served on the Diversity Committee. She was also a member of the Missouri Diversity Officers in Higher Education. Ugochukwu received a Diversity Advocate award at USC Upstate and was honored with the Golden Roses award which honors women who champion diversity and inclusivity at Marquette University.
 

In her free time, Dr. Ugochukwu volunteers for select non-profit organizations including Mobile Meals, and assists with charitable events planning for local women’s organizations. She served on a voluntary basis as the Vice-President of the Governing Board of the Arts Council of Johnson County and sits on the board of Courage to Dare, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating breast cancer awareness among women in Africa and the diaspora.