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.