Bella Mody (Photo/Larry Harwood)

Professor Bella Mody joined the School’s faculty this fall as the first James E. de Castro Chair in Global Media Studies. The de Castro chair is funded by a $1.5 million donation from James de Castro, a 1974 CU business graduate.

Mody will use the endowment to invite leading researchers and practitioners from the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America to visit the University and teach cutting-edge topics She said she also plans to conduct workshops in developing countries on public-service applications of communication media for AIDS prevention and other issues.

“Because this is the School’s first-ever endowed chair, it was vitally important that we hire someone of international stature like Bella,” said Dean Paul Voakes. The chair is one of the first of its kind in the nation.

“She brings not only a new level of prominence to the School but also, because she was hired as a full professor with tenure, a new dimension to the leadership within the School,” Voakes said. “Bella’s subject– global media studies – is an area with unlimited potential in both scholarship and professional opportunities.”

“The SJMC hit the brass ring when it came to hiring Bella Mody,” Associate Professor Polly McLean said. “She is the premier academic in global communication. When many of us were still using electric typewriters, she was leading satellite communication technology in India.”

Mody will teach two courses each spring. She will spend summers and fall semesters researching and writing on media, communication rights, developing countries and democracy. Her research focuses primarily on the politics and economics of media ownership and programming in developing countries.

She brings to the School more than 30 years of experience in research and teaching. Prior to her appointment at the School, Mody taught at Michigan State University, Santa Clara University, San Francisco State University and Stanford University. During 20 years at Michigan State University, she held positions as professor of telecommunications and assistant dean for the Interdepartmental Graduate and Urban Affairs Program. She also held the Walter P. Schmidt Endowed Chair in Communications at Santa Clara University, where she helped stimulate curriculum renewal and conducted an investigation of collaborations between the United States and India in the computer software industry.

As a researcher, Mody has worked with companies such as the Indian Space Research Organization and Indian Institute of Management, and in many countries including Barbados, Costa Rica, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

"Bella Mody is internationally recognized as a leader in research," Professor Stewart Hoover said.

“Her work in international and intercultural media has been very influential in the direction of scholarship in those fields. Her presence here has already strengthened our position as a center of international media research.”

Associate Professor Andrew Calabrese said Mody’s “research and her working ties to many important intergovernmental agencies and nongovernmental organizations specialiszing in communication research and policy make her a very valuable asset to the SJMC and to the University of Colorado."

Although Mody's career is multifaceted, she said being a professor is more or less like a hobby for her.

“I get to work in my area of expertise, and I also get to work with interesting students and faculty,” Mody said. “Also, I only work nine months out of the year, which leaves me three months to do whatever I like.” Another aspect of her career that she favors is the freedom and flexibility to focus on her interests.

Mody has a bachelor of arts degree in English literature from Ranchi University in India, a postgraduate diploma in advertising and public relations from the Advertising Agencies Association in India, a master of arts degree in communication from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in psychology from Gujarat University in India.