Ronald B. Kelley
Associate Professor
Journalism Studies
Executive Director, Student Development, Diversity and Inclusion181-B Gannett Hall Missouri School of Journalism Columbia, MO 65211-1200
RON KELLEY, an associate professor in Journalism Studies, is the executive director of the Student Development, Diversity and Inclusion Program. The program works to recruit, retain and engage diverse students from high school to college and into the profession and partners with industry, academic leaders and alumni. Kelley also oversees the school’s high school summer workshop program, which includes the Missouri University Journalism Workshop, the Missouri Investigative Journalism Workshop and the Missouri Advertising and Public Relations Workshop. Kelley teaches Cross-Cultural Journalism, Newsroom Content Creation, and the Chancellor’s Leadership Class (part of the Novak Leadership Institute). Kelley helped the Missouri School of Journalism receive a grant from NBCUniversal News Group’s NBCU Academy, a multiplatform journalism training and development program that provides academic partners with funding, resources, training, and development. He will be the project director of the grant, which includes scholarships aimed at enhancing affordability for journalism students from underrepresented communities. The grant will also support the school’s Novak Leadership Institute in developing professional development training to address methods for leading young professionals transitioning from remote work to an in-office environment and provide guidance to journalists and middle managers for leading a diverse workforce.
Kelley received the Booker T. Washington Advisor of the Year Award from the MU NAACP Chapter in 2022. Kelley is the recipient of the 2021 President’s Award for Community Engagement. He received the Taft Award from the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association in 2021.
Kelley has worked as a television reporter and anchor at two Louisiana stations: KTVE-TV in Monroe and KSLA-TV in Shreveport. He is also a past assistant news director at KOMU-TV.
Kelley is the former director of the Multicultural Management Program at the Missouri School of Journalism. He coordinated and co-authored Guide to Research on Race and News, a guidebook on a comprehensive study on race and media funded by the Ford Foundation at the Missouri School of Journalism. He was also the project director for Strategic Study on Race & News, a three-year study funded by the Ford Foundation at the School.
Kelley has over 30 years of experience in higher education advancement, working in media, external relations and fundraising and managing communications teams. He served as assistant vice chancellor for Advancement at Mizzou, leading principal gifts, stewardship, and creative services teams.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast journalism from Arkansas State University, a Master of Science degree in Student Counseling and Personnel Services from Kansas State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri.
Updated: April 18, 2023