Public Relations Society of America names Tania Cantrell Rosas-Moreno, Ph.D., Maryland’s Educator of the Year

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has named Tania Cantrell Rosas-Moreno, Ph.D., associate professor of communication, Maryland’s 2018 Educator of the Year. 

Rosas-Moreno will be recognized Dec. 11, 2018, at the 2018 Best in Maryland Gala, the Public Relations Society of America Maryland Chapter’s annual awards event, at Martin’s West in Baltimore.

The PRSA Maryland Educator of the Year award recognizes and honors exemplary undergraduate and graduate public relations/communications professors for their excellent instruction and leadership in their schools and communities.

“Dr. Rosas-Moreno is an outstanding example of a scholar and teacher who mentors her students and guides them to professional success,” said Amanda Thomas, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “She is very committed to encouraging students to submit their work for presentation at professional conferences, like the Public Relations Society of America. Such experiences have a major impact in student success post-graduation.”

In the classroom, Rosas-Moreno educates students on the skills, tactics, ethical implications, and processes of working in the public relations and communication field. She connects students with nonprofits in the Baltimore and surrounding communities through various public relations campaigns and capstone projects each semester. She is a recognized researcher and expert on Latin American and international news media, as well as the co-founder and co-editor of Agenda Setting: Theory, Practice, Critique, the first communication-theory based scholarly journal.

As an advisor to Loyola’s student chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, Rosas-Moreno has worked with and mentored students to help build Loyola’s Chapter into an award-winning campus organization for students wanting experience in the public relations field, including winning national recognition for their work on a campaign on human trafficking.  

“This award recognizes the great work Loyola public relations students have been engaged in to remedy social ills here in Baltimore,” said Rosas-Moreno, who also serves as the department of communication associate chair. “It’s been my privilege to connect student talent with local nonprofit needs and mentor perhaps-hesitant, budding PR practitioners in straddling that classroom, real-world fence. It’s tough and emotionally compelling every semester. But, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Rosas-Moreno has also been nationally recognized as an honoree for the Top Women in PR awards luncheon, which will be held in New York City in January 2019. This unique award recognizes women who are working at public relations agencies, for-profit companies, the government, nonprofits, and academia.

Rosas-Moreno, who has taught at Loyola for nine years, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism and has a portfolio in nonprofit studies from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.