Wilkins (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is Dean of the School of Communication at the University of Miami. Before serving in this current position, she was Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement and Strategic Initiatives with the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also held the John T. Jones Jr. Centennial Professorship in Communication and the John P. McGovern Regents Professorship in Health and Medical Science Communication. She was awarded the Cale McDowell Award for Innovation in Undergraduate Studies, for creating a certificate in global studies, programs in Middle East studies, and a degree in Communication and Leadership. Wilkins is also a recognized fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA) and has concluded her term as Editor-in-Chief of Communication Theory. She has won numerous awards for her research, service, and teaching.
Her work addresses scholarship in the fields of development and global communication, social change, and media studies. Selected recent works include Prisms of Prejudice: Mediating the Middle East from the United States (2021); New Dimensions in the Politics of National Image and Foreign Aid: Communication, Development, and Diplomacy (2018); Communicating Gender and Advocating Accountability in Global Development (2015); Handbook of Development Communication and Social Change (2014), Questioning Numbers: How to Read & Critique Research (Oxford University Press, 2011); as well as over 50 book chapters and journal publications in venues such as Communication Theory; Media, Culture & Society; Communication, Culture & Critique; Journal of Communication; Journal of Middle East Media; International Journal of Communication; Gazette: The International Journal for Communication Studies; Development & Change; and Critical Studies in Media Communication.