Vinod Pavarala is Senior Professor of Communication and UNESCO Chair on Community Media at the University of Hyderabad. With a dual background in sociology and media studies, and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh, his research and teaching have been in the areas of communication for social change, community media, and media and democracy. He has been a visiting faculty at several institutions in India and abroad, including Princeton University, Duke University, Loughborough University, University of Queensland, and Ashoka University. At the University of Hyderabad, he has previously served as the Head of the Department of Communication and Dean of the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication.