Phylissa Mitchell joined the Communication and Journalism faculty in August of 2009 after completing a year as a Fulbright scholar in Ukraine. She taught at Taras Schevchenko National University of Kyiv, as well as other universities across the former Soviet republic.

Here at Auburn she teaches press law, critical theory, and writing and reporting.
Mitchell produced television news for: KCTS-TV, the PBS-affiliate in Seattle, Wa.; NBC Newschannel, Charlotte, N.C., and CBS News and ABC News in New York, N.Y. She has been a staff writer for Media General newspapers in Virginia.

Mitchell previously taught at Washington & Lee University and West Virginia University. She is a graduate of the Washington & Lee University School of Law and earned a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia with a minor in Government.

Her research interests include: the intersection of money, media, and the First Amendment; Ukrainian press law, and critical theory of race and religion in media.