Ramirez joined UT in 2014 as associate professor and head of acting and in 2016, became head of the Performance Division. He was later named senior associate chair and then interim chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance prior to his promotion to full professor and being appointment as department chair in 2020. During his tenure as chair, Ramirez prioritized student experience and learning outcomes, as well as the advancement of faculty and staff profiles in the College of Fine Arts and the professional realm. As a teacher and administrator, he set new standards for recruitment of diverse student, faculty, and staff populations, as well as the development of equitable and inclusive casting and production processes and curriculum reform at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Before joining the faculty at UT, Ramirez was tenured at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, serving as an associate professor of acting, voice, speech, and dialects. Prior to that, he was an adjunct professor of voice and speech for the stage at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and Marymount Manhattan College in New York City.

Ramirez has long been a part of the professional theater industry. He has worked as an actor, director, voice artist, and voice and speech coach at theaters across the country including the Guthrie Theater, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Hartford Stage, the Alley Theater, and American Players Theatre, as well as numerous Shakespeare festivals in every region. He has been a member of the Recorded Books repertory company in New York City for over 20 years and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. Robert served several years as a board member and Vice President of the United Resident Theatre Association and is a member of the National Theatre Conference. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Los Angeles Theatre Academy at Los Angeles City College and earned his MFA at the University of Delaware’s Professional Theatre Training Program.