As Associate Vice President for Faculty at the University of Utah, Sarah Projansky supports deans, chairs, and faculty across campus on matters related to faculty development and mentoring; hiring, retention, tenure, and promotion; and university policy. She also serves as a liaison between Academic Senate and the administration. She holds a joint-appointment as Professor of Film & Media Arts and of Gender Studies, and she is an Adjunct Professor of Communication. As University Professor (2018-2020), she led a campus-wide project on the role of celebrity in contemporary social, cultural, and political life, including a general education class, a visiting speaker series, and a symposium. She is the former Senior Associate Dean for Faculty & Academic Affairs in the College of Fine Arts (2013-2018).

Sarah is author of two award-winning books—Spectacular Girls: Media Fascination and Celebrity Culture (2014, NYU Press) and Watching Rape: Film and Television in Postfeminist Culture (2001, NYU Press)—as well as co-editor of Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek (2006, Westview Press). She has published on gender, race, and sexuality in media representations, narratives, industries, and activisms, including articles on girls, sexual violence, popular media, and independent cinema. In all her work, she considers media in relation to each other, addressing transmedia and participatory media environments. Her articles have appeared in Cinema Journal, Journal of Children & Media, Signs, Velvet Light Trap, Women's Studies in Communication, and various anthologies.

Sarah has served as Co-Chair of the Women’s Caucus of the Society for Cinema and Media Studies, as Chair of the Critical and Cultural Studies Division of the National Communication Association, and as a member of the Board of Console-ing Passions: International Conference on Television, Video, Audio, New Media, and Feminism. Sarah is also a founding member of the board of the Women's Institute for Independent Social Enquiry (WIISE), a nonpartisan, progressive think tank.

Sarah’s courses include Celebrity, Media Franchises, Gender and Contemporary Issues, and Girl Films. She has been a member of numerous dissertation committees and MFA committees, and she has directed many undergraduate honors theses.