She was a professor of political science at the University of Texas at Dallas, where she held the Andrew R. Cecil Endowed Chair in Applied Ethics.
She was the Chair of the Department of Urban Studies and Community Development at Rutgers University, where she was also the Director of the Forum for Policy Research and Public Service.
[2] At the University of Texas at Dallas, she was both Dean of the College of Social Sciences, and the founding Director of the Center for Empowerment and Global-Local Equity.
[6] By studying the exclusionary mechanisms of political institutions, the work in Gender power was noted for having concrete implications for women in government.
[2] The Rita Mae Kelly Fund for research was established in her honor by the American Political Science Association.