Professional Activities

Recognition
Don Taylor, Communication Studies, has been named special assistant to the provost/vice president of academic affairs academic and student projects. Taylor has worked in Academic Affairs for several years as a faculty fellow on a part-time basis. He will now serve in a 12-month faculty appointment and fulfill many of the responsibilities associated with resolving student issues related to grade appeals, reinstatements and dismissals.

Robert Hurley, Criminal Justice, has been awarded a Fulbright scholar grant to Kazan State University in Russia during the 2005-06 academic year. Hurley will lecture on crime causation and crime control.

Grants
Nancy Shulock, Public Policy and Administration, received a major grant from the James Irvine Foundation to study student enrollment patterns in the California community colleges and recommend policy changes to increase student success by improving the ways in which students progress through their coursework, from initial assessment and placement through to completion of their educational goals.

Scholarship
Rob Wassmer, Public Policy and Administration, and graduate student Susan Catron, completed a study commissioned by the Local Incentives Service Corporation for the Sacramento County Housing and Redevelopment Agency titled "A Benefit-Cost Assessment of the Auburn Boulevard Revitalization Project." The agency won the right to have this study performed through a national competition sponsored by the Met Life Insurance Company that looked nationwide for effective police-community participation to further local economic development. A summary of the study is available at www.lisc.org/resources/assets/asset_upload_file153_8222.pdf.

Sue Anne Foster, Art, donated a cast aluminum sculpture “Bursting Forth” to the KVIE Annual Art Fundraiser where it will be auctioned on television to the public between 6 and 6:30 p.m., Oct. 1. The piece won "Best of Show" at the Annual June Northern California Arts Exhibition and won first place in the KVIE ART Auction, which was judged by Gregory Kondos.

Brad Buchanan, English, had his first book of poetry, titled The Miracle Shirker, published in June by Poet's Corner Press. It is available at the campus bookstore.

Mark R. Stoner and Sally J. Perkins, Communication Studies, had their book Making Sense of Messages: A Critical Apprenticeship in Rhetorical Criticism, published in the spring. It is an introduction to rhetorical criticism for communication majors to help them understand the thinking process behind critical analysis and aid in critical writing.

Dave Zuckerman, Communication Studies, will present a competitive paper, Chaos/Magic/Order: Valencia, California and the Ex-nihilo Creation of Nostalgia, at the 36th annual meeting of the Jean Gebser Society to be held at Rice University in Houston in October.

Dan Melzer, University Reading and Writing Coordinator, had his article "Synchronous OWL Tutoring: A Self-Study of Chat Room Conferences," published in the June issue of The Writing Lab Newsletter.

Nancy Kalish, Psychology, presented a paper at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention in Washington D.C. on Aug. 19. The presentation was titled “Using Bad Films for Good Teaching, which was a discussion of Kalish’s Psychological Issues in Film course.

Ann Weldy, English emeritus, was an invited participant in a panel discussion at the San Francisco Public Library, on the pulp paperback phenomenon of the post-World War II era on Aug. 17. Weldy appeared under her paperback nom de plume, Ann Bannon. Also as Ann Bannon, Weldy was interviewed on KQED/KQEI for the "Forum" show, hosted by Michael Krasny, on Aug. 29. The subject was a new anthology of paperback literature, Lesbian Pulp Fiction, 1950 - 1965, edited by Katherine V. Forrest.

Jana Noel, Teacher Education, had her article titled "Jeremiah B. Sanderson: Educator and Organizer for the Rights of 'Colored Citizens' in Early California" published in The Journal of Negro Education.

In the news

Rob Wassmer, Public Policy and Administration, was quoted in the article "Zoning for Dollars: While Gilroy reaps the benefits of big-box retail, Morgan Hill and Hollister provide the shoppers" that appeared in the Aug. 21 edition of The Sunday Pinnacle that serves San Benito County.

Rossitza Wooster, economics, was quoted in a June 29 Sacramento Bee article titled "China's shopping spree returns dollars to U.S."

Sanjay Varshney, College of Business Administration, was interviewed in a May 18 Elk Grove Citizen article regarding his evaluation of recent studies determining the economic benefits to customers if SMUD were to comply with the potential annexation of Yolo County Communities.

Michael Lewis, College of Education, was interviewed on air May 17 on KXTV Channel 10 and praised scholarship contributors such as Chuck Toto, emeritus Sacramento State professor.

Barbara O’Connor, Communication Studies, was quoted in: May 1 Sacramento Bee and May 13 Tri-Valley Herald articles discussing the state budget; May 2 stories in the Tri-Valley Herald, Oakland Tribune and May 9 in the Sacramento Bee on the public’s approval rating of Gov. Schwarzenegger; May 11 and 18 Los Angeles Times articles about the current nature of state politics surrounding a special election; and May 21 stories in the San Mateo Daily News, Redding Record-Searchlight and Marin Independent Journal regarding Gov. Schwarzenegger’s approach to the budget and the feud over school funding.

Bruce Bikle, Criminal Justice, was interviewed for a May 22 article in the Sacramento Bee regarding day reporting centers in Placer County as an alternative to jail time for certain types of offenders.

Ayad Al-Qazzaz, Sociology, was quoted in a May 29 Sacramento Bee article regarding bridging the differences of Muslim and American cultures through education.

Mark Ludwig, Journalism, was interviewed in a May 7 Lodi News-Sentinel story about why there are not more positive stories about the Iraq war in the press.

Amy Liu, Sociology, was interviewed on KQCA WB Channel 58 and National Public Radio April 22 about her survey titled, “Public Opinion and Life Quality in the Sacramento Region.” The interview focused on the rise in cost of living in the area. This study was also highlighted on May 23 in the Natomas Journal and the Daily Democrat.

David Jelinek, Teacher Education, spoke on Capital Public Radio on April 22 and 25 discussing the future benefits of an HP grant he received to build new interactive science textbooks for teaching elementary students.

Chris Burnett, Journalism, was interviewed for May 12 KCRA Channel 3 and WB Channel 58 stories about journalism ethics and credibility after a Sacramento Bee columnist resigned over issues of plagiarism.

Dennis Tootelian, Marketing, spoke on a recent study he conducted regarding sale items at grocery stores on KFBK Radio on May 4 and was also featured in an article by the Sacramento Bee the same day.

William Vizzard, Criminal Justice, was interviewed in a May 6 Merced Sun-Star article discussing the difficulty that goes into choosing a new police chief.

Marcos Sanchez, College Assistance Migrant Program, was quoted on May 4 in the Sacramento Bee about how student loans and academic counseling increase the success of first-generation college students.