Department of Communication Studies

Faculty Professional Development Activities

“Research is essential to good teaching: Research is the door into confusion, and unless you're confused, you’ll never really understand your students.”

– Mark Williams, 2002 Bostrom Young Scholars Award from the Southern Communication Association.

The department’s only specific expectations about scholarly and creative activities apply to faculty who are being reviewed for retention, tenure, and/or promotion. Department policy indicates that 25% of the review for retention, tenure, and/or promotion must be for research and creative activities, and it defines these activities as “work which is unique; develops original concepts or new perspectives; adds to the general body of knowledge in the field of communication; demonstrates the application of a high level of professional skill.” The policy lists the following activities as examples of scholarly and creative activity: accomplishment in research and/or creative projects, publication of articles, books, review, and research papers consistent with the mission of the university; unpublished manuscripts; membership and appropriate participation in activities of professional organizations; and presentation of professional lectures.

There are no formal expectations about scholarly and creative activity for tenured full professors. The university’s post-tenure review process only considers teaching in that evaluation.

Informal expectations about scholarly and creative activity vary from professor to professor in the department. Even though expectations differ and assigned time and travel money to support research and creative activities are limited, many faculty members continue to publish, present, and/or exhibit their research and creative work. It may prove useful to initiate serious discussion among the faculty of scholarly and creative expectations.

Department faculty have conducted significant scholarly and creative activities during the past six years. Faculty members continue to publish and present their work at various conventions and exhibitions, even though assigned time and travel money for such work is very limited. Faculty members continue to win awards and receive recognition for their work:

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | XYZ

Ah Yun, Kimo
Kimo Ah Yun presented 14 conference papers at regional, national, and international communication conferences and published 12 articles since the last program review. In addition to receiving top paper panel awards at the Western States Communication Association and National Communication Association's Annual conventions, he was also the recipient of the CSUS 2002-2003 President's Award for Research and Creative Activities and the 2003 International Communication Association's Jack Hunter Meta-Analysis award.

Beal, Mary
Mary Beal will present a paper at the International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Education held in Greece by the Training Institute of East Aegean, University College of the Fraser Valley, with the cooperation of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She may also give a workshop there on Building Teachers’ Web Sites More Easily. She has been asked to speak on the textbook she is working on, regarding Instructional Systems Design, and she has applied to the International Society for Performance Improvement to present a paper on Instructional Design in October. Her students in Television Production are making a video for Explorit children's museum in Davis, California.

Bonilla, Diego
Diego Bonilla completed the requirements for a PhD in Mass Communications with his dissertation, which proposes a new research methodology for the study of digital communications using time series analysis and has been nominated for 2 dissertation awards. He presented his work at several conferences, including the “New Research for New Media” conference in the summer of 2003. The interactive experience he created and used as instrument in his dissertation research, entitled “A Space of Time,” has been selected for the 2004 European Media Arts Festival.

Burnett, Nick
Nick Burnett served as a reviewer for Argumentation and Advocacy. He authored a book chapter and presented three papers at NCA. He participated in the CEDA’s Summer Conference on Argumentation and Debate as a panel respondent. He continues to work on holocaust denial and the argumentative strategies of those who use conspiracy arguments. He is currently preparing a paper for the Second International Conference on Genocide being held at CSUS in October 2004.

Bus, Steve
Steve Buss was the editor, on-line editor, and/or director of photography and lighting for various clients, including the Health Communication Research Institute, the CSUS Athletics Department, and Dale Schole. He was the sound engineer for the CSUS state production of “Cabaret.” He reviewed textbooks for Focal Press and Wadsworth.

Chase, Larry
Larry Chase published an article in Undercurrents and three book chapters. He presented papers at meetings of the Association of Management, the American Sociological Association, the CSU Assessment Conference, California Association for the Gifted, Continuums of Service conference, the Conference on University Teaching, the International Society for the Exploration of Teaching Alternatives, National Communication Association, and Western States Communication Association. He conducted training, workshops and panel presentations at the meetings of the American Association for Higher Education, CSUS Center for Teaching and Learning, American River College, and Western States Communication Association. He produced two instructional videos for the CSUS University Media Center.

Service Learning

Students in Chase’s introduction to communications research class worked with Training Toward Self Reliance, a group which helps those with disabilities remain independent. They surveyed the group’s clients to discover services which were working and new services which might be needed. “This was a very good experience for my students,” says Larry Chase, a communication studies professor who has included service learning in his classes for years. “They were inspired. They expressed great admiration for people who were defying odds and being courageous and independent.”

Guilar, Josh
Josh Guilar published Interpersonal communication skills workshop (AMACOM, 2001), and articles in the Journal of International Education. He also presented papers at the conventions of the Western States Communication Association, International Communication Association, National Communication Association, and the Tenth International American Studies Conference in Minsk, Belarus. He is writing book chapters and an article on the topic of authentic communication as transformative learning.

Hamilton, Kristen
Kristen Hamilton is part of a panel submitted to NCA on Presidential debates and is working on a paper for submission to the Western States Communication Association on the pedagogical philosophies debate coaches employ when we judge debates. She also is working on an article about the rhetorical demonization of the SUV for publication.

Humphrey, Robert
Bob Humphrey has been researching and writing about a WWII Infantry Division (the 99th) that fought in “The Battle of the Bulge.” He has interviewed both by phone and in person some 225 surviving veterans of the 99th Division. He has attended two national reunions, flown to Europe, walked the Bulge battlefield, seen the remnants of the bridge at Remagen where they crossed the Rhine River, seen where 2 companies attempted unsuccessfully to cross the Danube River, and visited the former POW camp in Moosburg, Germany. Two of his essays have been published in the Division's newspaper, and two more will appear. Previously he wrote, "Children of Fantasy: The First Rebels of Greenwich Village, 1910-1920." Published by John Wiley and Sons.

Kidd, Virginia
Virginia Kidd published a book, titled COP Talk: Essential Communication Skills for Community Policing, co-authored with Capt. (now Deputy Chief) Rick Braziel of the Sacramento Police Dept (Acada Press, 1999); in conjunction with this book, she created a web page at http://www.csus.edu/indiv/k/kiddv/coptalk, which includes additional advice on communication. She published Coffee and Ink: How a Writers Group Can Nourish Your Creativity, with Tips and Examples from the Monday Night Writers Group. (Sacramento: Quill Driver Press, 2004). She published several articles and book chapters and presented papers at the Visual Communication Conference, the Rochester Institute of Technology conference “Visual Communication: Rhetorics and Technologies,” and the Western States Communication Association. She conducted two workshops at USC's conference on law enforcement with Capt. Braziel. She also received a Pedagogy Enhancement Grant with Sally Perkins and Gerri Smith to teach a service learning variation of ComS 198, the honors class; out of that class experience grew a co-authored article which was submitted for publication in Communication Educator.

Knutson, Tom
Tom Knutson published several articles in the Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, and Intercultural Communication Studies and three book chapters. He presented papers at the meetings of the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association, and the International Conference on Cross-Cultural Communication. He conducted workshops and other professional presentations for Bangkok University International College, Bangkok University, Thammasat University, Kasetsart University, the China Center for International Educational Exchange, the U.S. Educational Foundation in Bangkok, the Senate Fellows Program at the California State Capitol, the International Conference on Crime and Public Policy in the Pacific Rim, and the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand. He was a Fulbright Senior Specialist for Thailand and a Fellow for the International Association for Intercultural Research. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls (2001) and recognition in “Who’s Who in the World” (2001). He served as Associate Editor of the Journal for Intercultural Communication Research and was on the Editorial Board of the Bangkok University Academic Review.

Ludwig,Mark
Mark Ludwig published Modern News Editing, with Gene Gilmore, (Blackwell, 2005) and First Amendment 101: A Guide to Free Speech, Free Press and Related Rights in California High Schools, with Terry Francke (California First Amendment Coalition, in press). He published articles in Quill, California Publisher, and Newspaper Research Journal. He also gave invited talks at the Contemporary Communications Conference, Ohlone College, the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, and Capital Journalism Day, a conference for high school journalists, and the Journalism Association of Community Colleges state convention.

Miller, Christine
Christine Miller co-authored a book chapter with a graduate student, Amy Wiggin, in 2002 in an anthology called Persuasive Imagery. She also presented several papers at conferences.

Nwosu, Peter
Peter Nwosu published his second book, titled Transcultural Realities: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Cross-Cultural Relations (Sage, 2001) and completed work on a third book: Beyond Race: How to Build an American Community. He published articles in the International Journal of Intercultural Relations and the Howard Journal of Communications as well as several book chapters. He presented several papers at the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association. He is the Joint Editor of Africa Media Review, Associate Editor of the Journal of African Communications, member, Editorial Board, Howard Journal of Communications, and member, Editorial Board, Communication Education. He also served as keynote speaker at several public events and conferences, including the Mountain Valley Conference on Child Rearing Practices across Cultures, California Social Work Education Center First Symposium on Fairness and Equity, and at the celebration in Redding to mark the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He also directed and participated in sponsored research and programs of the U.S. Department of Education, the African Development Foundation, the World Bank, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. As a Fulbright-Hayes scholar, he received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and was a recipient of a grant from the African Development Foundation. He also served membership and leadership roles in the Western States Communication Association, National Communication Association, African Council for Communication Education, Honor Society of International Scholars, among others. He served as Vice Chair and Program Planner, and later Chair of the Intercultural Communication Interest Group of WSCA, Secretary of the Intercultural and International Communication Division of NCA, and Editor of the Division’s newsletter for two years.

O'Connor, Barbara
Barbara O’Connor chaired the Statewide Commission on Ed. Tech appointed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. It was an industry task force, and she wrote the final report: Connect, Compute, Compete. She also chaired the International Task Force on ICT Literacy brought together by ETS and OECD. The task force produced the International Framework on ICT Literacy that has been adopted by many organizations as the basis for measuring ICT literacy. She spent her sabbatical last fall representing the CSU system in developing a test that will be beta tested this fall on all of CSU campuses. The CSU is one of seven university systems, including UC, that are charter clients for the test. She has given thousands of interviews in the last five years on politics and media to all types of statewide, national and international media. Dr. O’Connor directs the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at CSUS. The applied research that the institute conducts is paid for by public entities and corporate clients. Interdisciplinary faculty conduct the work of the institute.

Owen, William
Bill Owen published several hundred Haiku, Senryu, and Haibun poems in American Haibun and Haiga, Contemporary Haibun, Acorn, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, bottlerockets, Mayfly, Haiku Headlines, and Mariposa as well as in several books and anthologies. He was awarded First Place at the Gerald Brady Senryu Poetry Contest (2002 and 2003), Second Place and an Honorable Mention at the Gerald Brady Senryu Poetry Contest (2001), Third Place at the San Francisco Senryu Poetry Contest (2004), and Third Place at the Harold Henderson Haiku Contest (2001). He was a Featured Poet in A New Resonance 2 (2001) and in Haiku Headlines (2000). He was Co-Founder and President of the Central Valley Haiku Club (1999) and a Co-Organizer and Reader for the City of Folsom Humanities Poetry Reading (2002 and 2003).

Smith, Gerri
Gerri Smith published a co-authored book chapter with Virginia Kidd and Sally Perkins as well as an article in Africa Watch. She conducted a workshop at the 2000 annual convention of the Western States Communication Association. In July 2001 and July 2002, she was invited to Kogi State University, in Anyigba, Nigeria with a team of professors from various U.S. universities to assess curriculum and teach undergraduate classes. She is currently collecting data to examine the impact that mentoring new faculty has on organizational socialization and assimilation.

Smith, Val
Val Smith has focused mainly on applied research. Since the last review Val has continued to direct opinion research projects, bringing his career total to well over 300. Specializing in political research, he has used focus group, mail and telephone survey methodologies. Since the department’s last self study Val has conducted research in, and consulted on, local, State Assembly, State Senate, Congressional, Statewide constitutional office, and statewide ballot initiative races inside and outside California. Polling projects have included the recent California recall election and races as far away as Argentina where Val introduced conjoint analysis methodology in a national presidential race. Val recently updated his logistic regression model of vote propensity in California. In the area of basic research he has provided methodological assistance and has coauthored publications in intercultural communication and criminal justice.

Stark, Jenny
Jenny Stark exhibited several videos, including “Did You Hear Something?” (at the Blanton Museum of Art Austin, Texas, the New York Underground Film Festival, and the Chicago Underground Film Festival), “Negative 10” (at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Mexico City, the Mix Festival New York, Ladyfest Bay Area, San Francisco, the Williams College of Art, Williamston Mass., Berwick Film Institute, Boston Mass, Frameworks Archive, New York NY, at Cornell University, and at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco CA), “I’d Known All Along Exactly What Was Going to Happen” (at the New York Underground Film Festival and Chicago Underground Film Festival), “Christmas 1990” (at the New York Underground Film Festival, Cinematexas Short Film Festival, Video Mundi, Chicago IL, Aurora Picture Show, Houston TX, Smogdance, LA CA, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas TX), and “Floods Ghosts and Contamination” (Fotofest 2004 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston TX). She also received a camera credit for a pilot, titled “Second Hand Stories” for Public Television. She also wrote a screenplay titled, “Two Sunrises,” to be shot in Summer 2004.

Stoner, Mark
Mark Stoner is completing a textbook with Sally Perkins, titled Making Sense of Messages: A Critical Apprenticeship in Rhetorical Criticism (scheduled for publication in Oct. 2004, with Houghton-Mifflin). He also presented a paper and workshop at the 16th Annual Lilly Conference on College Teaching. He also served as a Consultant for Ohio Wesleyan University on developing a Speaking Across the Curriculum Program; he constructed a SAC resource page available at http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/stonerm/SpeakingAcrossCurriculumHomePage.htm

Trujillo, Nick
Nick Trujillo published his third book, titled In Search of Naunny’s Grave: Age, Class, Gender, and Ethnicity in an American Family (AltaMira, 2004). He published articles in Women’s Studies in Communication, Qualitative Inquiry, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, and Management Communication Quarterly as well as two book chapters and a magazine article. The two articles in Qualitative Inquiry were published with graduate students in the department and under the author name “Communication Studies 298.” He presented papers at the National Communication Association and Western States Communication Association. He was the co-founder and served as chair of the Ethnography Division of the National Communication Association. His scholarship was the subject of a panel at the National Communication Association convention in 2001and in the Winter 2003 issue of the American Communication Journal (see http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol6/iss2/index.htm#special). He received the Scholarly Achievement Award at CSUS in 2000 and was one of the 2003-2004 CSUS nominees for the CSU system wide Wang Family Excellence Award.

Vande Berg, Leah
Leah Vande Berg published a book, titled Critical Approaches to Television and the accompanying Instructor’s Manual (with Lawrence Wenner and Bruce Gronbeck) and is working on a book, titled Bad Girls: Cultural Politics and Media Representations of Transgressive Women (with A. Susan Owen and Sarah Stein) that will be published by Peter Lang Publishers. She published several book chapters and presented several papers at professional conferences. She received a CSUS Summer Research and Creative Activity Fellowship (1999). She completed her editorship of the Western Journal of Communication, and served as Associate Editor of Quarterly Journal of Speech, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Women’s Studies in Communication, and the Western Journal of Communication. In 2004, she was elected First Vice-President of the Western States Communication Association and will become its President-Elect in 2005 and President in 2006.

von Friederichs-Fitzwater, Marlene
Marlene Von Friederichs-Fitzwater completed a qualitative study examining attitudes, beliefs and behaviors around car seat use for children 6 years (or 60 pounds) and under in the Russian, Hmong, African American and Hispanic/Latino populations for the Greater Sacramento Safe Kids Coalition; and a post-campaign study on the effectiveness of radio spots in changing driver behaviors in two major markets (Los Angeles and San Francisco) for the California Highway Patrol. She received the following awards: Lifetime Achievement Award, Sacramento Public Relations Association, 2002; she was included in the First Edition of One Thousand Great Scientists, International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England, 2001/2002; Distinguished Faculty Award, 2003 California State University, Sacramento Alumni Association; 21st Century Award for Achievement in Health Communication, 2003, The International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England; and International Health Professional of the Year 2003, The International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England. Her publications include articles in Health Communication Journal and Patient Care and a book chapter. She gave the Keynote Address at the Educators in the 21st Century; New Millennium Architects of Learning, American Society of Trainers and Developers, People and Technology Conference; and presented papers at the Interactive Health Communication for the Next Decade: 1999 Planning Summit for Developers and the Social Marketing and Public Health Campaigns Research Consortium.

Williams, John
John Williams co-authored a paper at the International Communication Association Convention, which was subsequently published in a Russian language peer- reviewed journal. He also presented a paper at the Biennia Convention of the World Communication Association in Spain. He traveled to Costa Rica to consult with a colleague regarding research on the rhetoric of Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco. He was the local arrangements person for the 2000 WSCA convention. As an academic advisor he attended the WACUHO and NACADA conventions.

Williams, Mark
Mark Williams published an article in the Southern Communication Journal and had a second article accepted for publication by the Journal of Communication and Religion. He is now co-authoring a book on communication and religion.

Zuckerman, David
David Zuckerman co-authored Student Workbook for Introductory Communication Course and has articles under review at the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Journal of Communication, Western Journal of Communication, and Canadian Journal of Communication. He presented many convention papers at the meetings of the International Communication Association, National Communication Association, Western States Communication Association, World Communication Association, Canadian Communication Association, and the Sooner Communication Conference. He was a panel reviewer and respondent for the National Communication Association and the Western States Communication Association.

Served as a panel reviewer for the Communication and the Future Division of the National Communication Association in preparation for the 90th annual convention, held in Chicago in November 2004.

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