Research & Creative 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of the university; unpublished manuscripts; membership and appropriate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: Research & Creative Activites
International Faculty Activity
" Through effective intercultural communication, each of us can contribute to global understanding, peace, and prosperity. Our students and colleagues who travel abroad, as well as those who host foreign guests, consistently display a fundamental and desirable trait of modern life: Differences are not dangerous."
–Tom Knutson, Repeat winner of Fulbright Awards
Faculty members of the Department of Communication Studies have engaged in a wide variety of international activities. Our curriculum has grown sensitive to the inherent international nature of communication. Communication Studies professors have traveled to over 75 countries for research, teaching, and professional activities. As a result of these journeys, the department is poised for a leadership role in expanding international opportunities for the university. The nature of world articulation has changed and the department has adjusted to the modern demands of global and intercultural communication. The following is a partial summary of Communication Studies faculty international activities:
- Papers published in Canada, Germany, Ireland, Korea, Thailand, and Russia
- Over 50 publications dealing with intercultural and international topics
- Lectures given in Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam
- Conference papers presented in Australia, Costa Rica, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Spain, Thailand, and, Vietnam
- Hosted visiting scholars from China, Russia, Taiwan, and Thailand
- Assisted in establishing MOUs with 7 foreign universities
- Editorial board membership on scholarly journals in Senegal, Thailand, and Russia
- Fulbright Scholarships to Korea, Poland, Russia, South Africa, and Thailand
- Director, U. S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hayes Program, South Africa
- Chair, Information and Communication Technology Panel, Educational Testing Service
- President, Phi Beta Delta, the honorary society for international scholars
- Recruited graduate students from Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand
- Encouraged and assisted dozens of students in the Study Abroad program
- Assisted in creating the First Global Community College in Nongkhai, Thailand
In November 2002, seven faculty members were invited to assess
internationalism on the CSUS campus. This group developed 40 indicators
to measure international education and proposed a program to implement
the measurement through the use of focus groups and social scientific
methodology. As yet there has been no word of any action taken
by the CSUS Office of Global Education.
In order to sustain the level of global activity within the department,
the need for replacing international faculty should be considered
in future departmental hiring. One international faculty member
is retiring and another has accepted an administrative position
at CSU-Northridge.
