In the Spotlight: April 29, 2009

Kudos to these faculty, staff and students

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• Brant Short, professor of speech communication, spoke at Glendale Community College on April 9 to approximately 200 students, faculty and staff in a lecture titled, “Communication Can Save Your Life: Five Life Lessons from Communication Theory.” Short also met with seniors graduating in May through NAU and GCC’s 2+2 degree program.
• The Commission on Disability Access and Design Leadership recently presented an overall leadership award to the School of Forestry for its model for accessibility and universal design in the classroom, and for creating a way for students with disabilities to participate in fieldwork: a critical hands-on learning component in the educational forestry experience. James Allen, executive director for the school, and forestry undergraduate Ryan Thomas, accepted the award on behalf of the School of Forestry.

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  Alexandra Carpino, chair of the Department of Humanities, Arts and Religion and associate professor of art history, presented a lecture, “Death, Decapitation and Dismemberment on Etruscan Bronze Mirrors,” earlier this month at the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Her lecture was held in conjunction with the exhibition, From the Temple to the Tomb: Etruscan Treasures from Tuscany.

• Troy Hutchings, director of Student Services in the College of Education and a faculty member in the college, was named the recipient of the 2009 Doug Bates Memorial Award. The award honors an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of educator ethics and professional practice. Hutchings also will be giving the annual Doug Bates lecture, which will accompany the award presented at the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification’s annual conference June 2 in Jacksonville, Fla.
• Mary I. Dereshiwsky, professor of educational leadership, presented a webinar on effective strategies for peer mentoring of online instructors to the Learning Resources Network this month.
• Jut Wynne, a doctoral student in biology and cave research scientist with Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, and Charles Drost from the Colorado Plateau Research Station, published “Southwest Caves Reveal New Forms of Life,” a USGS factsheet showcasing three new genera and 15 new species recently discovered from caves in northern Arizona. The document will be used for educational outreach to emphasize the fragility and importance of cave ecosystems.
• Shawn Skabelund, lecturer in the School of Art, published “Excavating Destiny: A Conversation with Shawn Skabelund,” in Sculpture magazine’s May 2009 issue.
• Four faculty members, 10 graduate students and one undergraduate student from the School of Communication recently presented papers or participated at the Western Social Science Association annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M.
  • Jerry Thull, lecturer in public relations, presented “Bridging the Media Divide in the Classroom: Instructional Strategies for Contemporary Students.”
  • Jon Torn, assistant professor of electronic media and film, presented “Give It Away Now: The World of New Media in the New Era of Free.”
  • Dayle Hardy-Short and Brant Short, professors of speech communication, both moderated panels and served as section coordinators for the Human Communication Studies section.

  The following graduate students in the applied communication program presented papers:

  • Emilly Borthwick: “Bristol Palin and Jaime Lynn Spears, Celebrity or Private Figure: The Intimacy Created by ShowBiz Tonight” and “Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act: How It Affected a Native Hawaiian Conflict.”
  • Amanda Carrillo: “American’s Toughest Sheriff: The Use of Immigration Appeals in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s 2008 Reelection Campaign” and “Communication Apprehension and Cultural Issues in the Classroom: A Review of the Literature.”
  • Diana Cudeii: “The Political Life of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, 2008 Presidential Candidate.”
  • Anthony R. Cuttitta: “Change is Not for Everyone: Gay Rights and the Election of 2008″ and “Sports, Homophobia, and Homosexual Affection: Social Learning Theory and Masculine Socialization Regarding Public Displays.”
  • Tracie Hansen: “Girl, Interrupted: How Character and Gender Cost Hillary Clinton the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination.”
  • Ben D.A. Heffington: “‘I Would Rather be Attacked by Sharks’: A Review of the Literature on Communication Apprehension in Education” and “Why Are Americans So Angry?: A Rhetorical Criticism of Ron Paul’s Answer to the House of Representatives.”
  • Brian Rogers: “Kick Starting the Conversation: How YouTube Could Alter Marginalized Representation” and “A Review of the Literature Regarding Interaction Between Instructional Technology and Instructor Immediacy.”
  • Kevin Snyder: “The Religious Exigency of Barack Obama and John McCain.”
  • Riva Starks: “Barack Obama’s Presidential Campaign: A Redressing of American Politics on the Internet.”
  • Zac Ziegler: “Going Digital: What the Mp3 is Doing to the Music Industry.”

  The following undergraduate speech communication major presented a paper:

  • Angelica Hernandez: “Becoming President is More Than Announcing You’re Going to Run: An Epideictic Analysis of Barack Obama and John McCain’s Presidential Acceptance Speeches.”