COMS News | November 2022

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Happy November COMS Mustangs! This newsletter is designed to help keep majors, minors, faculty, and staff up-to-date so you can learn about news, career advice, events, networking opportunities, well-wishes, and inspirational stories surrounding your peers and community.

Announcements

Student News & Information


Coms Club. Get involved in COMS Club! Meetings take place Thursdays from 11:10 am - 12:00 pm in Building 10 Room 201. Connect with Coms Club on Instagram @calpolycomsclub

  • November 10, DEI Day. Coms Club presents their second annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion day. This meeting will focus on the importance of representation in academia and the public sphere as well as provide an opportunity for students to brainstorm ways to increase Cal Poly’s social mobility. 

LPH Recruitment. LPH is the National Communication Association’s honor society. The organization recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of COMS majors and offers membership benefits including honors status at graduation and ceremonial graduation regalia. To see if you qualify to join, check out the membership requirements and fill out the Cal Poly LPH Interest Form by December 1. Be sure to follow LPH on Instagram @lphcalpoly to stay in the loop.

LPH Lumina Alliance Supply Drive. Join the Lambda Pi Eta Exec Board on Nov. 13th from 11-3 PM outside Ralphs in gathering supplies for Lumina Alliance, a local organization working to end sexual and intimate partner violence in SLO County through advocacy, support, and prevention services!  If you are a current LPH member, we encourage you volunteer to help run our booth by heading to this sign-up sheet. A great opportunity to give back to our community while also acquiring some volunteer hours!

Distinguished Teaching Award Nominations. Have you had a professor who influenced your life or schoolwork in a meaningful way? Say thanks by nominating your professor for a Distinguished Teaching Award! The deadline to submit nominations this year is November 24 (Thanksgiving Day). Students or alumni may submit one or more nominations at the program website.

Classes & Registration


Winter Schedule. The Cal Poly Winter Schedule is currently available to view and the first round of registration opens November 1-17 (Students can enroll in up to 18 units and waitlist up to 16 units). Your professors look forward to seeing you in their future classes!

Complementary Classes. Looking for classes outside of COMS that will complement your major? Consider the two classes below from Ethnic Studies and Journalism: 

  • ES 470. This special topics class, ES 470 is called Crossing Borders Migration, Human Rights, and Imagined Communities. The class is taught by Dr. Elvira Pulitano and will be offered on T/R from 6:10 - 8:00 P.M. 
  • JOUR 378. Interested in Sportscasting? Check out JOUR 378 - Advanced Sportscasting with broadcast legend Mark Willard. Prereqs: JOUR 285 and JOUR 303 or JOUR 346. Scheduled for T/R 3:10 - 6:00 P.M.

Events & Workshops
 

Special CLA Guest Speaker Shiffrin. The College of Liberal Arts is hosting a special talk this week by Professor Seana Shiffrin from UCLA. Seana is a widely influential scholar in law and philosophy who has written extensively on the subjects of lying, free speech, and democracy. 

Central Coast Entertainment Expo. This weekend is the inaugural Central Coast Entertainment Expo that will bring in entertainment producers from all over California to the central coast to discuss their experiences making movies and TV shows. This is a great chance to learn more about entertainment production and to also network with professionals. If you would like a free ticket to attend the expo please contact Professor Randi Barros. The expo takes place Nov. 4 & 5 at the Clark Center in Arroyo Grande.

Workshop on the Gender Pay Gap. According to the American Association of University Women, "women working full time in the U.S. are still paid just 83 cents to every dollar earned by men." Are you interested in learning more about the gender pay gap AND how to build confidence in your own salary negotiation skills? Join Career Services for this 3-part workshop series. Open to all students of any major or gender identity. For more information, check out the linked flyer.
 

New Opportunities


Adobe (UX) Research Internship. This full-time summer internship is a great opportunity to get your foot in the door in the tech industry (Starting summer 2023). For more information, visit the announcement link.

Project-Based Learning Funding for Students. The Warren J. Baker Endowment for Excellence in Project-Based Learning and the Robert D. Koob Endowment for Student Success support hands-on, project-based learning opportunities for individual students and groups at Cal Poly. Open to all majors and programs. Undergraduate/graduate student applications for funding in Winter/Spring 2023 are due T 11/15/22 at 5pm. Awards range from $1,000 to $5,000. For more information, visit the program webpage.

Innovation Quest Competition. Cal Poly's CIE is running an annual Innovation Quest Competition. They're searching for the most innovative and entrepreneurial students from across campus who want to compete for $35,000 in awards.  Been working on some creative innovation and think it has the potential to change people's lives for the better? Been working on an entrepreneurial endeavor and looking for feedback from experienced executives to help you move forward?  Compete! Application Deadline: March 17th at 11:59PM. For more information, visit the program webpage.

Faculty News 

Funded Research 


Dr. Lorraine Jackson was awarded a 2022-23 Center for Expressive Technology (CET) grant (with her colleague Julia Alber in Public Health) to complete a study titled "Protecting Against Flavored Tobacco Products: Using Digital Storytelling to Increase Policy Support." Big congrats to Dr. Jackson! 

National Communication Association 
 

Communication Studies students, alumni, and faculty head to the 108th annual convention of the National Communication Association, November 17-20, in New Orleans. Scheduled participants will present their original research, share best practices in teaching, participate in academic service opportunities, and network with scholars.  

Scheduled Student & Alumni Presentations


Meghan Day (Current Student) 

  • 'Asking Us to Do More with Less': Academic Mothers' Muted Experiences During the 'Shecession' [Scheduled Co-Author]

Erica Goynes (Alum)

  • Twitter and the faces of whiteness: Investigating official responses to the death of George Floyd [Scheduled Co-Author]

Sarah Ruhe (Alum)

  • Disability Representation in Game of Thrones [Scheduled Author]

Scheduled Faculty Presentations


Dr. David Askay

  • Short Course 10: Demystifying Creative Collaboration: A Crash Course in Design Thinking for the Communication Classroom [Scheduled Chair & Presenter]

  • (re)Designing Communication Pedagogy: Tales from Bringing Design Thinking into the Communication Classroom [Scheduled presenter]

Dr. Alison Yeh Cheung

  • Mentoring, Networking, and Building Community as Asian/Pacific American Scholars [Scheduled Presenter]
  • Rhetorical and Communication Theory Division Business Meeting [Scheduled Co-Presenter]
  • After Crazy Rich Asians: Situating Transnational Asian American Cultural Productions [Scheduled Author]
  • ReOrientations: Contextualizing Contemporary Media Representations of Asian/Americans [Schedule Respondent]

Dr. Bethany Conway

  • Twitter and the faces of whiteness: Investigating official responses to the death of George Floyd [Scheduled Co-Author]

Dr. Anuraj Dhillon

  • Legislative Assembly I [Schedule Co-Presenter]
  • Celebrating Female Faculty Intersectionality: A Discussion of Barriers and Opportunities in the Academy [Scheduled Presenter]
  • 'Asking Us to Do More with Less': Academic Mothers' Muted Experiences During the 'Shecession' [Scheduled Author]
  • Interpersonal Communication Division Business Meeting [Scheduled Co-Presenter]
  • Legislative Assembly II [Scheduled Co-Presenter]
  • Honoring PLACE and Creating Space for Mentorship and Community-Building in the International and Intercultural Communication Division [Scheduled Presenter]
  • Training the Trainer: Best Practices for Using Virtual Meeting Platforms [Scheduled Presenter]

Dr. Megan Lambertz-Berndt

  • Legislative Assembly I [Scheduled Co-Presenter]
  • Celebrating Female Faculty Intersectionality: A Discussion of Barriers and Opportunities in the Academy [Scheduled Presenter]
  • 'Asking Us to Do More with Less': Academic Mothers' Muted Experiences During the 'Shecession' [Scheduled Co-Author]
  • Twitter and the faces of whiteness: Investigating official responses to the death of George Floyd [Scheduled Author]
  • Creating a PLACE for Feminist Pedagogy [Scheduled Presenter]
  • Communication and Law Division Business Meeting [Scheduled Co-Presenter]
  • Legislative Assembly II [Scheduled Co-Presenter]
  • Top Papers in the Communication and Law Division [Scheduled Chair]

Dr. Vince Meserko

  • Media Mastery: Redefining Media Literacy in the Digital Age [Scheduled Presenter]

Dr. Leslie Nelson

  • Family Communication Division Business Meeting [Scheduled Co-Presenter]

Dr. Emily Ryalls

  • Death by Text: Morality, Manipulation, and Murder in the Michelle Carter Case [Scheduled Author]
  • Creating a PLACE for Feminist Pedagogy [Scheduled Chair]

Sharing is Caring

Do you have an announcement to share with COMS majors, minors, faculty, and staff? Email Dr. Brie to find out how to share it! Follow COMS on Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn 

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