COMS News | October 2024

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October Newsletter

COMS Announcements 

Welcome COMS Majors
Welcome to our new COMS majors! The COMS Department hosted a meeting last month for first-years and transfer students to find out how to make the most of their time at Cal Poly. Students learned about how to get involved in COMS Club, the debate team, and they also met their COMS academic advisors. To see a photo from the event, visit our Instagram page! Good luck to our new & returning students, we look forward to getting to know you and helping you achieve pathways to success!


COMS Club
Want to get involved in the COMS major, show your engagement in the discipline, and connect with other COMS students? You're invited to attend COMS Club all quarter long! When and where are the meetings? Visit the COMS Club website or follow their Instagram account for the most up-to-date information. The next event should be Thursday, October 10 at 11:10 AM, so mark your calendars!


LPH Recruitment
LPH is the National Communication Association’s official 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. 


COMS Advisory Council
Applications are open to join the COMS Student Advisory Council! Students on this council will have the opportunity to get involved with the COMS department, have an impact on the student experience, and network with your fellow students. This group is open to COMS majors, students changing their major to COMS, and COMS minors. The time commitment is attending meetings 2-3 times a quarter. If you’re interested in joining, please fill out this form by Friday, October 11 (login with your Cal Poly account to access). For questions, email Dr. Dhillon at adhill06@calpoly.edu.


Debate Recruitment
The Cal Poly Debate team is recruiting students! No previous experience is needed and there are no tryouts. We offer training in both English and Spanish. The focus of the team is on the exchange of ideas, and it provides a wonderful opportunity for students to make a difference through communication! Participating in debate will be especially beneficial for students who are pursuing careers in law, politics, advocacy, or bureaucracy. Contact jopatric@calpoly.edu for more info and check out the Debate Team web page.


SURP Symposium
Congratulations to your peers who participated in recent research through the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP)! To celebrate the end of the program, your peers will be presenting their original research projects in an upcoming scholarly poster session on Friday, October 18, 2024, 11am to 1pm in the Engineering Plaza (between the ATL, Bonderson and Building 192). 

  • Darius Enrique Jones (POLS) and Karina Melissa Saldivar (SPAN) will be presenting their joint project titled the Latino Voter Engagement Project (COMS project advisors, Dr. Victoria Zamora & Dr. Marion Hart). 
     

Events & Opportunities


Amazon Web Services Guest Speaker
Want to learn about marketing and corporate communications? The Cal Poly PRSSA is bringing guest speaker Sarah Storelli (a 2011 Cal Poly alum) who is a Senior Worldwide Public Sector Marketing Leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS)! Sarah will share about how she built her career in PR and marketing insights in the tech world @ Amazon. Free donuts from SLODOCO will be provided. The event is Friday, October 4th, 12:00 PM in Building 026 (Journalism/Graphic Arts), Room 304.


CLA Student Advisory Council
Join the CLA Student Advisory Council (CLASAC). The council serves as the primary student advisory body that is responsible for communicating student perspectives to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts.The council meets twice per quarter on Wednesday evenings from 5:30 to 7 p.m., with pizza provided. First-year students are not yet eligible, but this requirement does not apply to seats reserved for new transfer students. Students may serve on CLASAC more than once. Nominations (self-nominations encouraged) using this link are due by Friday, October 4 by 8 p.m. Students can find out more information and apply online here. 


Water Now Alliance COMS Job Available
WaterNow Alliance is a nonprofit focused on solving municipal water issues across the nation and they are currently looking for a Communications & Social Media Associate for some part-time remote work. This position will allow students the opportunity to gain valuable experience with a fast-growing sustainability-focused non-profit through hands-on tasks and real responsibility. For more information and application instructions, visit the job posting link. 


Starz Post Production Grants
Looking for funding for media-related projects? The CSU Entertainment Alliance has grants available for post-production that you can apply for in order to finish a film! You can use this funding for post-production color, sound, editing, music, VFX, animation, and more! Find out more information and apply by October 15, at the submission website.


Volunteer to be a Bilingual Poll Worker
Do you speak Spanish and English and want to get involved in community outreach for election day? Volunteer to be a bilingual poll worker for the Latino Voter Project! For more information and to find out how you can get involved in this amazing service opportunity, contact Dr. Marion Hart mhart03@calpoly.edu.


Hispanic Heritage Month
From the Office of University Diversity and Inclusion: Celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and honors the histories, cultures, and peoples that make up the varied, powerful, and beautiful Latinx/e communities throughout our nation. Learn more and engage in the many campus-based events this month, including Student Diversity and Belonging’s State of Latinx event from 4-7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7.


¡Adelante! Cal Poly HSI Symposium
The entire campus community is invited to engage in ¡Adelante! 2024 Cal Poly HSI Symposium on Wednesday, Oct. 30, which will feature an HSI update, a series of workshops, a resource fair, and more.

Faculty & Staff News

Department Chair News

The Communication Studies Department has some exciting leadership updates to report:

  • Dr. Lauren Kolodziejski has been our Department Chair since 2022, but she is now filling in this year as the CLA Interim Associate Dean for Student Success. We will miss her in COMS, but we're cheering her on in this new role!
  • Dr. Anu Dhillon is stepping into the role of Interim COMS Department Chair this year as a result. Thank you to Dr. Dhillon for her leadership and willingness to steer the department forward this academic year!

Awards

Congratulations to our faculty award winners who were celebrated for their work by the college, university, and community! 

  • Dr. Leslie Nelson was the 2024 recipient of the Cal Poly Outstanding Faculty Advisor of the Year Award. This award recognizes a Cal Poly faculty member who has had a positive influence on students through academic advising. 
  • Dr. Leslie Nelson was also the 2024 recipient of the Leslie A. Baxter Early Career Award by the Family Communication Division of the National Communication Association for her prolific work as a family communication scholar and her reputation as a research expert on DEI-related issues in family communication. 
  • Dr. John Patrick was the 2024 recipient of the CLA Douglas L. Epperson Innovation Award. This award recognizes a CLA faculty member who generates innovative scholarship and/or pedagogies that advance the college in creative and useful ways.

New Faculty 

Welcome to our new faculty members who joined the COMS department at Cal Poly this fall! 

  • Professor Sergio Juárez is a new assistant professor. 
  • Professor Sasha Sanders is a new assistant professor. 
  • Professor Jamie Ascher is a new full-time lecturer.
  • Professor Stephenson Whitestone is a new full-time lecturer.
  • Professor Josh Losoya is a new part-time lecturer.
  • Professor Matt Kay is a new part-time lecturer.
  • Professor Sandra Valois is a new part-time lecturer.

Faculty Research

  • Dr. Carmen Navarro is presenting her research at the upcoming Psychoanalysis Faces the Challenges of Postmodern Society International Forum in Bergamo, Italy in October 23-26 2024. Her presentation is titled: Unveiling Multifaceted Mediated Identities Through Psychoanalysis. 
  • Dr. Victoria Zamora & Dr. Marion Hart participated in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) in a Latino Voter Engagement Project. In this program, they worked with SURP students, Darius Enrique Jones and Karina Melissa Saldivar, and also with Spanish Debate Team captain Alondra Vianey Cardoso. Together, they organized events that provided Spanish-language resources and information about county services, voter rights, and the electoral process. These events were also covered by our local media sources in KSBY and MSN news. 

Faculty Service

  • Professor Lisa Kawamura was appointed as the statewide CFA Chair of Contract Development and Bargaining Strategies. Her responsibilities are to help develop bargaining goals in consultation with the faculty, Chapter Presidents, and the CFA Board of Directors. The committee works with the Bargaining Team on policy and strategy during bargaining.
  • Professor Lisa Kawamura also facilitated Anti-Racism and Social Justice workshops for CFA at CSU Bakersfield in August and she is facilitating two more this week at CSU Monterey Bay and CSU East Bay. CFA's Council on Social and Racial Justice offer workshops to any CSU campus groups (at no cost) and examine issues like unconscious bias, how to interrupt racism, understanding privilege, and understanding Critical Race Theory (myths, rationale, tenets, and historical and present-day application).
  • Professor Martin Mehl recently facilitated an event with Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong called Leadership Unplugged: Event Sparks Leadership & Innovation in Future Leaders. This talk had 172 people in attendance, including many OAHS students and several Cal Poly undergraduate and graduate students. With Prof. Martin Mehl facilitating, Dr. Armstrong delivered an information presentation on what it is like to lead a university and took questions from several OAHS students and others in the audience.

Miscellaneous Updates

  • Dr. Leslie Nelson got married this summer at the Madonna Inn surrounded by family, close friends, and of course her dog, Piper! Fun fact: her now husband, Dr. Seamus Jones, is an Assistant Professor in the Materials Engineering Department at Cal Poly! If you have an itch to learn about polymers or textiles, feel free to let Dr. Nelson know! Congrats, Dr. Nelson!!

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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