COMS Senior Receives President's Community Service Award. Communication Studies Senior Kara Callaway received an early graduation present from university president Warren Baker on May 15, when she was presented with a President's Community Service Award. This was the 22nd year that Baker has recognized students, faculty, and staff for their contributions to the community. Callaway, one of only three students to receive the recognition this year, was selected for the award for having created "Alternative Breaks," a program that provides opportunities for students to engage in community service work during academic holidays. Callaway organized a project that sent 24 students to New Orleans to help with Katrina reconstruction, and another project that sent 10 students to Jamaica to work on an organic farm and promote organic agriculture to local farmers.

Dr. Michael Fahs Receives University Distinguished Teaching Award. Dr. Michael Fahs, who has been with the department since 1983, has received the University Distinguished Teaching Award for 2008. One-hundred-twenty faculty from throughout the University's seven Colleges were nominated for the award. Dr. Fahs, who has been nominated for the award on two previous occasions, is a three-time recipient of the Communication Studies Department Teacher of the Year Award, and a 1994 College of Liberal Arts Honored Teacher. He is the fourth Communication Studies Professor to receive the university's highest award for teaching. The award was bestowed on Dr. Fahs during the university commencement ceremony on June 14.

Spring Dean's List. Twenty-eight Communication Studies majors were named to the College of Liberal Arts Dean's List for Spring Quarter 2008. Each of the honorees were enrolled for 12 or more graded units and had a term grade point average of 3.5 or higher. The Spring list included: Noelle Abi-Habib, Kjersti Anderson, Maryn Anderson, Meaghan Barisone, Katherine Brooks, Nicholas Bullock, Megan Dilley, Jason Fields, Meagan Fitzmaurice, Jason French, Matthew Hallock, Julie Hauser, Brittani Hidahl, Ashley Hogue, Christina Hoogendam, Alison Kendall, Colby Kuvara, Margret Lane, Kristina Logan, Lara Mahoney, Megan Mahoney, Jessica Morris, Dana Olkkonen, Ian Sanderson, Jennifer Savage, Kara Stone, Krista Tokugawa, and Nina Vannucci. This was the second consecutive term on the Dean's List for Maryn Anderson, Barisone, Hallock, Logan, and Tokugawa, the third consecutive term for Fitzmaurice, French, Hauser, Hidahl, Hoogendam, Savage, and Stone, and the fourth consecutive term for Vannucci. Overall, sixty-nine different Communication Studies majors received Dean's List honors during the 2007-08 academic year.

Spring Quarter Intramural Speech and Debate Results. The spring intramural debate tournament concluded on June 4. Top team honors in the quarterly event went to sophomore Communication Studies majors Shelley McKendree Leger and Nicole Whitlock. Senior Communication Studies major Matt Pritchard and junior Communication Studies major Brian Edelstein placed second in team competition. The top individual speaker in the tournament was sophomore Communication Studies major Brianna Dinsmore, with freshman Communication Studies major Breana Kelly-Slatten Johnson taking the second place individual speaker award. Twenty-four students competed in the event, which took place over a two-week period.
      The spring public speaking contest was held on June 5, with eighteen students competing for the intramural championship. First place in the contest went to freshman Aerospace Engineering major Viet Nguyen, with freshman Earth Science major Karen Decker placing second, and freshman Electrical Engineering major Andrew Pierce placing third. Freshman Mechanical Engineering major Daniel Romero received horable mention.

Department Banquet a Success. The 2008 Communication Studies Department Awards Banquet was be held on Friday, June 6, at the San Luis Obispo Country Club. More than eighty students, faculty, and guests attended the affair. Major award winners were: Kristy Malm, Outstanding Senior; Katie Brooks, Outstanding Academic Achievement Award (Communication Studies valedictorian), Academic Excellence recognition Summa cum laude, and Department Service Award; Anne Lilly, Outstanding Academic Achievement Award and Academic Excellence recognition umma cum laude; Heather Dean, Academic Excellence recognition magna cum laude; Michelle Carter, Academic Excellence recognition cum laude; Matt Hallock, Academic Excellence recognition cum laude; Wendy Darling, Department Service Award; Jason French, Brad Ledwith Scholarship recipient; Jennifer English, Keith and Lona Nielsen Scholarship recipient; Steven Wolf, Nielsen Diversity Scholarship recipient; Dominic Surano and Wende Cooper, Outstanding Debater Award co-winners; and Dr. Bernard Duffy, Communication Studies Club Teacher of the Year Award.

Dr. Zachary Hall Receives Teaching Award. Dr. Zachard Hall, a lecturer in the department since 2005, received an Outstanding Achievement in Teaching Award from the College of Engineering Student Council. Each year, Engineering students recognize outstanding faculty teaching in the university's General Education Program. Dr. Hall teaches Public Speaking and Principles of Speech Communication courses.

Dr. Z to Retire in August. Dr. Raymond F. Zeuschner will retire from full-time teaching at the end of the 2008 academic year. "Dr. Z" came to the then Speech and Theatre Department in 1980 as an Associate Professor and Director of Forensics. Prior to coming to Cal Poly, he taught at Los Angeles City College and CSU-Northridge. Zeuschner continued to direct the Cal Poly forensics program until 1985, when he stepped down from forensics to pursue other academic interests. During his twenty-eight years at Cal Poly, Zeuschner played a significant role in the evolution of the department from a small joint academic unit with one hundred and fifty majors and fewer than a dozen faculty to one of the larger departments in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as the changing identity of of the department, marked by two name changes reflecting the department's wider academic mission. Zeuschner served as the department chair from 1996-2001, has been an adjunct with the College of Education since 1986 and a member of the London Study Advisory Board since 1987, and was a three-time London Study Resident Director. Zeuschner is the author of five textbooks, a collaborating author for a sixth, and co-editor for a seventh. He also authored the instructor's manual for three textbooks, has published essays in several scholarly journals, and presented papers at scores of professional conferences. In the community, Zeuschner was a member of the Morro Bay City Council for three years, and was the city's mayor for two years. He also maintains an active profile as a communication consultant, providing communication training services for a number of private and public agencies. For the immediate future, Zeuschner will remain with the department in an emiritus capacity, teaching occasional sections of Principles of Speech Communication, Small Group Communication, and Classroom Communication.

New Professor to Join Department in Fall. The Communication Studies Department is proud to announce that Dr. Jnan Blau will join the faculty in September as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Dr. Blau holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Arizona State University West, and both Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Speech Communication from Southern Illinois University. Dr. Blau's primary instructional assignment will be teaching the department's performance of literature courses, although he also will teach sections of Intercultural Communication and Public Speaking. His personal research focuses on the intersection of performance and cultural studies, and he has presented his work before a number of learned societies and has been published in several scholarly journals.

Winter Dean's List. Thirty-nine Communication Studies majors were named to the College of Liberal Arts Dean's List for Winter Quarter 2008. Each of the honorees had a term grade point average of 3.5 or higher. The list included: four freshmen -- Maryn Anderson, Danielle Cain, Ona Teerikorpi, and Sarah Williams; nine sophomores -- Brooke Applegarth, Jennifer English, Megan Fitzmaurice, Carylyn Frieband, Christina Hoogendam, Kristina Logan, Jillian Smith, Kara Stone, and Erin Swoger; nine juniors -- Aimee D'Hondt, Stephanie Ferguson, Brittani Hidahl, Cecilia Kovalcheck, Genevieve Munoz, Tracy Owens, Catherine Piazza, Jennifer Savage, and Krista Walton; and seventeen seniors -- Meaghan Barisone, Ashley Bliss, Joseph Cabalka, Michelle Carter, Heather Dean, Gena Finke, Jason French, Diana Hafliger, Matthew Hallock, Julie Hauser, Molly Hayes, Brooke Lipson, Jenna Peltzer, David Spangler, Krista Tokugawa, Nina Vannucci, and Steven Wolf. Fifteen of the students were also on the fall quarter list, and Dean, Finke, and Vannucci were on the Dean's List for a third consecutive quarter.

Winter Quarter Intramural Speech and Debate Results. The winter intramural debate tournament concluded on March 12. Top team honors in the quarterly event went to senior Communication Studies major Erica Leger and junior Communication studies major Jenna Wheeler. Leger and Wheeler were undefeated in the tournament. Sophomore Liberal Studies major Erica Grochow and sophomore Communication Studies major Stephanie Ferguson placed second in team competition. The top individual speaker in the tournament was sophomore Biology major Jeremy Poulman, with freshman Communication Studies major Stephanie Johnson taking the second place individual speaker award. Twenty-eight students competed in the event, which took place over a two-week period.
      The winter public speaking contest was held on March 13, with thirteen students competing for the intramural championship. First place in the contest went to sophomore Animal Science major Chelsea Harrison, with senior Mathematics major Mark Gabaya placing second, and freshmen English major Matt Delaney placing third. Junior Microbiology major Julie Anderson and freshman Social Sciences major Julia Fiore received horable mention.

Debaters Host State Championship Tournament. More than 150 students and faculty from across the state were on campus February 22-24 for the 2008 California State Debate Championships and National Qualifying Tournament. The tournament is hosted annually by the Cal Poly Debate Team. The University of Southern California won the tournament's Brady Lee Garrison Award as the top qualifier to the National Debate Tournament. The University of California, Berkeley won the non-qualifying division of the tournament, while the novice division was won by a first-year debate team from USC. Cal Poly's top finish was 4th place in the novice division by first year debaters Matt Lopez and Hunter Tanquary. Lopez also won an award as the 4th place individual speaker in the novice division. Cal Poly was also represented by seniors Wende Cooper and Rohen Peterson, who competed in the tournament's national qualifying division. Forty-eight debate teams representing 18 colleges and universities participated in the debates.

Annual Career Symposium a Big Success. The annual Communication Studies Career Symposium was held at the Gardens of Avila on January 27. This year's symposium session facilitators included: Professional speaker, corporate trainer, and author Beth Terrry (Class of 1975); K-12 educator Loni (Anderson) Pinney (Class of 2000), Sierra Vista Junior High School, Canyon Country, CA; Steve Widdicombe (Class of 1986), Vice-President for Advertising, Jack Nadel International; Nick Shaffer (Class of 2003), consultant and personnel trainer, Hendrick Automotive Group; Caryn (Scaif) Meissner (Class of 2003), writer and editor for Science & Technology Reivew, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Troy Shea (Class of 1987), Zone Sales Leader, Frity Lay, Inc. More than sixty students attended the symposium.

Fall Dean's List. Thirty-two Communication Studies majors were named to the College of Liberal Arts Dean's List for Fall Quarter 2007. Each of the honorees had a term grade point average of 3.5 or higher. The list included freshmen Giovana Derenzo, Carolyn Frieband, Christina Hoogendam, Ryan McDowell, Kara Stone, Ona Teerikorpi, and Koryna Zendejas; sophomores Jennifer English, Megan Fitzmuarice, Aaron Hussman, Colby Kuvara, and Emma Scott; juniors Michelle Augustine, Ryan Featherston, Brittani Hidahl, Taylor Hickle, Francesca Lee, Catherine Piazza, Jennifer Savage, Nina Vannucci, and Diane Verhaeghe; and seniors Ashley Bliss, Tracy Coad, Heather Dean, Gena Finke, Julie Hauser, Jason French, Lara Mahoney, Kristy Malm, Erin Redding, Christine Welch, and Steven Wolf. This was the second consecutive Dean's List honor for Dean, English, Finke, and Vannucci.

Faculty-Student Collaboration Produces Top Paper Award. A collaborative research project undertaken by Associate Professor Lorraine Jackson and 2004 COMS graduate Danielle Boulger has produced the 2008 Top Paper in Health Communication, designated by the Western States Communication Association. Dr. Jackson and Ms Boulger will present their paper, "Magazines: The Effects on Men's and Women's Body Esteem," to the association's annual conference in Denver on February 17.

Faculty Win CTL Grants. Associate Professor Lorraine Jackson and Assistant Professor Jennie Hwang have been awarded course development grants by the Cal Poly Center for Teaching and Learning. Both grants are for proposals to convert specific Communication Studies courses to a technology rich mode of instruction. Dr. Jackson's grant is for a proposal to increase the use of instructional technology in the Health Communication course, and Dr. Hwang's grant is for a proposal to increase the use of instructional technology in the Media Effects course.

Fall Quarter Intramural Speech and Debate Results. The fall intramural debate tournament concluded on November 28. Top team honors in the quarterly event went to junior Communication Studies majors Dana Olkkonen and Diane Verhaeghe. Junior Communication Studies major Carlos LaPuente and senior Business major Jenna Laverty received the second place award. The top individual speaker in the tournament was freshman Political Science major C. J. Young, with LaPuenta winning the second place individual speaker award. Twenty students competed in the event, which took place over a two-week period.
      The fall public speaking contest was held on November 29, with twenty-five students competing. The first place award went to freshman Business major Taylor Feezor, with freshman Aerospace Engineering major Amy Krosteiner placing second, and freshman Kinesiology major Chelsey Johnson placing third.

New Doctors in the House. Two Communication Studies adjunct faculty members completed final requirements for their doctoral degrees this fall. Zachary Hall, who has been with the department since 2001, successfully defended his dissertation entitled, "An Exploratory Investigation into How Presidential Perceptions Influence Organizational Committment to Higher Education Marketing at California Community Colleges." Hall and will receive an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of California, Santa Barbara on December 15. Sara Daubert, new to the department this year, successfully defended her dissertation entitled, "Exploring the Relationship of Motivation and Environmental Attitudes to Servant Leadership," at the University of Nebraska. Daubert will receive a Ph.D. in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication on December 22.

Department Holds Career Workshop. The first Communication Studies Career Workshop for the 2007-08 academic year was held on November 3. Sessions included "Graduate School from A-Z," with College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences Professor William Plummer, "Selling Yourself: Surefire Resumes and Cover Letters, with Sue Brock from the Communication Studies faculty, and "Public Relations as a Viable Career Option," with Sheree Twisselman Davis, also from the Communication Studies faculty. The career workshops are sponsored by the Communication Studies Club, and are directed by Dr. Michael Fahs, the club advisor.

Good News for Mehl Family. So far, it has been a very good fall for COMS adjunct instructor Martin Mehl. September saw the publication of a research report Mehl co-authored with Luanne Fose from the Cal Poly Center for Teaching and Learning. The report, "Plugging into Students' Digital DNA: Five Myths Prohibiting Proper Podcasting Pedagogy in the New Classroom Domain," was published in the September issue of the electronic Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. On October 1, Mehl's wife Jennifer gave birth to the couple's first children, twins Alexander Vincent and Carsten Johannes.
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Communication Studies Major Continues Growth Spurt. A larger than expected incoming class has helped swell the Communication Studies major to an historic level. The eighty-two new COMS majors on campus -- sixty-two first time freshmen and twenty community college transfer students -- bring the total number of students in the major to 214. According to university admissions data, Communication Studies was the third most frequently requested Liberal Arts major, continuing the recent high demand for the limited incoming student slots allocated to the department. Since students pursuing an academic minor generally generally do not declare an official minor until late in their academic career, the university does not report the number of academic minors to departments.

Three New Faculty Join Department. Three new full-time faculty joined the department this year, bringing the number of full-time Communication Studies faculty to fifteen.

Richard D. Besel joins the department as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Besel comes to Cal Poly from the Speech Communication department at the University of Illinois-Champaign/Urbana, where he completed his doctorate in Speech Communication. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication and Political Science from North Central College. Besel's academic specialty is rhetorical theory and criticism, with additional interests in environmental communication, political communication, and media studies. In addition to serving as a teaching associate at both of the University of Illinois campuses, he has been an adjunct instructor at Danville Area Community College, Lewis University, Millikin University, Montana State University, North Central College, and Parkland Community College. Besel teach rhetorical criticism, media criticism, persuasion, and various general education classes for the department.

Jennie M. Hwang also joins the department as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Hwang comes to Cal Poly from the University at Buffalo, one of the campuses in the State University of New York system, she completed her doctorate in Communication. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in American and English Literature from Taiwan's National Central University. Hwang's academic specialty is in mediated communication, and her dissertation research focuses on the sociological implications of the internet. She has served as a teaching associate at both Michigan State and SUNY Buffalo. Hwang teach media effects, communication research, persuasion, and public speaking for the department.

Johnathan Hines joins the department as a full-time lecturer and assistant debate coach. Hines comes to Cal Poly from the University of Vermont where he was an instructor and assistant debate coach. He holds both a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Social Sciences and Rhetoric from the University of North Texas. As an undergraduate, Hines was a three-time qualifier for the prestigious National Debate Tournament, where he twice reached the elimination rounds. He has coached debate at the University of Vermont, University of North Texas, and Grapevine (TX) High School, and has worked with the Seattle Urban Debate League. In addition to his duties with the debate team, Hines teach classes in Argument and Advocacy, Forensic Activities, and Public Speaking.