News & Notes
Communication Studies Club Hosts Job Skills Workshop. The Communication Studies Club will sponsor its annual Job Skills Workshop on November 8. The workshop includes three sessions: Preparing Cover Letters and Resumes, The Graduate School Experience, and Essential Public Relations Skills. Tickets, which are available from Club Board Members, are $5 for club members or $10 for non-members. The ticket price includes a choice of two seminar sessions and lunch.
Conway Appointed COMS Alumni Relations Coordinator. Former Communication Studies Chair Dr. Jim Conway has accepted an appointment as the department's first Alumni Relations Coordinator. Conway's primary task will be to serve as a liason between the department and the growing community of Communication Studies alumni. He currently is collaborating with Alumni Advisory Board Chair Anne-Marie Devine, Class of 2000, on an alumni newsletter scheduled for publication in early 2009. Alumni can communicate directly with Dr. Conway by using the "Alumni Message Center" link on the Alumni Page of this website.
New Assistant Professor Joins Department. The Communication Studies Department is proud to announce that Dr. Jnan Blau has joined the faculty as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Blau, who is a native of Chile, 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. His 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. Blau's 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.
Dr. Z Retires. Dr. Raymond F. Zeuschner officially retired from full-time teaching on September 1. "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 to one of the larger departments in the College of Liberal Arts. Zeuschner served as the department chair from 1996-2001, was an adjunct with the College of Education and a member of the London Study Advisory Board for more than 20 years, and was a three-time London Study Resident Director. Zeuschner is the author of five textbooks and a collaborating author for a sixth, and authored the instructor's manual for three textbooks. He also has published essays in several scholarly journals and presented papers at a great number of professional conferences. In the community, Zeuschner was a member of the Morro Bay City Council and served one term as the city's mayor, and he continues to participate in the activities of the county democratic party. 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 as Professor Emiritus, teaching sections of Principles of Speech Communication, Small Group Communication, and Classroom Communication during the Winter and Spring Quarters.
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.
University of California Press Releases New Book by Dr. William Ausmus. The University of California Press has just released a new book by Communication Studies lecturer Dr. William Ausmus. The book, entitled Wines and Wineries of California's Central Coast, is available both through the University of California Press website and Amazon.com. This is what the publisher's description has to say about the book: "In comparative tastings, wines from California's Central Coast rival those from such renowned regions as Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Napa, yet they also offer superb value. This is the first comprehensive guide to one of the world's most dynamic and beautiful wine regions--and the setting for the award-winning movie Sideways. An excellent, one-stop resource for touring and tasting at convenient wineries located from Monterey to Santa Barbara, the guide is organized into county-by-county alphabetical listings for this up-and-coming region." The book, which culminates several years of research into the local wine industry, profiles nearly 300 wineries, including the author's winery ratings and recommendations, and contact information for each winery