Faculty Notes, Nov. 9, 2012

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Anaida Colón-Muñiz, Ed.D, associate professor, College of Educational Studies, has been selected for the 2012 Carter Goodwin Woodson Service Award through the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME). On Friday, Nov. 30, at the association’s President’s Banquet in Philadelphia, Colón-Muñiz will be recognized for her lifelong contributions to the field of multicultural education. The award is named in honor of Dr. Woodson, who helped establish the origins of the multicultural movement by building an institution devoted to correcting the misinterpretations in American history being taught to school children when he established The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now African American Life and History (ASALH)) in 1915.

Fran Dickson, Ph.D.,  professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies, Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences, recently published a book with co-author Lynne M. Webb titled Communication for Families in Crisis (Peter Lang).   In this volume, the first book-length work to address effective family communication during times of crisis, leading researchers provide in-depth discussions of communication theory vis-à-vis specific scientific analysis of families in crisis.

Donald Guy, assistant professor, Department of Theatre, College of Performing Arts, was recently commissioned to serve as lighting designer and stage manager for the Festival Ballet Theatre’s production of The Secret Garden & Mixed Repertory at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. The evening of dance featured: “The Secret Garden” by Josie Walsh (Joffrey Ballet and Zurich Ballet), the world premiere of “SAX-TET” by Jeroen Verbruggen (Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo), “Lemuria” and “Distorted” by Lillian Barbeito, and “Frescoes” by Marius Petipa.

Alicia Guy, associate professor, Department of Dance, College of Performing Arts, was selected to judge the Los Angeles Clippers Spirit professional NBA dance team auditions. The highly selective panel of judges included Diane Bonds, choreographer for the LA Laker Girls; John Peters, choreographer for numerous NBA and NFL professional dance teams; LA radio host Brian Sieman; and the LA Clippers Dance Team Director, LA Clippers Director of Entertainment and LA Clippers administration. The intense three-day audition process began with more than 300 dancers from across the country and abroad vying for one of the top 16 spots on the team.

Niklas Myhr, Ph.D., assistant professor, George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, spoke on the topic of “The Power of Social Media” at the October dinner meeting of the Orange County School Boards Association and the Association of California School Administrators. His talk focused on how social media is changing the ways in which individuals, companies, and organizations conduct business and the implications that has for school curricula.

Doug Sweet, director of Undergraduate Writing, Department of English, Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences,  presented a paper at the bi-annual Watson Conference in Louisville, Ky. Oct. 18. The conference gathers scholars every two years for a small, select, focused series of workshops on specific threads of rhetoric/composition research. This year’s focus was “Economies of Writing” and Sweet’s paper was titled “Released from the Ghosts of Platonic Idealism.”