Carol Davis's new book
- Theatre Arts department chair Perviz Sawoski served as the Hindi language consultant on the “Secret Garden” production at the Music Center, and was featured in an LA Times article about her work. She helped rewrite parts of the Hindi portion, and rehearsed with
the actors on the correct pronunciations. "I suggested placement of certain syllables
in the orchestration to match Hindi speech a bit better. “The director Warren Carlyle was very happy and eager to make these changes, and the changes we made will now
be in the new definitive script of this musical for future generations,” Perviz wrote.
- Photography Professor Craig Mohr has been named to “YourDailyPhotograph.com Hot 100 of 2022”. Craig was selected from 4,800 artists from around the world to take home the prestigious
honor. Craig is an awarding winning still-life and abstract photographer who most
recently completed a Sabbatical Project Portfolio joining the influences of photographer
Imogene Cunningham and Bauhaus artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. YourDailyPhotograph.com is the industry’s leading online journal for international
collectors of fine art photography. Artists named to the influential list are selected
by a panel of experts based on quality of the work produced.
- Department Chair of Communication & Media Studies Dr. Nancy Grass shared with great pride that SMC's Communication and Media Studies Department was this year's recipient of the Western States Communication Association Model Communication Studies Program Award announced at the WSCA Annual Convention. Among the many highlights presented by Nancy and her colleagues at the convention included the following:
SMC has one of the most comprehensive offerings of Communication and Media Studies
course offerings of any community college; an award-winning film program; an award-winning
debate team; an award-winning student newspaper; and a diverse faculty serving a diverse
student population; and a commitment to equity and excellence in teaching.
- Film instructor Robin Daniels is pleased to report that she is the recipient of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges’ Emancipation Through Education award, which is presented to a FACCCmember “who demonstrates leadership in advancing diverse voices, perspectives, and
cultures of both students and faculty in the quest for social justice and equity.”
Robin wrote: “I enjoyed the four years I volunteered on FACCC Board. As a faculty
member, I traveled around the state encouraging other faculty members to join FACCC
and enlightened many legislators about the work faculty members do to improve the
work of faculty members, and to improve education for students all over the state.
I've traveled to Washington D.C., with other FACCC members to ask legislators to support faculty members . . . ” Congrats,
Robin!
- SMC Art Professor Marc Trujillo is in the current issue of American Art Collector. He gave a visiting artist talk at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts and will also be showing work and giving a talk with a writer Jurriaan Benschop in The Hague this spring. Jurriaan's new book on painting is currently in Dutch and will be published
soon in English.
- Trustee Susan Aminoff along with colleague Marlene Wagner have facilitated autobiography workshops for the last ten years. Hundreds of participants
have written life stories in response to the thematic prompts they have created. Susan
and Marlene’s newest book, Thematic Autobiography: A Unique Way to Write Your Life Story, will be published later this spring. This book contains the methods and materials
used in their workshops. They encourage individuals to use the book to begin their
autobiographical journeys, while professionals will be able to use these materials
to start their own workshops. Aminoff and Wagner have also co-edited two volumes of
autobiographical writings, Themes of Our Lives and What’s in A Name.
- English professor Carol V. Davis’ fourth book of poetry, Below Zero, was just published by Stephen F. Austin University Press. The book is centered on poems about Siberia, a region near the Mongolian border, where she taught at Buryat State University. She was due to return to Siberia for a 3rd time as a Fulbright Specialist in 2020. She postponed twice because of COVID-19 rates
and then the war broke out and all Fulbrights in Russia were cancelled.
- Spanish professor Alejandro Lee, along with his colleagues Sarah Harmon (Cañada College), Cristina Moon (Chabot College), Nancy Meléndez-Ballesteros (Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles), presented “Tarea Libre: A First-Year Spanish OER Homework Ancillary” at the third annual Language OER Conference on March 11. The conference is sponsored by the Open Language Resource Center at the University of Kansas and the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning at the University of Texas at Austin.
- Music instructor Megumi Smith is delighted to share that she has joined the DragonFlyPercussion Artist family as an endorsed artist. “I am thrilled and honored by this opportunity to share the wonderful products with
my students,” she wrote. “Already, many SMC students have been using Dragonfly Percussion products, and it is easy to develop percussion techniques with them. I
am pleased to use these mallets with my SMC students.”
- Psychology professor Dorothy Chin served as moderator for a webinar on February 3 entitled "Racial trauma among Asian American and Asian immigrant communities: Historical contexts
and mental health impacts," featuring speakers Russell Jeung of Stop AAPI Hate, Dr. Sherry Wang of Santa Clara University, and Cruz Chan of Richmond Area Mental Health Services in San Francisco. Listen to the recording of the webinar.
- Life Sciences professors Alexandra Tower (co-PI), Sue Lee, and Garen Baghdasarian have been collaborating with colleagues at UCLA, CSU Fresno and Glendale College on a $1 million California Learning Lab Innovation Grant (2020-2023). They have created modular lessons to deconstruct cutting-edge research
seminars in Biology and Chemistry for both majors and non-majors. Ongoing assessment
suggests that this approach improves student learning, scientific thinking and builds
confidence, which translates to greater retention in STEM disciplines. The instructional
content will be made widely available. Pictured in the photo in the slideshow: Some members of the Science Deconstruction
team at the Learning Lab Convening in October 2022 (L-R): co-PI Shelley Thai (GCC),
Casey Shapiro & co-PI Ira Clark (UCLA), co-PI Chris Meyer (CSU Fresno), co-PI Alexandra
Tower (SMC).
- Kevin McKeown, conductor of the SMC Wind Ensemble, presented at the California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC) on February 17th, 2023 in Fresno, CA. He directed the California Band Director Association's (CBDA) concert band reading session, sponsored by JW PEPPER.
- Theatre Arts Associate Adjunct Professor and Lessac Master Teacher of Bodyvoice, Crystal Robbins, travelled on a research grant to the University of Pretoria in South Africa over winter break. She spent three weeks working with international
colleagues and participants and two weeks traveling. Her research centered on applying
embodied voice facilitation while de-centering English as primary, with a focus on
diversity, equity and inclusion, accessibility, and decoloniality in voice standards.
- Nursing faculty member Poy S. Yamada published an article entitled “Asian Americans suffer within-community discrimination related to COVID-19” on Nursing Outlook.
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SMC in Focus Volume IX, Issue 2
A Surreal, Wild Ride
New York Times bestselling author of “The House in the Pines” Ana Reyes told the NYT Book Review her SMC Emeritus students kept her going. A can’t-miss interview with the author—about writing, SMC, and her debut experience.Read Article
Garden Party
Part of SMC’s commitment to sustainability, the Organic Learning Garden teaches students to grow their own food while enabling them to commune with nature. It is back and blooming! Read Article
Spikers Reunion Digs Deep into History
The Corsairs were once at the summit of men’s volleyball—SMC is the only junior college to ever win a men’s volleyball national championship. It took a dedicated coach to dig deep, and connect the present with the storied past. Read Article
Free and Clear
SMC’s pioneering sustainability program, which includes free noncredit certificates, opens up career opportunities in advancing a sustainable environment—and SMC is the only community college to offer these free sustainability certificates. Read Article
Bragging Rights
Theatre Arts’ dept. chair serves as Hindi language consultant for “Secret Garden.” A photography prof. is named to a prestigious list. Communications & Media Studies dept. is named a Model program. Read Article
Sowing Malibu’s Field of Dreams
The Malibu Campus is finally bearing its first fruit. Spring’s bounty consists of 26 course offerings, ranging from marine biology to vocal yoga, serving more than 450 students. An exclusive interview with the campus’s associate dean on what’s ahead. Read Article