Alice Meyering
- Communication & Media Studies professor Lynn Dickinson's new book, How to Use ChatGPT as a Teaching Assistant: A Guidebook for Higher Education Faculty, is now available for purchase on Amazon. Lynn will also be a featured keynote speaker,
at the upcoming On Course National Workshop for college and university faculty, counselors and administrators, on April 26, 2024.
Her presentation will focus on the effective, appropriate, and ethical uses of AI
in education. Congratulations, Lynn!
- BroadStage and SMC Digital Media Arts proudly released Rhythm & Harmony,a short, captivating documentary film focused on four-time GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning bassist,
recording artist, and composer Stanley Clarke and his artist residency at BroadStage. Produced by SMC Digital Media Arts under
the direction of Roxanne Captor, “Rhythm & Harmony” explores Stanley Clarke’s Artist Residency at BroadStage thus
far and features exclusive scenes from recent residency events, personal anecdotes
from Clarke himself, and insightful interviews with SMC students and faculty, SMC
Superintendent and President Kathryn Jeffrey, and BroadStage Executive and Artistic Director Rob Bailis.
- Chiquita Emel from the Health Sciences Department has achieved a major milestone, earning her Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Leadership and Gerontology. Her dissertation, “Educators’ Perspectives on Aging: Infusing Gerontology into Elementary School Curricula,” demonstrates her passion for addressing ageism through education. She developed
three non-credit gerontology courses and has worked as an adjunct faculty member since
2018. Chiquita’s remarkable achievement reflects her commitment to improving the lives
of older adults. Congratulations on this extraordinary milestone!
- In November 2023, Music instructor Megumi Smith, percussionist, performed “Kakashi - Bridging the Gap”, a Japanese Taiko music solo which she composed. Sponsored by LA Phil the performance was part of the California Festival, a statewide music showcase spotlighting the most compelling and forward-looking
voices in performances of works written in the past five years.
- Mike Carlucci, who teaches Media 16/17 Sports Broadcasting was recently working at the Pan American Games late last year, in Santiago, Chile, announcing and co-producing baseball and softball. Mike is also slated to go to
Paris, France to help produce and announce either basketball, badminton and table tennis at the
Summer Olympics (Mike adds that baseball and softball will return in 2028 at the L.A.
Summer Games). Talk about SMC everywhere! Go, Mike!
- Spanish professor Alejandro Lee is pleased to share that on January 5, 2024, he and his colleagues Prof. Hugo Díaz-Rodil (American River College, Sierra College), Dr. Sarah Harmon (Cañada College), and Dr. Cristina Moon (Chabot College) were awarded a grant from LibreTexts to complete Tarea Libre 2, a second-year Spanish OER Homework Ancillary (expected to be completed by summer
2024). Tarea Libre 2is a companion to Entrada Libre, a second-year Spanish OER grammar manual written by Nancy Ballesteros, Nicolás Crisosto, Cristina Moon, and Alejandro in 2020. Tarea Libre 2 is also an expansion of the Tarea Libre homework ancillary that was published in May 2023.
- Communication & Media Studies instructor Roxanne Messina Captor is the newly elected Chair of the CA Arts Council, appointed by Governor Newsom! Her term runs from Jan. 2023-Jan. 2024. Roxanne is also pleased to note that in
a collaboration with BroadStage, her Media 21 class produced a documentary on Stanley
Clarke's residency at BroadStage (also mentioned in previous brag from BroadStage).
Clarke will be in residence for three years teaching master classes to SMC Applied Music The residency will cumulate in a jazz festival at SMC. The Media 21 class also produced
the first of many documentaries made possible by an SMC Foundation Mitzi Blahd grant, covering outstanding SMC Emeritus students and their lives.
- On behalf of the entire SMC Malibu Campus staff, Angela Bice wrote in to deliver special kudos to Associate Dean Alice Meyering. “Alice Meyering had a busy 2023. She completed her first year as the associate dean of the SMC Malibu campus.
She has led the staff, faculty, students, and community in a year full of events including
classes, the ribbon cutting ceremony, open house, the state of the city, special seminars,
and much more! As we venture into our second year in Malibu, Alice has created a sense
of community with all who enter the facility. Malibu is very fortunate to have her
representing SMC.” A heart-warming tribute, indeed!
- And in resounding confirmation of Angela’s email, Alice Meyering is also being honored by the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce with a 2024 Women's Leadership Award. This is an honor for Alice and Santa Monica College and recognition of the importance
of our new Malibu Campus. Congratulations to Alice for knocking it out of the park on SMC’s behalf!
- SMC Superintendent/President Kathryn E. Jeffery reported that Barry Snell, SMC Trustee and past board chair, was honored by the African American Trustees Caucus of the California Community Colleges Trustees Association (CCCTA) on January 29, 2023. During a special reception at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento, six individuals and organizations were recognized for their dedication to elevating the importance of equity, diversity, inclusion, and social justice issues in higher education. In the photo with Trustee Snell are his wife Kera Blaydes Snell, SMC Board Chair Dr. Margaret Quinones-Perez, Dr. Kathryn Jeffery, CA State Senator Ben Allen and members of the African American Caucus of CCCTA. Proud to be SMC!
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SMC in Focus Volume X, Issue 1
A Contagious Love for Accounting
Greg Brookins has been helping students fall in love with accounting since Little League led him to teaching. A former accountant for Ernst & Young and Fox Entertainment, Greg takes a passion for equity beyond his classroom. Read Article
Illustrative Inspiration
“Tenacious and incredibly talented” Ileana Hernandez shares her creativity widely through drawings and designs — along with her web and social media work at SMC — while refusing to let a lifelong condition disable her dreams. Read Article
Stage, Screen and SMC
Director, producer and author Stephen Soucy helps Santa Monica College students raise the curtain on their careers and entrepreneurism with his online business communication course. With a wide-ranging career, Stephen is “making it everywhere.” Read Article
Going Global in Media Studies
Communication & Media Studies prof. and Stanford EPIC community college faculty fellow Lauren Movius hadn’t planned to teach at a community college. Today, this “quietly powerful educator” wouldn’t want to switch places with her researcher peers, not for a second. Read Article
Bragging Rights
An SMC class creates a documentary featuring Grammy-winning artiste Stanley Clarke and his residency. This class’s prof. is also the newly elected Chair of the CA Arts Council. An associate dean is Malibu Woman of the Year. Read Article
Living her Best (SMC) Life
Christina Marcial’s job title may be ‘administrative assistant’ but ‘champion’ is more apt. This first-gen SMC alum knows first-hand the power of a caring campus and is a force for positive change. Read Article