PSFA E-CONNECT - May 2009

MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

As Commencement approaches once again, I find myself reflecting on how the disciplines within PSFA prepare our students for life after graduation. As you know, our programs take pride in preparing students for the “real world,” but we’ve found that to be a difficult item to measure, as our graduates leave campus and build their careers in the months and years after receiving their diploma. Thus, it is always gratifying to hear about distinctions and honors that our alumni receive in their chosen fields, and we highlight those we hear about in each issue of E-Connect.

It is especially fulfilling when our students, faculty, and alumni receive recognition alongside one another in a particular field, as it gives us confidence that we are indeed preparing the next generation of community leaders in our classrooms. For example, on April 30, the Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced this year’s Emmy nominees, and not only did SDSU faculty and students earn two nominations, but numerous alumni were nominated as well. Click here for full list of PSFA nominees. Congratulations to all of this year’s nominees, and best of luck in your future endeavors!

Joyce M. Gattas, Dean
College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts

In the News

Patti Roscoe Establishes an Endowed Faculty Position

The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) has received a significant gift from meetings industry icon Patti Roscoe. The gift will endow a professorship in the school’s new Institute for Meetings and Events (IME). IME is the first higher education institute of its kind, and is the first endowed faculty position to bear the name of a woman in the history of SDSU. Roscoe is founder and chairman of the Board of Advisors of SDSU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. As the 1981 founder of PRA Destination Management Company, Patti created a franchise operation that grew to 19 offices throughout the world. In November 2007, she sold PRA to Allied International, which now has 27 offices in 8 countries.

Congratulations to PSFA’s 2009 Monty Award Winners

At the 39th annual Montys gala, held on April 11, 2009 at the Hilton Bayside Hotel, Bill Trumpfheller (Journalism, ’87) received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award, Dean Joyce Gattas received the Distinguished University Service Award, and Larry Thomas (Journalism, ’70) received the Distinguished Alumni Award from PSFA. The Montys honors those who have made significant contributions to SDSU, the San Diego community, California, the nation or the world. PSFA’s awardees embody the College’s goal of linking college, community and career.

Alumni Highlights

SDSU Alumna, Kathleen Kennedy, Sponsors Student Film Festival at Director’s Guild of America

Oscar-nominated film producer Kathleen Kennedy (Television, Film & New Media, ’79) is sponsoring a student film festival this month at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 27 at 7:00 pm. Featured work will include Destin Cretton’s "Short Term 12," which won the U.S. Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and is also a finalist for this year’s Student Academy Awards. Although the event is free to attend, seating is limited. For more information, click here.

Tom Blair, JMS Alumnus, Resumes City Column

San Diego Magazine Editor-in-Chief Tom Blair (Journalism, ’71) has resumed his popular city column. The column is set to appear Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the San Diego Magazine Web site, sandiegomagazine.com, and the San Diego News Network site, sdnn.com. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Tom will do a live radio column at 7:45 a.m. on SDNN’s morning radio show, which can be heard online or by tuning your radio to 1700 AM. Tom believes that a city column is dependent upon the eyes and ears of its citizens, and requests that noteworthy items be sent to him at TBlair.sdnn@gmail.com, BlairColumn@sandiegomagazine.com, or 619-564-3200.

Carolyn Peters, ENS Alumna and SDSU Trainer, Receives Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award

Carolyn Peters (Athletic Training ’89, MA Kinesiology, ’93) was recently honored with the 6th Annual Robert J. Moore Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award recognizing alumni who have made an impact on the profession of athletic training and are actively involved with SDSU students and the community. Carolyn has been an SDSU Assistant Athletic Trainer since 1992, the Future Athletic Trainers Society Advisor since 2000, and the Head Athletic Trainer for numerous SDSU men’s and women’s sports teams, yet still finds time to volunteer in the community and hold the office of Secretary in the Far West Athletic Trainers Association.

Roger Kemp, MPA Alumnus, Gets Published

Roger Kemp, Ph.D (MPA, ’74) recently published Cities and Sports Stadiums: A Planning Handbook. Roger received the 2007 Donald B. Lieffer Outstanding Alumni Award from the School of Public Affairs and is a prolific writer and established expert on local government management. Roger is a Fellow at The Academy of Political Science, Meriden, Connecticut and also has an article in the May 2009 issue of the ICMA's Public Management Magazine entitled "Managing Government in Hard Times: Prudent Options for Balancing Public Budgets." Kemp has served as a municipal Chief Executive Officer in three states during his career and has over 30 years of experience in the public sector. Read more...

Student Spotlight

MFA Wins Graduate Student Fellowship

Kelly Schnorr, MFA graduate student in ceramics, has won a coveted 2009 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) Graduate Student Fellowship. Only three graduate fellowships were awarded at NCECA’s 43rd annual conference last month at the Phoenix Convention Center. This year’s theme was Ceramic Interface: From Dawn to Digital. Kelly's winning proposal was selected from a highly competitive nationwide process, and involves study and research in Ecuador as part of a study abroad trip for MFA ceramics grads, organized by Professor Richard Burkett.

MPA Student Elected President of Graduate Student Association

Robert Lopez (Urban Studies,’07, current MPA student) has been elected SDSU’s Graduate Student President for Associated Students. Currently the Director of Lending for local non-profit ACCION San Diego, Robert has personal experience with maintaining a school-work-life balance and will make an excellent representative for both traditional and non-traditional graduate students. Robert will serve until May 2010.

SDSU Forensics Dominates Final Tournament

The SDSU Forensics team closed the 2008-09 season with a commanding performance at the Pacific Southwest Collegiate Forensics Association (PSCFA) Cool Off tournament, held at Palomar College April 25-26. The tournament hosted 100 debate teams from 25 schools across California. SDSU’s debate teams dominated this tournament, taking first, second, and third in every division as well as top tournament speaker and top rookie speaker. Congratulations to Coach Eric Robertson and his students for a successful year!

Faculty Focus

Roger Simmons, ENS Professor, Wins NIH Grant

Roger Simmons, Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, was awarded a $411,125.00 grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund a two year research program entitled “Regulation of Force in Children with Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol”. Working with the Center for Behavioral Teratology at SDSU, Roger hopes this research will help health offices and physicians construct better rehabilitation programs for children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

American Craft Council Inducts Wendy Maruyama to College of Fellows

The American Craft Council announced the induction of Wendy Maruyama, Head of the Furniture Design/Woodworking program at SDSU, along with six other honorees, into its College of Fellows. The Fellow designation honors those who have demonstrated outstanding artistic achievement, leadership and service in the craft field. Those elected must have demonstrated extraordinary artistic ability and have worked 25 years or more in the discipline or career in which they are being recognized. Each newly elected Fellow will be featured in the October/November 2009 issue of American Craft Magazine. Wendy’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and her innovative furniture is in the permanent collections of the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Mingei International Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, among others.

John Flood, Percussion Lecturer, Wins Educator Award

John Flood was awarded the Outstanding Multicultural Music Educator by the California Music Educators Association Southern Border Section (CMEA-SBS). The award was presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego at the annual "Fortissimo" event on April 28, 2009. Flood was recognized for his work with schools in the Madison High School Cluster, and is an Artist in Residence with the Visual and Performing Arts in the San Diego Unified School District. He has developed a comprehensive World Music Program in K-12 schools in conjunction with the International House of Blues Foundation.