September 2019 College News

4 Alumnus Kuro Tawil, founder of Kuros which takes a proactive approach to combating violence against women 5 Ms. Jasmine Austin, new Assistant Professor for Spring 2019 6 Winning team of CoSearch 2019 with Dean John Fleming (left) Kuro Tawil (B.A., 2012) is the founder of Kuros which takes a proactive approach to combating gender-based violence against women. [4] Kuros! Recently fnalized a corporate partnership with Mace Security International to deliver free cans of pepper spray and training to women who face increased risk of sexual assault and violence in developing countries. Over the last six years, the organization has teamed up with trusted distribution partners and Women’s Rights Group’s to make free pepper spray available to women in India, South Africa, El Salvador and the Philippines. Chris Wernecke (M.A., 2016) is currently a doctoral student at Georgia State University. He was recently honored by the Southern States Communication Association with the Robert Bostrom Young Scholar Award, recognizing the most outstanding paper submitted to the convention each year by a graduate student. DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES Te Department of Communication studies is pleased to introduce three new faculty members to the Texas State community. Ms. Jasmine Austin will join the department in the spring of 2020 as an Assistant Professor. [ 5 ] Ms. Austin completed her B.A. at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor and her M.A. at the University of Wyoming. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Oklahoma and will complete her Ph.D. in fall of 2019. Dr. Kristen Farris will begin a position as an Assistant Professor in the department. Dr. Farris completed her PhD in Communication Studies at the University of Texas-Austin in May 2017, MA from Texas State University in 2009, and BA from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2006. She is currently a Senior Lecturer for the department and supervises approximately 30 graduate assistants each semester for the course, Fundamentals of Human Communication. Dr. Manusheela Pokharel will join as an Assistant Professor in the department. Dr. Pokharel completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Purwanchal University in Nepal and an M.A. in Health Promotion & Education from the University of Utah. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Utah. 10 | September | College News