September 2019 College News

10 | September | College News Alumnus Kuro Tawil, founder of Kuros which takes a proactive approach to combating violence against women Ms. Jasmine Austin, new Assistant Professor for Spring 2019 Winning team of CoSearch 2019 with Dean John Fleming (left) 4 5 6 C3 The Center for Communication, Collaboration & Creativit y (C3) COSEARCH 2019 CoSearch Texas State, 2019 was a resounding success! Once again, every college was represented among the participants for this year’s 5th annual CoSearch event. Out of these competitors, four were COFAC faculty from the Communication Studies and Theatre and Dance departments. Each participant had an opportunity to pitch one idea for a research or creative project that addressed a real-world issue. Competitors then voted on their favorite ideas and split up into teams to develop those ideas that culminated in final presentations to a panel of six judges from the university and surrounding community. The issues addressed this year included “How to better diagnose concussions using VR technology” and “Nursing solutions to address the senior health care crisis.” This year “Create and Converse,” a project that seeks to provide proactive stress management intervention to college students to improve race and diversity issues on campus, took home first place. Winning team members were: Dr. Josh Miller, Dr. Kristen Farris. Ms. Natalie Blackman, Ms. Shannon Richey, and Dr. Ivan Ojeda. [6] The CoSearch team would like to extend a huge thank you to the Bella Coppola and the rest of Kaitlin Hopkin’s musical theatre students for their amazing performances during the intermission of the competition. Congratulations to the CoSearch team and all who participated in the event on another great competition and experience ! REP APPL ICATIONS ARE OPEN! Research Enhancement Program (REP) applications are now open! All applications are due by 5PM on Wednesday, October 9th. Eligible faculty members can apply for up to $8,000 if submitting alone or $16,000 if submitting with two or more collaborators. Please contact the C3 Center if you have any questions regarding REP guidelines, budgets, narratives, or submission procedures. Matthew Winn (mwinn@ txstate.edu) and Lisa Westerbeck (lisa@txstate.edu ) are more than happy to review your proposal and give high quality feedback. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 11 HAVE AN IDEA ?! CONTACT Lisa Westerbeck, M.P.A. Award Management 512.245.6719 lisa@txstate.edu MatthewWinn, M.A. Proposal Development 512.245.0040 mwinn@txstate.edu RESOURCE GUIDE: The Resource Guide was created to help faculty find and obtain funding and provide support in managing awards for research and creative projects. 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 finalized 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 The 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.