CSUSB CAL Talks

This is a delightful look into the world of our Music Department Chair extraordinaire, Lesley Leighton. What hasn't she done in music? She explains to you with insight and wit. Plus, she makes soufflés? Yes! Listen and be inspired by "the chef." At the end she offers our Music students advice on what's important to have and maintain a career in the Music world. 

Here are some links with stories and background on some of the wonderful things Lesley has accomplished in the Music Business. Check out the movies she has sung and worked on! Amazing. Thank you, Lesley!

San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra - 
https://iecn.com/lesley-leighton-named-sbso-principal-guest-conductor/

Movies -
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8627650/

LA Opera -
https://www.laopera.org/about-us/artists-2/creative-team/leslie-leighton/

Los Angeles Master Chorale -
https://www.lamasterchorale.org/artists.php?artist_id=863

To acquire Lesley's CDs and Vinyl albums -
https://www.lamasterchorale.org/artists.php?artist_id=863

From growing up in the South to working for NASA and now as an Associate Professor in Art and Design at CSUSB, Rob entertains us with his unusual, interesting and fun path as he details his background in Art and Design. In addition to teaching, Rob is also a Faculty Fellow in the xREAL Lab on campus (xREAL: Extended REALity for Learning). Find out what drew Mr. Ray to Cal State San Bernardino. He also talks about his hobbies and passion for keeping active. Rob wraps up his interview with advice for his students which can apply to anyone! It's very insightful.

New to the CSUSB Department of Art and Design, Associate Professor Taylor Moon discusses her strong ties to the CSU system via Cal State Northridge and how that shaped her future as a Design Artist. Being a Southern California native, her academic path took her from her home area of Northridge to UCSB where she began working in art galleries. You'll be fascinated by what is her art "specialty."  Listen also as she describes how she came to be at CSUSB. We delve in to some of her other favorite things besides art - food! And finally, you'll hear what she'd like to pass along to every student of hers.

Dr. Gregory Gondwe researches contemporary media ecosystems and their implications on society. His scholarly works are based on the interrogation of the effects of persuasive media messages across cultural and geographical boundaries. Essentially, he examines how individuals and groups of different backgrounds assimilate and accept information as either true or false. He asks questions like, “What makes one believe and trust in one kind of information over the other? How do news organizations monetize attention in the digital world? To what extent are people with strong cultural backgrounds affected by the media messages? Most of these issues are measured quantitatively through the use of digital methodologies, big data analyses, network analysis, natural language processes (NLP), and machine learning.) Dr. Gondwe employs media effects theories such as Framing, Agenda-Setting, and the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELMP) to explain the phenomena. 

Loydie Burmah is a lecturer of oral communication [CSUSB] and media studies [SBVC]. She’s also a researcher and journalist. Her most recent publication is a thesis about cancel culture. She enjoys multimedia immersion arts and technology, cultural studies, digital and social media. Loydie graduated with an M.A. in Communication Studies as one of the Outstanding Graduate Students for the College of Arts & Letters. She also earned her B.A. in Mass Communication from CSUSB.

Kaitlyn “Kaity” Creasy is an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy Department at CSUSB. She is the author of the book “The Problem of Affective Nihilism in Nietzsche, Thinking Differently, Feeling Differently.

Nietzsche is perhaps best known for his diagnosis of the problem of nihilism. In this book, Kaitlyn Creasy offers a comprehensive account of affective nihilism that draws on Nietzsche's drive psychology, especially his reflections on affects and their transformative potential.

In July 2021, Kaitlyn was among three philosophers named by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) as winners of its 2021-22 fellowships. Creasy was selected for her project, “Stubborn Social Emotions and Their Harms.”

From New Jersey and Manhattan to San Bernardino, you'll hear her road to CSUSB. It’s a fun  listen with lots of laughs. We hope you’ll enjoy this session with Professor Creasy.

Listen as Shane describes his challenging upbringing and what led him to CSUSB and to major in Communication Studies. What Professor inspired him? You'll hear about that wonderful relationship. Shane is attending Oregon State for his Ph.D. But does he want to return to the Inland Empire after that? It's a very engaging story!

Elder, Morongo Band of Mission Indians

California State University, San Bernardino

Mr. Ernest H. Siva is a respected elder of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, whose influence has enriched the lives of thousands in and outside the Inland Empire. He is central to the transmission of Indian culture through his exceptional work as a musician, extensive involvement in community life and education arts, and his service as a university teacher. Committed to preserving and transmitting the cultures of Southern California Native Americans to future generations, Mr. Siva has served as a distinguished guest artist and scholar in Native American culture at California State University, San Bernardino, where he taught courses in California indigenous cultures and languages.

One of the last remaining speakers of the Serrano language, he has served as tribal historian and cultural adviser for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians since 1996. He is on the board of directors of the California Indian Storytelling Association, board of directors of the Riverside Arts Council, and the CSUSB College of Arts and Letters Community Leaders Board. Mr. Siva holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in choral music from the University of Southern California. He is a past member of the board of governors of the National Association of Church Musicians and served as a choir director for several California cities. He is artistic director of the Pass Chorale, which performs music of the master composers.

Mr. Siva published Voices of the Flute, which includes songs of three Southern California Indian tribes, most of which have never been put into print or musical notation. Sharing his knowledge of Serrano and Cahuilla cultures, he co-founded the Dorothy Ramon Learning Center and Ushkana Press, dedicated to preserving the histories of endangered cultures, languages and arts. Mr. Siva and his wife, June, established the Siva Scholarship in music at CSU San Bernardino. They support the Thornton School of Music scholarship program at the University of Southern California, where they are USC Galen Founders.

In recognition of his many accomplishments and extensive contributions to the community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University, San Bernardino are proud to confer on Ernest H. Siva the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.

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Dr. Ahlam Muhtaseb is a professor of media studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Muslim & Arab Worlds (CSMAW) at California State University, San Bernardino. She is the recipient of the 2020 CSUSB Outstanding Scholarship, Research and Creative Activities Award and was one of the 2019-20 Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Faculty Mentor Awardees. She has an M.A. in Journalism and a Ph.D. in Digital Communication from the University of Memphis, Tennessee. Her research interests include digital communication, social media, social justice and diasporic communities. Her most recent project is her award-wining documentary 1948: Creation & Catastrophe. The film, co-produced and co-directed with Andy Trimlett, focuses on the year 1948 and its catastrophic consequences on the Palestinian nation which has originated from her field work in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. She won the 2019 Rebuilding Alliance “Story Teller” Award. The film also won the Jerusalem International Film Festival’s 2019 Special Jury Award in the Feature Documentary category. Currently, she works on a new documentary on the three young Muslims who were murdered in Chapel Hill in 2015, and the state of racism and Islamophobia in the United States.

One of our very own, a College of Arts and Letters graduate, Rebecca Waring-Crane describes her on-going project "Who is my Neighbor?" It's her creation in the socially engaged art practice based on storytelling. She reaches out to her neighbors to know them better. Rebecca also details her decision to "go back to school" after a long hiatus to pursue her dream of becoming a degreed artist. She's an enjoyable guest who is also inspiring. Rebecca Waring-Crane, a fine example of our Arts and Letters family!