Welcome back to Fall 21! We begin this season with Prof. Kelly Szott. She  is a medical sociologist who uses qualitative methods to study drug use and addiction. Her current project focuses on opioid use and harm reduction responses in rural contexts. Her work comes out of a concern for the ways people who use drugs are treated by institutions entrusted to care for them. We discussed the concept of  Harm Reduction as well as the difference between a sociological and a psychological perspective towards studying substance use.

Growing up in the Midwest,  Kelly had a lot of opportunities to learn during her work with at-risk young women on the street in Detroit where she was introduced to the concept of harm reduction.  While working in NY City as  a methadone counselor and then as a research assistant on a study of hepatitis C, she deepened her knowledge of the Harm reduction approach.

The definition of Harm Reduction? A philosophy of care, or a set of practices reducing the riskiness of the behavior. This doesn't just apply to drugs by the way. It can be applied to  seat belts, condom use in sexual situations and drinking alcohol. Kelly made it clear it is not saying “don't do it” . It  is saying if  you’re going to do it, then how  can it be done in a safer way?

We moved to discussing how drug use is seen and specifically,how are drug users treated by  the institutions that are supposed to  help them? There is the Sociological viewpoint, which involves looking at social patterns of substance use and its disparate impact on different communities. Consider this a  macro approach if you will. Compare this to the psychological  perspective- basically getting inside the heads of users-looking for the why? 

There has been a big change  in public perception and  viewpoints. These attitudes range from a proposal  limiting EMT responses to opioid overdoses- 3 strikes and you are out, to supervised injection facilities in Vancouver.  Being the person to reverse an Overdose with narcan can be scary. It also raises emotional questions. This became clearer when she shares the experience of a student's boyfriend overdosing on Fentanyl. 

We finish up with Kelly’s goals for future directions at SOU.  She hopes to get  a program started for students to be certified CADC II counselors. Oregon has the lowest number of treatment centers ranking  the state 47th Nationally. And for a big dream? Work with others to open a Harm Reduction Center in Medford.perhaps connecting it with student internships and research.

Facebook isn't really grasping the risk that they face.” 

When I wanted to know more about the three most actively evolving aspects of Communication: Social Media, Journalism and Photography and how that is evolving at SOU, I went to  Associate Professor Erik Palmer. Originally  from Texas, he earned multiple degrees,with significant professional experience to build on. He has twice been honored with Tow-Knight Fellowships in Disruptive Journalism Education and convened with cohorts of Disruptive Fellows at the Online News Association’s 2017 and 2018 conferences in Washington, DC, and Austin, Texas.

We began with his trip to Ghana as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar. During that time he was teaching classes as well as  conducting research relating to the practice of professional photojournalism. Almost as a sidebar, he connected with a self proclaimed group of “comic nerds''.   Yes, all of the American franchises transfer culturally. But there is also a strong community developing an interest in African generated stories. The result is a bump in local publishing and creators, with superheroes that speak to today’s African cultural audience. This is  is a big market and a lot of economic opportunity, as well as a creative opportunity for media with an authentic African voice 

We moved back to SOU and began with the changes in journalism. We discussed the political landscape, business models and changing economic picture.  The career landscape is changing from the old model, in which entry-level reporters often started out by writing obituaries, to a new opportunity to go directly to the key areas of your interest. Today, when you hit the right formula, people care about it and it can be very rewarding.  I was very happy to hear that even a smaller school like SOU  can be at the cutting edge of what's happening in Journalism .

We discussed the pervasive feeling that  there's a toxic or at least unrewarding environment in Social Media. Some people are  dropping out, turning off.  Yet Erik was more optimistic than pessimistic.  He says that Facebook is resistant to changes because Facebook isn't really grasping the risk that they face. Like it or not, social media is not going away. Can Social Media  remain relevant and create a viable business model?

Discussing photography brought up the old-school film cameras versus the new digital and electronic units today. Does equipment drive the content or are we better because of technological advances? SOU had a great tradition of photojournalism.  Erik has redesigned and reinvented several classes. The goal is to motivate students to think of Photography as a craft, not just pushing the  shutter, to develop stories, higher-order skills.

In looking ahead he pointed out that the  “The three primary disciplines in the Comm Program play way above  their weight class”. Our facilities here are excellent, with the Digital Media Center (DMC) as a prime example. The goal is to use the sense of small school innovation in higher education. Get students working together and collaborating in ways that will simulate what they will experience in the real world.

We finished up discussing the challenges in the areas of enrollment  and funding. We are fortunate to  have an exciting group of  younger faculty who have the capacity to embrace the upcoming changes. That means  SOU is nimble enough  to come up with new courses and new programs 

Please feel free to visit his website to see examples of his work.

 “This  idea of trauma-informed  teaching has become very salient at this point, very obvious”  

Preferring to be called Valli, my guest told me of her immigrating from India, and how that background shaped her visions of wellness, mental health. We then began a discussion of some of her efforts to assist the students and faculty who are with issues of isolation during Covid, how the impact of that is modifying her teaching.  We then address ideas for those problems with the concept of Mindfulness. 

Dealing with delivering training while allowing the student to be themselves is key.. Need to remember students have multiple roles beyond the classroom. These issues have destroyed a sense of community and require us to re-invent. Some are actively dealing with the loss of family members to the fires, covid and racial tensions. A lot of self-examination is required from the students. The cohort model is proving the most effective way to support students.   Efforts now on Community building and self-care. From a brief 5 minute check-in combined with seeing students so campus helped maintain connections. Not so in the breakout room. Working to respect the stresses of students. How to allow students to be themselves.

We took a deep dive into the topic of Mindfulness, what it is and what it is not. Valli is working with Dr. Paul Condon in one of our on-campus Innovation Communities, (IC) and their work will soon be available. There are methods from a short break to an 8 Week free course. We need to recognize the mind is up to various antics at any moment. A simple 2 minutes break can help you take back that focus. Our mind is constantly busy and likes to remind us: “you could check an email during that 2-minute break.”.

We discussed Vallis's role as both a Feminist Researcher and how this impacts the use of the information gathered and presented.  She is also doing Intersectional Research. There are different viewpoints applied beyond gender. We take the topic of the research, but consider it from multiple angles. For example, if the subject was a woman, we would also be considered by her age, her race, her ability, and so on. We concluded by discussing how some groups face both hypervisibility based on their stereotypes of sexuality and yet are instantly invisible when it comes to respect and dignity.

Link to the Free 8 Week program discussed: Online MBSR/Mindfulness

“We’re in a world where environmental problems are everywhere and they are not going away. We need so many people to do that work.”

Growing up in Minnesota led to camping and trips in the wilderness, leading to a love of the outdoors. In addition to heading off to college, Karen took a 6 week canoe trip to the Canadian Arctic without resupply. She had so much fun she then began taking other groups of women on similar trips to explore the wilderness too, spending  hundreds of days leading remote excursions and observing a diversity of ecosystems with curiosity. It seems a forgone conclusion she would end up as a Wildlife Ecologist and that is what she did. After graduating with her PHD she took time to travel the world for a year with her husband.

She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to University of Lapland, above the Arctic Circle after completing her undergraduate degree. That is in Finland by the way. She then continued to get her PhD at the University of Alaska. Join us for a visit with a new Faculty  who brings an impressive portfolio of travel, experience and passion for her chosen field.

We also talked about her approach to including diversity in the classroom and how to include traditionally underrepresented participants in her class. A key strategy is ensuring the students feel like they belong there. There are a lot of stereotypes about science, but she works to show the value of this course of study. This piggybacked into online teaching and future plans including  collecting outdoor lab data using motion-activated  camera “traps” with her students. This was done in collaboration with Ashland’s North Mountain Park staff. 

As a bonus, I learned that Caribou and Reindeer are really the same thing, and do, in fact, pull sleds. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet an exciting new faculty member.
For the full Zoom Video, follow the link.

To see this as a Video  interview, click the link.

Originally posted October 22, 2020—18:24 run time)

When Larry sat down with us, our intention was to find out about some of the techniques that were used in SOAN to combat the feelings of isolation and separation that many of us have been experiencing during the pandemic. One approach was to bring the family to a virtual staff meeting, with snacks. That event developed into a drop-in gathering on the department Chair’s patio where social distancing and masks couldn't dampen the positive impact of the meeting.

Our conversation touches on the impact of teaching international students and the significant time challenges that can bring, then moves on to the effect that current events can have on teaching. Larry talks about how surreal it was to be teaching your students about pandemics in an epidemiology course and racial unrest in a sociology course as related events were taking place in real time. The power of the course content being from real life—not a journal or text—made for a term unlike any other.

(Originally posted May 18, 2020—27:27 listening time

When I discovered Dr.Golding was born and raised in France, it only seemed fitting to start our interview with a peppy French song. We talked it over and she recommended a song one of her students liked, Les Passants by a group called Zaz. With Marianne, it’s all about the students.

Her journey began when, on the advice of her mother, Marianne used her dual citizenship at age 19 to come to the US. She had already completed a year at the Sorbonne when she moved to the States and then finished her studies here, earning a PhD at UCLA. In 1998, she was offered a temporary teaching position at SOU. Accepting the position was a good call as, so far, it’s been 22 years and counting.

Not too big on stereotyping, she informed me that she IS French but doesn't cook. Her British husband is a great cook and deftly takes care of those duties. She has three children, runs daily, and what she does for fun is research. 

Although her family was impacted by the Holocaust, she found herself turning her back on it for a number of years. As time passed, she began to want to learn more about her father's story which turns out to read like a movie script complete with a daring escape being smuggled out of danger in the trunk of a car. Marianne came across some interesting background information which combined with letters and old documents to pique her interest. This began a research project tracing family roots and travels. Through her research, she located and met some of the other survivors of her father’s adventures, learning firsthand how their tales were woven together. To wrap it up and validate the work, she presented here at SOU in January 2020. 

Marianne speaks to the value of learning a language for anyone regardless of their major, and her unique style of gradual immersion when she teaches. While discussing the development of the program and her career I found that she had been awarded not one, but two teaching awards on the strength of recommendations from both peers and her students. One observer summed it up simply,” Your class always sounds so happy!”.

Without a French major at SOU, Marianne discusses alternative ways for students to cultivate an interest in languages, including study abroad programs. She takes groups to the south of France each summer as part of the Summer Language Institute. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it! Merci beaucoup, Marianne!

The song is Les Passants by Zaz.

© 2010 Play On/Warner Music France, a Warner Music Group Company. All rights are credited to the owner. Shared for educational use.

Faculty Insights are produced and edited by Bill Bateman and recorded on the SOU campus. Thanks to the SOU Digital Media Center for their support. 

Faculty Insights © 2020 Southern Oregon University. All rights reserved. All programs may be shared for educational or non-commercial use. They may not be rebroadcast, edited or sold without the express written permission of Southern Oregon University.

Also available as a full Zoom  video .
Originally posted November 19, 2020—29:21 run time)

Shawn always wanted to be a teacher, even as far back as the 6th grade. His goal was to teach high school Geometry to 10th graders. Fate intervened when he fell asleep in one of his undergrad math classes and woke up to find Prof Wendy Schiller teaching her American Presidency class. He didn’t have to listen long before deciding, “This is better” and changing majors.

The current Covid pandemic has kept him back East, but it won’t keep him out of the classroom. We talked about the pros and cons of teaching via Zoom. Like most, he prefers to work face to face. He admits that there are some advantages to the 1 to 1 interaction you can get in a class, especially when at student work on the screen or holding office hours. He has also found “flipping a class” to be very valuable in his discipline to allow for review of material prior to class.

His approach to teaching through the contentious political climate of today is simply great. He explains that while an ardent Eagles fan, he can appreciate the decisions and plays of the other teams, even the Cowboys. That appreciation is the missing piece. He feels the current situation is the result of a long road traveled, 40 years worth. We go on to discuss the “what happens now” phase. He explores how changes need to happen at all levels of politics—local, county, state—as well as at the national level. He prides himself on his students not knowing his personal preferences and keeping it that way helps guide his discussions.

Hopefully, he and his family will be able to join us soon. I look forward to sitting in on one of his classes. I’ll make sure I wear my green Eagles jersey when I do.

For more information: The Righteous Mind by Johnathan Haidt
 

The Music "Tough as Nails" by Pryor Meadows is licensed by PremiumBeatMusic.com Standard License #3155660.

Originally posted March 10, 2020—29:09 listening time)

Occasionally I have those “what just happened?” moments. Like when my 93-year-old mother called me “Dude.” This interview was one of those moments. After gaining a sense of her educational background and training, Alison reveals her rather interesting mentor and details for an upcoming exciting adventure. I teased her about there being luggage in the waiting room and an Uber idling outside as we did our interview. It wasn’t quite that imminent, but when this interview airs she will be in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to present workshops on Women in Crime, having been awarded a Fulbright for the four-month trip. 

Alison is an avid trail runner and will be running in the Transylvania 100K, an event that begins at Dracula’s Castle while she is there. She reports that participants have been warned about bears and wolves along the route. Oh yes, and since she is there? She is invited to present at the 29th UN Women's Conference in Vienna.

Her SOU students have benefited from a number of trips across the Atlantic as part of a summer “Study Away” program including visits to London, Paris, and then The Hague and Amsterdam. It was great for her to see CCJ students as ambassadors. 

When it comes to the CCJ classroom, Criminal Theory and Juvenile Offenders are her specialties. She also focuses on the role of women in crime and identifying and taking on educational bias. She discusses some of the new pedagogical techniques she is using to keep her classes fresh and describes the mock trial she recently held in class (with a special guest judge) and some future goals for the CCJ program that are percolating away. 

She wraps up with tips for prospective students and her work locally with RESOLVE, a mediation organization that is helping students in trouble within the Medford schools. She has promised to come back and do a follow-up after her trip. I’m hoping for a wooden stake from Dracula's Castle, but I won’t push it.

Details on the Transylvania 100K race Outtake:
The initial telling of the SOU in London story (4:02)

Faculty Insights are produced and edited by Bill Bateman and recorded on the SOU campus. Thanks to the SOU Digital Media Center for their support. 

Faculty Insights © 2020 Southern Oregon University. All rights reserved. All programs may be shared for educational or non-commercial use. They may not be rebroadcast, edited, or sold without the express written permission of Southern Oregon University.

Originally posted February 9, 2020—23:53 listening time)

It is so refreshing to sit down with someone who is highly accomplished to discover they are just folks. Craig Wright fits that description and is an excellent choice for the Faculty Insights series. He has taught in the area of creativity for 26 years — short stories, poetry, songwriting and fiction. He is a published author and so much more; his music has appeared on television shows such as Sons of Anarchy and Lucifer. It pays to watch the credits on TV shows. 

With all those accomplishments, what is he the most excited to talk about? What his sons are up to and the success of a former SOU student, Abbigail Rosewood, who has recently published her first book to great critical success. Discussing performing, he casually mentions his own musical performances in the Bay Area and at the Oregon Country Fair. 

Craig discusses how writing and literature have changed over the past quarter-century, examining past trends, and looking forward. He doesn't fault the current obsession with superheroes and memes but sees them more as a metaphor for what society is currently going through. He looks for “interestingness” in the work of his students as a sign of a true voice. 

Craig wraps up our interview with a comment on his mentor, James Dickey, and some tips for students that were given to him by the CEO of Target. When it comes to writing? As the Nike slogan says, “Just Do It.” Join us for an amazing half hour.

And don't miss Craig in action at the St. Valentine's Day Massacre Poetry event on February 17 in AB 124 at 3:45!

Bonus links:

Ashland Talent Pool: Three-Legged Dog, Craig Wright, lead vocal (Used with permission)

Abigail Rosewood, “If I Had Two Lives”

Faculty Insights are produced and edited by Bill Bateman and recorded on the SOU campus. Thanks to the SOU Digital Media Center for their support. 

Faculty Insights © 2020 Southern Oregon University. All rights reserved. All programs may be shared for educational or non-commercial use. They may not be rebroadcast, edited or sold without the express written permission of Southern Oregon University

Originally
Tiffany Morey, MS
Originally posted January 8, 2020—27:45 listening time.

Tiffany Morey of SOU’s CCJ program is an excellent choice to kick off the Faculty Insights podcast series. Prior to joining SOU, Ms. Morey had what she calls her “first career.” She worked in Las Vegas as a police officer, becoming part of the 1% of the force that was female. She has been pushing barriers ever since. 

Not only was she one of the first patrol officers, but she was also the first officer to become pregnant. This moved her out of patrol and into Community Relations where she presented the human side of police and law enforcement through a variety of programs, including dealing with a gang-infested neighborhood with a high murder rate. Some of her other firsts were learning to ride horses for the mounted patrol division and power slide a mountain bike. A highlight for her was pulling over a semi-truck from her mountain bike—no telling who was more surprised that it worked!

Tiffany eventually became a part of the now-famous CSI Las Vegas team, which is a lot different than what you see on television. She could have stayed there her whole career, but she wanted to climb the ladder and take a shot at breaking through the glass ceiling. 

Her second career brought her to Ashland and SOU where she gets to do “a lot of the fun stuff” in the program. She points out that SOU has one of the top programs in the country and has warm words for her co-workers. She offers some good advice for prospective students interested in law enforcement about the impact of social media and drug use on future jobs, regardless of their major. The interview concludes with a positive report of local law enforcement and the expanded numbers of women in the profession. I hope you’ll join us and spend an enjoyable half-hour. And if you see a mountain bike behind you flashing red and blue? Pullover.

Outtake: CSI Insights (4:53)

Faculty Insights are produced and edited by Bill Bateman and recorded on the SOU campus. Thanks to the SOU Digital Media Center for their support. 

Faculty Insights © 2020 Southern Oregon University. All rights reserved. All programs may be shared for educational or non-commercial use. They may not be rebroadcast, edited, or sold without the express written permission of Southern Oregon University.