Six Professors Awarded Research Fellowships

Six SMC professors have been awarded $1,500 stipends for a wide range of fellowship research projects for 2002-03, the first time in many years that fellowships have been granted.

The SMC Academic Senate Sabbatical and Fellowships Committee approved five research projects, one of which will be conducted jointly by two professors. The stipends were approved as part of the salary and benefits contract between the college and the faculty.

Receiving the awards are:

Journalism professor Barbara Baird, who will research organizations including the Poynter Institute and the Student Media Law Center to gather information and case studies that would be the basis for lessons on media law, ethical reporting practices, and cultivation of diverse sources representing community viewpoints. The research would provide new materials and lessons for students working on the Corsair, as well as in broadcasting, new media, and mass communication classes.

Nursing professor Ida Danzey, who will analyze four to five years of collected data on the effectiveness of the seven standardized national exams that are administered to nursing students to measure critical thinking, knowledge of therapeutic nursing interventions, and communication abilities.

Biology professors Oriana Kim-Rajab and Kent Hodson, who will collaboratively perform a genetic engineering experiment in the sixth and seventh week of the fall semester to use DNA to "transform" bacteria. The fellowship stipend will help purchase the necessary scientific materials.

Adjunct broadcasting professor Bradley Lemonds, who will develop a new Final Cut Pro digital editing class designed for students working on documentaries, short digital films or news reports. The stipend will also help provide funding for training classes in this technology.

Library research professor Patty Sophos, who will work on substantial revisions to the fourth edition of the Library Research Methods Workbook that is currently assigned to more than eight library classes. The revisions will also be incorporated in a new online library research course.

ESL professors Judith Marasco and Andrea Kahn and history professor Michael Soldatenko were named as alternate fellowship recipients and will receive stipends if, for some reason, any of the fellowship awardees drop out.

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