The full-time business communication faculty gathered at Christmas for a photo opportunity. They are (l-r) Dr. Heather Harris, Chip Rouse, Dr. Leeanne Bell, Stephanie Verni, and Dr. Deric Greene.

With many projects underway in 2010, the faculty are eager to share with you their most recent updates. Read on!

STEPHANIE VERNI

My family and I got to spend quality time with family and friends and our Christmas will always be memorable for one particular reason: we became first-time pet owners. My seven-year-old daughter, Ellie, has it in her head that she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Unfortunately, I am allergic to dogs and cats, and any sort of rodent was out of the question. So now we have two beautiful parakeets, Holly and Poe, who entertain us. Ellie exclaimed, “It was the best Christmas ever because we got Holly and Poe.” We’ve quickly learned that the pair chirp like crazy when the faucet runs and they like music with a beat (don’t try playing any orchestral stuff; they prefer John Mayer and Daughtrey). Somehow Matthew and my husband have become bird “appreciators,” but it’s Ellie who cares for the birds every day. (Okay, I help a little). Miraculously, two weeks in, she continues to believe wholeheartedly that she doesn’t mind cleaning up their “little birdie poops.”

I’m one-third of the way through my online program at National University out of La Jolla, California, where I am pursing a Master’s of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. This program has been wonderful, and I couldn’t be happier with what I have learned and written. My concentration is in fiction, though I recently discovered I can have a double-concentration in fiction and creative non-fiction, and I’ve decided to pursue that. I will have to take a couple of extra courses, but it will be worth it, especially since creative non-fiction is essentially creative journalism. Most of the writers I have read in the course are all Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists. For my class, I just finished reading the 1986 debut novel by Sue Miller called “The Good Mother,” which I could not put down. It was riveting, disturbing, and maddening. I’ve read a ton of solid short fiction and recently discovered that The New Yorker has a whole catalogue of short fiction available on its site. It’s worth a visit.

I’m looking forward to seeing students again on the 19th of January. Here’s to a successful and educational 2010!

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D.M. GREENE

It is my goal to empower my students to think critically, encourage them to step outside of their comfort zones, ask them to delve deeply into themselves as they uncover and explore the impact of culture in the shaping of their lives, challenge them to question their perceptions, call for them to open themselves to the possibilities of realities other than their own, create opportunities for them to extend their hands to someone they deem uncommon, urge them to come to understand their place in the world, and to provide and give space for them to hopefully embrace their authentic selves.  It is my belief that the discipline of communication is vital in helping them to achieve these goals.  It is the bridge by which we move into and outside of ourselves.  It is the means by which we right injustice and give voice to the disenfranchised, disinherited, and muted groups in the world.

My time at Stevenson has been a delight as I have had the opportunity to sew into the lives of our future leaders, movers and shakers.  It certainly has come as no surprise to me that as it is my privilege to shape or set free the minds of my students, I, too, grow and am made free in unimaginable ways.  I am now and forever appreciative for the opportunity and the experience.

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ROBERT (BOB) ELLIS

As a business communicator, my life beyond SU each day involves helping environmental scientists and engineers at EA Engineering, Science & Technology, Inc., a consulting firm in Sparks, MD. My projects often involve writing, editing, graphic design, publications, and presentations that range from marketing support and shareholder communications to website work and employee training. Over the last two months, I have especially enjoyed producing EA’s first animated holiday e-card. I’m also a freelance voiceover performer, specializing in narration and vocal characterizations, and an avid film fan, from silent classics right up to Avatar. In addition, I enjoy theatre and readers’ theatre, and have acted and directed 50+ productions, including my own monodrama on H.L. Mencken, produced at Towson U. Through the years, my favorite stage roles have included Snoopy, Falstaff, John Adams, and (most recently) Ebenezer Scrooge.

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DARREN GOINS, PH.D.

Dr. Darren C. Goins is Vice Chair and Planner for the National Communication Association’s Theatre Division.

Goins will be performing his one-person show, Constructed, at Carroll Community College in Westminster this February 19 in the Scott Theatre.  This performance of this show about masculinities as performed in the current millenia is free and open to the public.

He will also be presenting a competitively reviewed paper at Texas A&M’s conference on The Obama Phenomenon in March of 2010.  Goins’ paper, entitled “Joker Obama: An Icon of Outrage,” examines the visual rhetoric behind the popular culture protest icon of 2009 featuring a PhotoShopped Image of President Obama.

In April, Goins will be presenting his newest one-person show, “Double Tap,” about how we are plugged in and (dis-)connected by our palm devices at the University of Baltimore.  This evening is at the UB Student Center Performing Arts Theatre on April 20, 2010, and is free and open to the public.

At the Southern States Communication Association Annual Meeting in Memphis, Goins will be presenting “Joker Obama” and a paper based on his blog “The Marlboro Man is Dead.”

He will also be presenting Poetic, a performance art piece developed in conjunction with Baltimore based performance art cooperative Vox Theatre, at Eastern States Communication Association in Baltimore in April.

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DAVID BRANNON

Most exciting thing that’s happened in the last month:  Being considered for a department chair position by Tesst Vocational School.

Working with a client to achieve deep market penetration for graduation gowns for elementary and middle school graduations.  Meeting with ready acceptance by the schools.  Working with two additional clients to stabilize their businesses in these tough economic times.

Wrote the first part of a short story investigating whether robots might eventually have not only sentience, but also deeper emotions such as generosity, self-sacrifice, thoughtfulness, or caring for others.  The story suggests these feelings are possible and a means by which a robot could express them.  Completely drawn from personal experience, of course!

Wrestling with the paradoxes of the MediCare system.  A great business consultant, Peter Drucker, got it right when he said, “Most government agencies deliver the exact opposite of their stated objective.”  Thus, we have MediCare and are about to have ObamaCare!

Got an invitation from the National Institutes of Health to participate in a clinical study.  It was for men over 65 with low testosterone!  OK, I want to know who gave them my name, who’s been talking out of school?  About an hour later my other brain hemisphere woke up and realized that the last thing I need right now is an overdose of testosterone!  So, never mind – all is forgiven.

Our department has asked me to look into something called The Moth.  National Public Radio sponsors open mike story telling, similar to poetry slams but using short stories.  The only catch is the stories must be basically true.  We may be able to bring this to Baltimore and specifically to Stevenson University.  I was part of a group in Florida that put together philosophy discussion groups modeled after the Café Philo in France.  Today, ten years later, eight groups are operating with membership of well over 100!