Achievements

Noah Zerbe

Politics

Noah Zerbe was elected co-chair of the Association of Concerned Africa Scholars (ACAS), the progressive caucus of the African Studies Association. ACAS was founded in 1977 as an organization of scholars and students of Africa dedicated to formulating alternative scholarly analysis of U.S. government policy, mobilizing support in the United States on critical current issues related to Africa, and developing communication and action networks among scholars in the United States and Africa. For more information, see "concernedafricascholars.org":http://concernedafricascholars.org.

Alicia Iverson

Geography

HSU Geography senior Alicia Iverson won top honors at the recent North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS) conference in Madison, Wisc. Iverson’s map-rich poster titled “Insecure at Last: a Political Memoir. A novel by Eve Ensler,” won the NACIS Student Poster Competition.

In another nod to the Geography Department’s Kosmos Lab, the Student Dynamic Map award went to a student from the University of Montana—who studies under HSU geography alumnus Kevin McManigal. Iverson won $500 for her efforts and a permanent spot on the NACIS web site, where she joins a growing list of HSU cartographers tutored by HSU faculty Dennis Fitzsimons, Mary Beth Cunha and Margaret Pearce (1998-2001).

This year’s NACIS meeting drew over 350 cartography and GIS specialists from higher education, government and the private sector. The HSU contingent included Fitzsimons and Cunha, along with students Iverson, Kelly Muth and Aaron Taveras.

Marcy Burstiner

Journalism & Mass Communication

Assoc. Professor Marcy Burstiner has been appointed to the 15-member Steering Committee of the Student Press Law Center. Founded in 1974, the SPLC is the nation's only legal assistance agency devoted exclusively to educating high school and college journalists about the rights and responsibilities embodied in the First Amendment and supporting the student news media in their struggle to cover important issues free from censorship.

Elizabeth Lara-O'Rourke

Communication

Communication major Elizabeth Lara-O’Rourke was an invited presenter at the Creative Time Summit held at New York University on September 23, 2011. The Creative Time Summit is a forum to “share projects that expand our understanding of participatory arts practice” and to share interest in “the political implications of socially engaged art.” Ms. Lara-O’Rourke represented the United Indian Health Services, where she works as a Health Promotion and Education Manager while she pursues her degree at HSU.

See her speech at
http://www.creativetime.org/programs/archive/2011/summit/summit_schedul… and click on United Indian Health Services

Dr. Eugene Novotney

Music

Eugene Novotney published two articles in the September issue of Percussive Notes, the professional journal of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS). The first article, “Five Decades of New Music for Percussion: 1961-2011,” was written in tribute to the 50th anniversary of PAS. The second article is an interview with Stuart Smith, who is one of the most significant composers of our generation. Novotney is also the host of Focus Day at the PAS International Convention this November in Indianapolis, and will coordinate seven showcase concerts of new music performed by artists from Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Rosemary Sherriff

Geography

Rosemary Sherriff published two articles with co-authors over the summer months in the journals Ecology and Ecological Applications. These articles focused on the effects of disturbance-climate interactions in forest ecosystems in context of restoration and climate change concerns: spruce beetle and climate interactions in Alaska (Ecology), and fire history and restoration in mixed conifer forests of Colorado (Ecological Applications).

Jody Sekas

Dance, Music & Theatre

During the month of June, Jody Sekas was hired as Assistant Art Director for a New Breed Entertainment/Matriarch Media Group independent feature film, “The Lost Coast Tapes.” It was a great opportunity to work alongside film & TV industry pros such as Production Designer Chris Davis & Prop Master Christian Ramirez (The Deadliest Warrior), Director Corey Grant (Hip Hop Task Force, Dysfunctional Friends) and Stunt Coordinator Eric Chen (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Transporter 2). He was able to bring five HSU theatre and film students with him as interns on the film.

Mary Scoggin

Anthropology

Mary Scoggin, professor of Anthroplogy, co-authored the report Tribal Corridor Management Planning: Model, Case Study, and Guide for Caltrans District 1, recently released by the Mineta Transportation Institute.

The report presents a guide to tribal corridor management planning to address California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 1 personnel and members of the North Coast Tribal Transportation Commission proposals to develop innovative, context-sensitive and interpretive "tribal transportation corridors" along stretches of state highways that cross tribal lands in Northern California.

Daniela Mineva

Music

Daniela Mineva, Assistant Piano Professor, played solo piano recitals in France and Bulgaria, April 2011. She was also part of the prestige judging panel at the International Music Competition "Music and Earth," Sofia, Bulgaria.

This past spring, Dr. Daniela Mineva has also played concerts and conducted piano and chamber music master classes at Drake University, Northern Colorado University and Concordia University. She is also very excited for a future project which involves participating in two new CD's with her violin partner Dr.Bin Huang for Hong Kong Record Company.

Bryan Kelly and John Folstrom

Politics

Politics student Bryan Kelly was named the recipient of the 2011 David Kalb Award and Politics student John Folstrom received honorable mention. The David Kalb Award is given to a student who has demonstrated interest in politics and leadership on campus. David Kalb, who generously funds the awards every year, is an HSU alumnus who was ASB president and a political science major in the 1970s.