SOU Faculty Spotlight #3: Alena Ruggerio
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Release Date: 03/21/2023
SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #11: Danielle Hammer
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
The light shines on Danielle Hammer, an instructor in SOU's First Year Seminar program, in the latest episode of the Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast. Hammer talks about her upbringing – raised by a single mother and unhoused at times – and then finding her footing in community college before transferring to SOU and earning bachelor's degrees in English and Anthropology. She was a McNair Scholar at SOU, which set the stage for graduate studies, then she returned to teach at SOU after earning her Ph.D. in Literature at University of California, San Diego. She teaches writing...
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SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #10: Val Soto
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Val Soto – an instructor in SOU's First Year Seminar program – is in the spotlight for this latest podcast episode. Soto discusses his his stint in the U.S. Army and then his decision to attend Southern Oregon University, and how his years as an undergraduate – eventually earning bachelor's degrees in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies (Health and Physical Education, and Mathematics) – prepared him for his graduate studies in the University of Iowa's Interdiscplinary Neuroscience program and his teaching career. He teaches writing courses in the First Year...
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SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #9: Joshua Goodman
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Joshua Goodman – an assistant professor in SOU's Department of Psychology who is also affiliated with the Human Services and the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies programs – is in the spotlight for this latest podcast episode. Goodman discusses his research, which focuses on parent support for LGBTQ+ youth – and most recently, intervention for parents who are unsure of their children's sexual orientation. His career has emphasized the development and assessment of interventions to facilitate parent and family support. He teaches courses at SOU that are related to counseling...
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SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #8: Clinton Lytle
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Clinton Lytle, SOU's veterans resource coordinator, discusses is military career in the U.S. Navy, his college experience at OIT and the importance to him of that school's Veterans Resource Center. Lytle was trained in the Navy as a "nuke" – a nuclear propulsion plant operator – and machinist mate. His degree at OIT is in Renewable Energy Engineering, and he worked as a student employee in the Veterans Resource Center. Lytle's responsibilities at SOU include helping student veterans and their families with VA benefits, operating the Veterans Resource Center and managing the VA Work Study...
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SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #7: Tanya Blakeley
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Tanya Blakeley, an instructor in Southern Oregon University’s , talks teaching, learning and living. Blakeley has previously taught in two disciplines – Education and Criminology & Criminal Justice – but this year began a full-time position in the Education Department. Before beginning at SOU in 2009, she taught K-12 students, and she incorporates much of what she learned in those classrooms into her curriculum for future teachers. She models an inclusive classroom and believes in building a supportive learning community for SOU students. Blakeley, who also has experience in...
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SOU Faculty Spotlight #6: Erik Sol
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Erik Sol, a senior instructor and chair of Southern Oregon University’s program, talks teaching, learning, travel and (yes) adventure! Sol teaches everything from whitewater rafting and backcountry split-boarding to avalanche, swiftwater and technical rope rescue skills. He enjoys helping students to become outdoor guides, and says sharing the success stories of program alumni is “a dream come true.” Sol, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SOU, has traveled on expeditions to Nepal, India, Bhutan, Tibet, New Zealand and throughout the U.S., meeting and working with...
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SOU Faculty Spotlight #5: Erica Knotts
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Erica Knotts, a senior instructor in the Southern Oregon University , discusses her teaching style – blending fun exercises with rigorous learning – along with some of her favorite courses, her background and much more. Knotts teaches communication courses including Conflict Resolution, Nonverbal Communication, Small Group Communication and Negotiation. She especially enjoys observing face-to-face communication in real-world environments as she shares practical learning experiences in the classroom. Knotts is interviewed in a fifth installment (and third of the second season) of "Faculty...
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SOU Faculty Spotlight #4: Precious Yamaguchi
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Precious Yamaguchi, an associate professor in the Southern Oregon University , discusses her family ties to Los Angeles, her sideline as a small business owner and her first book: "Experiences of Japanese American Women During and After World War II: Living in Internment Camps and Rebuilding Life Afterwards.” She also discusses her background in fashion and textiles – which she has taught in the past – and "writing about the good things that have happened" on social media. "That's kind of the way I create my mindset going forward," she says. Yamaguchi is interviewed in a fourth...
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SOU Faculty Spotlight #3: Alena Ruggerio
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Alena Ruggerio, a professor in the Southern Oregon University , discusses her Midwest roots, her longstanding love of debate and speech, her introduction to the West Coast and her "dream job" teaching SOU students to be speakers at the "opera singer" level. She also explains the Ruggerio Benediction – "Go forth and use wisely every heartbeat" – that she bestows upon her students at the end of each class. Ruggerio is interviewed in a third installment (and first of the second season) of "Faculty Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which the student multi-media reporter in SOU's...
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Faculty Spotlight #2: Andrew Gay
SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast
Andrew Gay – an associate professor of and chair of Communication, Media and Cinema at SOU – recently received the Teaching Excellence Award from the University Film and Video (UFVA) association. Gay was nominated by Jennifer Proctor, a professor at University of Michigan, Dearborn, who also founded Edit Media – a media educator organization with which he is involved. Association holds conferences each year, at which educators in the field of filmmaking and media meet to share ideas on teaching the craft, screen projects and recognize influential figures in the field during an award...
info_outlineAlena Ruggerio, a professor in the Southern Oregon University Communication Department, discusses her Midwest roots, her longstanding love of debate and speech, her introduction to the West Coast and her "dream job" teaching SOU students to be speakers at the "opera singer" level.
She also explains the Ruggerio Benediction – "Go forth and use wisely every heartbeat" – that she bestows upon her students at the end of each class.
Ruggerio is interviewed in a third installment (and first of the second season) of "Faculty Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which the student multi-media reporter in SOU's Communications Office shines a light on SOU faculty members who make an impact on students and the campus community. This year's multi-media reporter is communications major Angelina Caldera.