McClain, reflecting on her experience upon learning of her grant award, expressed excitement and surprise.

鈥淲hen I found out that I had won, I was excited and surprised,鈥� reflected McClain. 鈥淩eceiving this grant will allow me to do the research and observe for myself what the results are instead of relying on others’ research.鈥�

Her enrollment in the summer course 鈥淲omen in a Changing Society鈥� ignited McClain鈥檚 interest in gender representation in print advertisements. Afterward, McClain continued her interest in this research topic in her 鈥淩esearch Methods鈥� course.

McClain鈥檚 research examines the ways in which gender roles and stereotypes are perpetuated in contemporary advertising. In her research she incorporates an intersectional approach using past studies. Despite initially having no interest in the topic, McClain鈥檚 research left her captivated.

鈥淭he more research I conducted, the more interested I became in this topic,鈥� recalled McClain.

While exploring early studies on this topic, McClain began to unravel the impact of gender portrayal in advertisements on her own development during some of her most formative years.

鈥淭he 鈥榓ha鈥� moment for me was understanding how the ads influenced who I was, who I should be, and told me what my role in society was,鈥� explained McClain. 鈥淚 noted that some of the first studies done on this topic were in the 70s and the 80s, while I was a young woman.鈥�

McClain reflected on the historical landscape of the 70s and 80s, emphasizing the limited autonomy that women had. She noted the hurdles that women faced during that era, such as requiring a man鈥檚 signature on decisions like obtaining loans or accessing birth control, as well as experiencing considerable disparities in health insurance compared to men. Amidst these issues, advertisements continued to reinforce societal values of beauty, domesticity, and subservience in women.

鈥淎dvertisements during that time did not address women鈥檚 issues but continued to reinforce the notion that a woman’s place was in the home, caring for children, and fulfilling her man鈥檚 needs,鈥� McClain said. 鈥淭he message to women was that they were to be beautiful, sexy and even an object to meet a man鈥檚 needs.鈥�

Through her research, McClain hopes to observe that in the past five decades there has been a shift toward a more positive, holistic approach to portraying women.

鈥淚 hope that the results reveal that the stereotyped messages are more positive regarding women, less sexual, and less objectified than 50 years ago,鈥� said McClain.

During her time working on this project, McClain has discovered a passion for research, and going forward, McClain would like to continue to research similar topics. She enjoys finding patterns and asking questions that could inspire future research. After receiving her bachelor鈥檚 in sociology, McClain plans to pursue both her master鈥檚 degree and doctorate in sociology.

The post 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Student Awarded SURF Grant for Comparative Study on Gender Portrayal in Advertisements appeared first on News.

The university-level Faculty Excellence winners will be announced at the April 4 ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the EIT Auditorium in the Engineering and Information Technology Building.

More information on the CHASSE winners and excerpts from their nomination letters are below:

Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service

Dr. Edma Delgado-Sol贸rzano is an assistant professor of Spanish who is deeply involved in service in her program, at the university, and in our larger community.

In highlighting her work at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, her nomination letter states 鈥渟he is the heart and soul鈥� of supporting Spanish heritage speakers through recruiting students to the program, supervising Spanish language testing requirements, writing memos to the registrar, and advising and mentoring these students.

鈥淗er years-long work with LULAC, El Z贸calo Immigrant Resource Center, Mamas Unidas in Little Rock, the Hispanic Women鈥檚 Organization of Arkansas in Springdale, and El Centro Hispano in Jonesboro are a testament to a hard-working individual who strongly believes in setting an example for her community,鈥� her nomination letter states. 鈥淎nd these organizations have awarded her efforts with the 2023 Mentor of the Year Prize from Mamas Unidas, as Arkansan of the Day (July 17, 2023) by THV Channel 11 News, and Recognition for Community Service (October 13, 2023) from Univision Arkansas.鈥�

Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. With a decade of experience at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Harris has made significant impacts in the research field.

鈥淗er three primary research areas involve online instruction鈥� online writing program development and administration, and archival research on the writing and publication process of the novella 鈥楢 River Runs Through It鈥� by Norman Maclean,鈥� states her letter of nomination.

鈥淚n the last five years alone, Dr. Harris has published in four edited collections and book chapters, a bibliography, twelve journal articles, and two co-edited books (Routledge 2024),鈥� her letter continues. 鈥淚n addition, she collaborated with faculty and students from across disciplines and across the country. Her work appears in seminal books, like 鈥淔oundational Practices in Online Writing Instruction鈥� and in some of the top journals in the field, including 鈥淭echnical Communication Quarterly,鈥� 鈥淐omputers & Composition,鈥� and 鈥淐ommunication Quarterly.鈥� She has maintained this research pace while simultaneously developing and coordinating the Graduate Certificate for Online Writing Instruction (the only of its kind in the nation and recipient of the CSSC 2017 Curricular Innovation Award) and serving as the graduate coordinator for [the] department.鈥�

Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching

Dr. Neveen Shafeek Amin is the coordinator of the sociology program and an associate professor of sociology who emphasizes mentoring and student-oriented service.

鈥淸Dr. Shafeek Amin] is well versed in scientific teaching and uses evidence-based methods to improve her students’ learning outcomes,鈥� her nomination letter continues. 鈥淪he uses several pedagogical strategies with her students to encourage active learning, which has been shown to improve students鈥� retention. For instance, in her Introduction to Sociology classes, she has her students engage in service-learning activities and write reflective papers about the experience (for this work, she was named a Service-Learning Advocate by the College of Social Science and Communications in 2020.)鈥�

Her work in teaching and learning continues outside the School of Human Inquiry as well. Her nomination letter states, 鈥淭his year she was selected to serve as one of the three co-directors for the Academy of Teaching and Learning (ATLE). [Dr. Shafeek Amin] is extraordinarily well suited to this role. She has regularly attended ATLE programming since she began working at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and has received numerous recognitions from the group, including a curriculum innovation award, numerous teaching fellow awards, and a Lifetime Participation award. Her leadership in this organization demonstrates her commitment to ongoing improvement in teaching, not just for herself, but also for her colleagues. Through this work she is working to improve the classroom experience for all students by providing continuing education for the educators.鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Social Justice Award

Dr. Daryl Tate, associate professor in the School of Education, coordinates the Learning System Technology Education Program. He is also 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 inaugural eLearning Fellow.

According to his nomination letter, 鈥淸Dr. Tate] has been a much sought-after person to address equity for all in the online environment; he has done so via his publications, scholarly presentations, media interviews, grants, and direct action with students to facilitate programming. On his grants, two of them focused on how to provide open educational resources (OER) to his students as a student retention effort鈥� In essence, his programming has a lasting impact that promotes and defends social justice in the form of access to education.鈥�

Regarding Tate鈥檚 entire body of work, his nomination letter goes on to state: 鈥淒r. Tate鈥檚 pivotal work to provide educational access using technology and pedagogy innovatively approaches student success. It also exemplifies his commitment to ensuring 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock remains relevant in producing student scholars who will function with this same focus on inclusionary access for all to learn.鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Rising Faculty Award for Excellence

Professor Kiel Thorlton, assistant professor in the School of Mass Communication, joined the university in 2020. Since that time, he has taught 11 different classes in the area of video production.

His nomination letter states: 鈥淚n addition to his considerable teaching load, Prof. Thorlton also serves as the coordinating producer for ESPN+ in conjunction with 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock athletics. In this capacity, he is responsible for all student crews for roughly 100+ broadcasts in an academic year.鈥�

In addition to his service to the university and in the larger community, he also continues to thrive in scholarship/creative activity. 鈥淪ince 2010, Kiel has been the director, cinematographer, and owner of Falling Leaf Productions, a company that specializes in video production ranging from narrative film to commercial work,鈥� his nomination letter continues. 鈥淧erhaps the most notable of the work his company has produced is the feature film 鈥楢 Place Called Home,鈥欌�� which was released worldwide on Dec. 20, 2022. Thorlton served as the writer, director, and co-producer of the movie.

The post CHASSE Announces 2024 College-Level Faculty Excellence Winners appeared first on News.

Dr. David Briscoe, the inaugural University Professor of Sociology and Distinguished Teaching Fellow in the School of Human Inquiry at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, has been appointed to serve a two-year term on the Warren Wilson College Alumni Board.

A professor of more than three decades at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, Briscoe also has a long history with his alma mater. He was a student athlete at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, and lettered in basketball in 1970. He was most recently selected a 2023 inductee into the Warren Wilson College Athletics Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Arthur Bannerman Society at the college as well as a 2007 recipient of the Warren Wilson College Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni Award.

The Alumni Board is the governing body of the Alumni Association, which includes alumni of Warren Wilson College, Warren Wilson Junior College, Warren Wilson High School, Dorland-Bell School, Asheville Farm School, and the Warren Wilson College Master of Fine Arts Program.

As a board member, Briscoe will work with fellow Warren Wilson College graduates on stewardship, event, and nomination committees to engage, honor, and invite alumni to support the college.

“I am honored to be appointed to the Warren Wilson College Alumni Board,鈥� Briscoe said. 鈥淒uring my tenure of service, I plan to work with the board to develop initiatives that would attract more alumni to take active roles in the college community.”

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