Howie Giles has been appointed Honorary Professor of the Department of English & Communication, at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong. This is a world class institution and highly ranked globally. He will be working with that Department on creating new areas of research and learning in the social psychology of language, sociolinguistics, and communication and related fields in Asia.
We are pleased to announce the 2025 joint Rupe Biennial, and The Office of Teaching and Learning (OTL), Research on Use of Generative AI by University Students and Its Effects Conference (https://www.comm.ucsb.edu/news-events/annual/rupe#2025). Click here to register and obtain the Zoom link to the Conference and the larger AI Symposium: https://otl.ucsb.edu/ai-cop-spring-symposium-2025 .
This year’s Rupe/OTL conference is part of The University of California, Santa Barbara’s AI Community of Practice’s (COP) 2025 2nd Annual AI COP Spring Symposium: AI in Action: Insights from the UCSB Community, co-sponsored by the Office of Teaching and Learning (https://otl.ucsb.edu); the Office of the CIO; the Rupe Chair; and the College of Letters and Science; see https://otl.ucsb.edu/cop/artificial-intelligence-community-practice. The main themes of the Symposium include AI in Teaching and Learning; AI for Research; AI for Workplace Productivity; AI Applications Development; and this joint Rupe/OTL Conference. The COP AI Symposium will occur via Zoom Monday April 28 – Friday May 2, 2025, each day from 9am-5pm, via Zoom, with an on-location reception and awards presentation on the afternoon of May 2. Sessions include keynotes, panels, roundtable discussions, workshops, and digital posters (with awards to the top 5). This event will be an opportunity for all campus members to explore how AI can serve our University’s mission, our students, faculty, researchers and employees, while attending to privacy, security, diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility.
The Rupe/OTL Research on Use of Generative AI by University Students and Its Effects Conference will be 1:30-2:30 Monday April 28 – Thursday May 1, with a
Keynote presentation Tuesday April 29 9-10 am and Wednesday April 30 9-10 am, all via Zoom. The Rupe /OTL sessions will present social science research on university students’ use of Generative AI and its effects. Each session will have a brief introduction, presentations, and a short discussion and Q&A segment.
“Drawing in part from their own research, Merolla and collaborator Jeffrey A. Hall, at the University of Kansas, elucidate a new way to think about our relational life in “The Social Biome: How Everyday Communication Connects and Shapes Us” (Yale University Press, 2025). The book, which was featured this week in a New York Times interactive article, is a social science-backed exploration into the complexities of, and opportunities within, day-to-day communication.” Click here for the full story!
On behalf of the UCSB Communication Alumni Council, we invite you to the 18th Annual UCSB Communication Career Day: "From Classroom to Career: Real-World Applications of a Communication Degree." For details, registration, and directions, go to https://www.comm.ucsb.edu/news-events/annual/career-day; for the Online Program, to to https://bit.ly/
UCSB Comm Alumna Steph Harris discusses "Communication in sustainability careers," followed by Q&A. Steph currently works on the Microsoft Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) team, where her primary focus is identifying large-scale carbon removal opportunities through the restoration of degraded landscapes around the world. Before joining Microsoft in 2023, Steph spent over 8 years at 3Degrees as a Director on the Carbon Markets team, where she was responsible for managing the company’s voluntary carbon credit portfolio. Steph completed a dual Bachelor's Degree in Communication and Environmental Science in 2013, and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science and Management at the Bren School in 2015, both at UCSB. During her time at UCSB, Steph was on the Cheerleading team, worked in Marketing for the UCSB Athletic Department, was a Peer Advisor for the Communication Department, and was a Tour Guide through the Gaucho Tour Association. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steph-harris-01b40251/
Click here to register (free) and get your Zoom link for Steph Harris.
Click here for more details about the UCSB Comm Alumni Council Virtual Career Series.
Robert Mejia is a Lecturer of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara and award-winning interdisciplinary scholar. Mejia is a second-generation Mexican American from Southern California, received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Communications Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was previously a tenured professor at North Dakota State University. He is a respected scholar of race and communication and has published 3 edited books, 15 journal articles, 14 book chapters, and has delivered more than 90 invited lectures and conference presentations. Mejia is the past chair of the National Communication Association’s Critical and Cultural Studies Division (CCSD), and in 2018 received the CCSD division’s New Investigator Award for his early career research, teaching, and service contributions to humanistic scholarship. He is also the 2019 co-recipient of the CCSD’s outstanding article award for his co-authored article, “White Lies: A Racial History of the Post-Truth” in the journal of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. An interdisciplinary scholar, Mejia’s work has appeared in Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Quarterly Journal of Speech, Rhetoric of Health & Medicine, Rhetoric, Politics & Culture, Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society, Women’s Studies in Communication, and other academic and popular venues.
Ph.D. (2012), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Communications
M.A. (2007), California State University, Long Beach, Communication Studies
B.A. (2005), California State University, Long Beach, Communication Studies
Dr. Young Ji Kim has been awarded the prestigious UCSB Regents’ Junior Faculty Fellowship. The Fellowship will provide Young Ji with a course release in the 2025-26 academic year to support her project entitled, ”Collaborative Neuro-Inclusivity in Action: Exploring Teamwork and Technological Scaffolding in Neurodiverse Groups.”
Muniba Saleem and Ismaharif Ismail received a top three paper award from the Intergroup Communication Division of the International Communication Association. Saleem, M. & Ismail, I. (June, 2025). Testing the Reciprocal Influence of Media and Identity: A Longitudinal Study of Muslim Adolescents. Paper presented at the 75th Annual International Communication Association Conference. Denver, Colorado, USA.
America Edwards has been selected as the 2025 winner of the Dissertation of the Year award from the Interpersonal Communication Division of ICA! Her dissertation was entitled "Maintaining Long-Distance Mother-Daughter Relationships during College via Technologically Mediated Self-Disclosure and Co-Rumination".
Qing Huang has accepted a tenure-track faculty position in Interpersonal/Relational Communication, Dept. of Media and Communication Studies, at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA. Chronemics, technology, and personal relationships, and their relational and health outcomes, are key elements in her research.