San Francisco State UniversityA-ZSearchCalendarNeed help?News
CampusMemo

Volume 58, Number 8    October 4, 2010         

CampusMemo Home image and link    Announcements image and link to Announcements section    News image and link to News section    Events image and link to Events section    Insiders image and link to Insiders page    Newsmakers image and link to Newsmakers page

Newsmakers

Face value
in a Sept. 26 Pittsburgh Post Gazette story, featured Professor of Psychology David Matsumoto's work on universal facial expressions. "Emotion signaling is only one thing faces do," Matsumoto said. "They also illustrate or animate our speech. They are used to regulate our conversations, and they are used for speech articulation."

Matsumoto's research, funded in part by a grant from the Department of Defense's Minerva Initiative, has real world uses, "My experience is that when you see leaders of ideologically motivated groups start to talk with a combination of anger and contempt and disgust, that's more dangerous (than only anger), because they're showing their motivation to eliminate others by exhibiting their moral superiority."

Gunning for Petaluma
Lecturer of Economics Bill Mason, also a retired sailor, is leading efforts to relocate to Petaluma a World War II-era Mighty Midget landing craft for use as a museum. The Sonoma County Press Democrat reports on the project in a Sept. 26 article. "This is a wonderful piece of history. I don't want any money from the city," Mason said. "I want a place to put it. Actually, this would be a money-maker for the city." The ship, to be moved from its berth in Vallejo, was crucial to the American war effort in the Pacific. "Ton for ton, the Mighty Midgets had the most firepower of any ship built for the Navy," Mason said.

God, faith, envy
In a Sept. 22 story, the San Jose Mercury News discusses the new book by Professor of English Michael Krasny. Titled "Spiritual Envy: An Agnostic's Quest," Krasny uses his book to open a conversation on age-old questions about faith, much as he does on his wide-ranging public affairs program "Forum," broadcast weekdays on KQED radio. "So many dreadful, even horrific, things have been done in the name of religion over the years," Krasny says. "But a lot of people forget that it also has uplifted people and led to extraordinary deeds--and that many religious people lead good, decent lives. ... What would Gandhi be without Hinduism? Malcolm X without Islam? Martin Luther King (Jr.)without Christianity?"

Setting an example
Associate Professor of Asian American Studies Russell Jeung and his wife are featured in a New America Media story about their decision to live in East Oakland to better model social justice for their son. "You can tell your kid about equity, but we’re trying to model it," Jeung said. "With my education, I was brought up to be competitive, not compassionate." The Jeungs value compassion so they are modeling it for their young son. Instead of moving to the suburbs like so many others, the couple asked what it means to be a good neighbor. The answer led them to become a part of the New Hope Covenant Church, recently featured in the documentary film, "The Oak Park Story."

 

For more media coverage of faculty, staff, students, alumni and programs, see SF State in the News.


San Francisco State University Home     Search     Need Help?    

1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 415/338-1111
Last modified October 4, 2010 by University Communications.