Marlena Brown, a first-generation college student, is earning her bachelor’s degree in communication studies while working full-time at CSUSB and raising her young son. A passionate mentor and aspiring professor, she’s using her own journey to uplift others — through research, storytelling and her community-based initiative, Mentoring with Marley.
Thomas Corrigan, professor of communication and media, spoke at a recent fundraiser for KVCR on the importance of local news media. Research, he said, has shown “that where local news disappears, corruption and polarization rise, voter participation falls, people feel less connected, and communities find themselves unprepared for crises.”
A presentation by Elaine Hall, founder of The Miracle Project and star of HBO’s two-time Emmy award-winning film “Autism: The Musical,” marks the start of the 2025-26 lecture series at CSUSB, which provides access to world-class scholarship and expertise in the vital multi-disciplinary field of critical disability studies.
Thomas Corrigan (communication and media), comments on the lack of news media serving the Inland Empire, Mike Stull (entrepreneurship) talks about a new program supporting veteran entrepreneurs in Riverside County, and Brian Levin (criminal justice, emeritus) was interviewed about the latest hate crime statistics.
Ahlam Muhtaseb (media studies) was interviewed for a feature on the “Phoenix of Gaza XR” project, David Yaghoubian (history) was a guest on “The Adnan Husain Show” to discuss the modern history of Iran, and Brian Levin (criminal justice, emeritus) was interviewed about the latest hate crime statistics.
“The Phoenix of Gaza XR,” a virtual reality endeavor developed by Ahlam Muhtaseb, professor of communication and media studies, and her former student, was the topic of discussion on podcasts by Trevor Noah and WGBH’s “Culture Show.”
Cal State San Bernardino alumna Roxanne Escatel ’07 has earned her second Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series for “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” following a previous nomination for “Big Nate.”
The lecture series launches its spring semester talks with a presentation by Debora Perez Torres, assistant professor of communication studies, on Feb. 12. Also scheduled are presentations by Michelle Russen (marketing), Yolonda Youngs (geography) and Hannah Kivalahula-Uddin (education). All talks are free and open to the public.
Thomas Corrigan (communication studies) discussed the problem of the Inland Empire’s “news mirage” and changes he believes are needed to ensure the region is served with quality journalism, and Brian Levin (criminal justice) was interviewed about far-right extremists’ embrace of Elon Musk’s straight arm gesture at a presidential inauguration event last week.