Conversations

Richard Fox, professor of political science, examines how gender affects voting behavior, elections and political ambition. He and his colleague, Jennifer L. Lawless, at American University in Washington, D.C., have found that a gender gap exists between men and women when it comes to political ambition. Fox’s op-eds have appeared in The New York Times and elsewhere. He was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

For four decades, Judith Royer, C.S.J., has taught almost all aspects of theater: from playwriting to acting, directing and producing. She has won national recognition, including the 2008 Outstanding Teacher of Theatre in Higher Education Award, given by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. She is director of the Playwrights Center Stage new plays series. She has directed more than 35 revivals and 40 original scripts in the U.S. and the U.K. Royer is a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. She was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

Hrag Hamalian M.A. ’07 earned a master’s degree in secondary education through the LMU/Teach for America Partnership program in the LMU School of Education. As a TFA corps member, he taught ninth-grade biology at Locke High School in Watts. In 2009, he founded Valor Academy, a fifth- through eighth-grade charter middle school in the San Fernando Valley, where he is principal. Fred Puza ’10 spoke to Hamalian about the challenges of teaching and teacher education.

In 2012, more than four decades after its maiden broadcast, National Public Radio hired its first chief marketing officer, Emma Carrasco ’82, tasking her with marketing an American media icon. Carrasco, who was a KXLU station manager, likes to say that “public radio isn’t going away — it’s going everywhere.” For her, NPR’s values of thoughtfulness, honesty, diversity and intellectual curiosity are “organically understood” — her job is simply to help articulate them. She was interviewed by José Martinez ’11.

Jennifer Ramos, associate professor of political science, studies the causes and consequences of political change, U.S. public opinion and foreign policy, drone warfare, and religion and foreign policy preferences. She is the author of “Changing Norms Through Actions: The Evolution of Sovereignty” and teaches in the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. Ramos was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

When Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., gave his inauguration address in October, he outlined a vision for higher education based on imagination and creativity and rooted in magis, which he defines as the restless urge to do more for those who are here, for those to come and for the earth itself. A few weeks later, we met with LMU’s 16th president to explore that vision further. Snyder was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

Susan Scheibler is associate professor of film, TV and media studies in the School of Film and Television. Her areas of expertise include film theory, television studies and documentaries. She was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

For the past several months, thousands of migrants have been leaving war-torn areas of the Middle East, many of them attempting to reach welcoming nations in Europe and elsewhere. We asked Najwa Al-Qattan, associate professor of Ottoman and modern Middle Eastern history in the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts, for her perspective on the crisis. Al-Qattan was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.

In February 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration released proposed regulations governing civil unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones. Mark Pestana ’75, a former NASA research pilot, consulted with the FAA as it formulated its rules. Pestana is an expert in aircraft user interfaces and has flown drones to fight fires. We spoke to him about the emerging technology that will impact privacy laws, aviation safety and the nation’s economic health. Pestana was interviewed by Doug McInnis.

Nathalie Sánchez ’07 is a full-time teaching artist with P.S. Arts and works in two Los Angeles charter schools. She is co-founder of Ceramic Studio 153, in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Sánchez earned her bachelor’s degree in the College of Communication and Fine Arts with a double major in studio arts and art history. Follow her @Ceramics153. She was interviewed by Editor Joseph Wakelee-Lynch.