Communication Faculty
Community Service and Public Scholarship
Connecting with our alums, students and the community at large.

Patricia Covarrubias, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

• C&J M.A. program director, 2009-Present.
• Editorial Boards: Western Journal of Communication; Great Plains Quarterly
• Manuscript Reviewer: Communication Monographs; Howard Journal of Communications; Innovative  Higher Education; Research on Language and Social Interaction; Text and Performance Quarterly;Western Sates Communication Association, Undergraduate Scholars Research Conference (USRC); Book Reviewer for Rowman and Littlefield Publishers
• Award Reviewer:  Graduate Dean Dissertation Fellowship Award offered by the Office of Graduate Studies, February 2009
• Committee Chair: C&J Diversity Committee, 2008-2009
• Committee Membership:  C&J M.A. Admissions 2005-2006, 2006-2007; C&J Undergraduate Program 2005-2006; C&J Diversity 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008; Diversity Council of the Professional Organizational and Development Network in Higher Education (POD), 2002-2006; C&J Merit Review, 2008-2009; Teaching Load, summer 2008; Ad-Hoc Budget, summer 2009
• Faculty and Staff Search Committees: C&J Tenure Track Faculty in intercultural communication, 2007-2008; Department Administrator, fall 2008, Visiting Assistant Professor in Communication, Summer 2009
• News Media.  Albuquerque Journal: Featured expert in article on intercultural marriage, June 28, 2009; UNM Daily Lobo, featured tenured researcher and scholar, July 13, 2009
• Department Representative: American Indian Student Day 2005, University of New Mexico; Hispano Student Day, October 26, 2006; American Indian Student Day, 8 November 2006, University of New Mexico; All Star Scholars Reception, 2006, University of New Mexico; In-House Study Abroad Day, University of New Mexico, 30 January 2007; All Star Scholars Reception, 2007, University of New Mexico; UNM Seniors Day, September 2008.
• Community service: Our Lady of the Assumption, School Advisory Board, 2009-Present; Guest Speaker to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month. “Echoes in Two Tongues:  Lessons Learned by a Mexican Immigrant Academic.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, N.M. (September 23, 2009).

Judith Hendry , Ph.D.
Lecturer III

• C & J Faculty Communication Undergraduate Advisor, 2001-current.
• Editorial Board Member, Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 2007-current.
• Director, Mercer Speech Tournament, 2004-current.
• Chair, Communication Undergraduate Committee, 2002-current.
• Director, Departmental Scholarships, 2001-current. Co-Director, Core Course in Public Speaking, 2000-current.
• Developed and Administered Student Outcome Assessment Plan, 1999-current
• Board of Directors, Del Agua Institute, 1997-current.  This nonprofit corporation, consisting of hydrologists and geologists, was organized to promote responsible development based on water availability and to assist County and State Agencies in the development of regional planning.           
• Editorial Board Member, Environmental Communication Yearbook, 2002-2007.
• UNM Faculty Senate 2002-2004.
• Seminar for the Department of Energy, Northern New Mexico Citizen’s Advisory Board, on Public Involvement in Environmental Decision-Making, 2004.
• Keynote Speaker, Arizona Communication Association Convention, “The Role of the Environmental Communication Scholar in a Sustainable Southwest.”  Flagstaff, AZ, April 20, 2002.
• President, Las Placitas Association, 1997-1998 and 2001-2002. This nonprofit corporation works towards the preservation of open space and the development of a regional open space management plan. This is an elected position. 
• Committee Member, Communication Undergraduate Committee, 1999-2001.           
• Keynote Speaker, Albuquerque Bar Association, “Beware the Narrative,” January 2001.
• Director, Internships in Communication Education: High School Forensics Coaching: A Project in Service Learning, 2000-2001.
• Guest Lecture, McNair Scholars Seminar, “Oral Presentation Skills,” 2001.
• Chair, Communication and Journalism Building Renovation Grant-Writing Committee, 1999-2000.
• President, La Mesa Water Cooperative, 1996-1998.  This cooperative is responsible for serving the water needs of 280 homes.  This is an elected position

Pamela Lutgen-Sandvik, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

• Board Member, Treasurer. International Association on Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace. Global board representing the General Assembly members of the Association.
• Editorial Board. Management Communication Quarterly
• Secretary. Western States Communication Association’s Organizational Communication Interest Group
• Manuscript Reviewer. Communication Yearbook; Management Communication Quarterly; Scandinavian Journal of Psychology; Gender, Work, and Organization; Polity Organizational Communication Series; Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship; International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior; Journal of Medical Practice Management
• Grant Proposal Reviewer.Health Research Council of New Zealand, proposals to provide Workplace Stress and Bullying services. City of Albuquerque, Division of Behavioral Health, proposals to provide substance abuse treatment services
• Award Reviewer. Organizational Communication Division Awards, Best Published Academic Article, National Communication Association. Critical Management Studies Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation sponsored by Organization: The critical journal of organization, theory and society and by Carroll Stephens.
• Committee Membership. Faculty Advisory, MA Admissions, Merit Review, Judge for Mercer Speech Scholarship, Graduate EvaluationFaculty Senate. C&J Member, University of New Mexico Faculty Senate; Respectful Campus Policy Development Committee
• Community Trainer, Invited Presenter. Sandia National Labs, UNM Continuing Education, Faculty Dispute Resolution Center, CARS Counseling and Referral Services, Women’s Resource Center, UNM Staff Council

Virginia McDermott, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

• Conference Planning and Organization: Western States Communication Association Health Communication Interest Group Chair and Program Planner (2008-2009), Western States Communication Association Local Host Event Planner (2006), Organizer for the First and Second Annual Communication and Culture Conferences, Albuquerque, NM.  (2002-2003)
• Teaching, Writing, and Research Workshops: Navajo Technical College (2008; 2009); Native American Health Writer’s Institute (2004)
• Communication training programs presented to: Human Resource Management Association of New Mexico (2009); Society of Human Resource Management New Mexico (SHRMNM) Conference (2008); DCSW Collaborative Southwest Architects (2006); PNM Resources (Power New Mexico) (2005-2006); Veterans Benefit Administration (2004, 2005, 2006)
• Manuscript Reviewer: Western Journal of Communication, Human Communication Research, Personal Relationships Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Western States Communication Association, National Communication Association, and the International Communication Association
• Committee Membership: Tenure and Promotion Standards and Course Load Release Committee (2008); Department Enrichment and Promotion Committee (2007-2009); Ph.D. Admissions Committee (2006-2007); Development and Fundraising Committee (2001-2009); Graduate Awards (2002-2006); Merit Review Committee (2002, 2006); Master’s Student Admission Committee (2003; 2004, 2005; 2006); Graduate Student Review Committee (2003; 2005); Graduate Program Task Force (Summer, 2002; Spring, 2005); Undergraduate Communication Curriculum Development Committee (2001-2004)
• Faculty sponsor for Undergraduate Communication Association (2001-2003)
• Judge for Mercer Speech Scholarship (2004-2009)
• Ironmen4ALS fundraising & planning committee (2006-2008)
• Rio Grande Business Liaison guest speaker (2005-2006)
• Habitat for Humanity Volunteer (2002-2005)

Tema O. Milstein, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

PUBLIC SCHOLARSHIP:

• Connecting Community Voices. Principal Investigator in this Hispanic-community focused study in collaboration with nonprofit community organizations, including Conservation Voters of New Mexico, The Wilderness Society, and Arts of Aztlan, as well as the UNM Resource Center for Raza Planning in the School of Architecture and Planning. Direct research team of C&J and interdisciplinary graduate students. Project aimed at identifying New Mexico Hispanic communities’ environmental meaning systems in an effort to highlight connections to land, water, and one another and to help communities empower themselves to shape sustainable cultural and environmental policy and politics. Groundbreaking, highly applied participatory action project. 2008-present.
• Faculty organizer and consultant: Hablamos!, annual event of La Semilla Institute, which partners with UNM through the faculty organizer to engage local public and private primary schools in environmental research projects (with leadership of Communication graduate students) in efforts to collaboratively build community, innovative approaches to the environment, and cross-cultural and intergenerational awareness. 2008-present. Co-Faculty consultant (with Professor Mary Jane Collier), 2007-2008.
• Presentation Organizer: Organized and promoted public interactive gallery-style presentations of my 512 EcoCulture: Humans and the Environment students’ research and creative installations in the John Sommers Gallery at the UNM Art Building. High public attendance. Fall 2008.
• Colloquium Organizer. Organized and promoted public interactive and conference-style presentations of my 506 Critical Cultural Studies students’ research in the Student Union Ballroom. High public attendance. Fall 2007.
• Scholar spotlight radio interview on ecotourism and communication. Interview aired in New Zealand, as well as internationally via internet (www.freshfm.net). Fresh FM (99.4 FM, 95.4 FM, 88.4 FM). Nelson, New Zealand. September 2007.
• Leader of capstone session, “Framing the Message,” in day-long Gear Up workshop for 24 U.S. and Canadian whale watch boat naturalists preparing for summer tourist season in highest global concentration of whale watching. Presented observations from ethnographic on-site research and facilitated dialogue about successes, challenges, strategies in framing engaging and empowering messages about endangered whales and environment in tourism setting. The Whale Museum, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island. 2007.
• Thesis Adviser, UW Comparative History of Ideas major Erin McGee. Erin’s academic- and activist-focused project explored theory and strategies of collectively run organizations and included collaborative creation of a grocery cooperative for her low-income urban neighborhood. Fall 2006.
• Fellow, “Connecting with Community: Institute on Public Humanities for Doctoral Students.” Competitively selected fellows engaged theories of knowledge, culture, public work; existing models and architects of campus-community partnerships. Named “Best Practice in Graduate Education” by Woodrow Wilson Foundation. September 2004-August 2005.
• Founder and Director. University of Washington Nature, Culture, and Public Scholarship Research Collaborative, a crossdisciplinary network of 50+ faculty, graduate students, and practitioners engaged in interdisciplinary and publicly oriented applied cultural research approaches to human relations with environment. Met regularly at UW Simpson Center and in environmental sites within Washington, committed to dialogue among environmental professionals and scholars from more than a dozen disciplines; maintains active listserv after my move to UNM. 2004-2007.
• "What is Your Meaning?” Facilitated University of Washington Interpersonal Communication students in formulation of student-generated, course content-focused public events. Students organized community chalk mural on key terms of ’04 presidential campaign on day before presidential election and engaged pedestrians to write down meanings on sidewalks for terms including “the draft,” “the economy,” and “freedom.”  Students also organized bridge-to-bridge march with signs and spontaneous performance. Press coverage. Nov. 1, 2004.
• Total Projection Action, part of small collaborative group of academics and artists to organize an interactive communication event in the heart of campus the evening before presidential election. Facilitated and projected real-time public-created “virtual graffiti,” slides, digital text, video, and transparencies at a massive scale onto walls of buildings in Red Square. Nov. 1, 2004.
• Community Mural facilitator. As part of CROW (Creative Revolution On Walls), an academic and artist collective, helped facilitate large-scale political discourse among hundreds of community members with four nonpartisan political murals on Sept. 11. Murals displayed in Rem Koolhaas-designed downtown Seattle Central Library. Multiple media interviews. UW-sourced international September Project. Seattle Central Library. Sept. 11, 2004.
• Facilitator. Preview Forum’s “Using Media to Engage the Public and Journalists on Social Issues,” nationwide discussions among journalists and community members on “Ethnicity and Race in a Changing America.” Ford Foundation funded. Seattle, WA. May 2003.
• "Foreign Expert” TV talk show guest. Discussed intercultural communication. China Central Television (all-English channel, CCTV 9). More than 200 million viewers. Beijing, China. December 2001. 

 UNIVERSITY/DISCIPLINARY/COMMUNITY SERVICE:

• Affiliated Faculty. Sustainability Studies Program. University of New Mexico.2007-present.
• Affiliated Faculty. Water Resources Program. University of New Mexico.2009-present.
• Executive Board Member. Women Studies Program. University of New Mexico.2007-present.
• Founding Member. Transdisciplinary Research Group. University of New Mexico. 2008-present.
• Immediate-Past Chair. Environmental Communication Interest Group. Part of founding committee. Western States Communication Association. 2007-2008.
• Faculty Adviser, C&J Graduate Student-generated and run Enviro Crew/Green Team. 2009-present.
• Honored with faculty “Best Service” award and “Dr. Congeniality” award by Communication and Journalism Graduate Student Association. 2007-2008.
• Textbook Reviewer.  Review of Human Communication in Society, 2nd Edition, by Alberts, Nakayama, and Martin. August 2008.
• Editorial Board. Green Theory and Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy. 2008-present.
• Editorial Board & Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Language & Ecology.  One of 12 academics from 11 countries on board. 2004-present.
• Editorial Board & Ad Hoc Reviewer, Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research. Editorial Board, January 2005-2008. Reviewer, September 2003, 2008.
• Chapter Reviewer, Handbook of Sustainability Literacy in Education. 2009.
• Ad Hoc Reviewer, Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture. 2008.
• Ad Hoc Reviewer, Western Journal of Communication. 2008.
• Ad Hoc Reviewer, Communication, Culture and Critique. 2008.
• Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of International and Intercultural Communication. 2008.
• Reviewer, Environmental Communication Division competitive papers, National Communication Association, 2009 Chicago, IL; 2007 Chicago, IL; 2005 Boston, MA.
• Ad Hoc Reviewer, Language and Intercultural Communication, a Europe-based international journal. Area: environmental discourse.  2004-2006.
• ICA Board of Directors, International Communication Association. Filled one of two-overlapping student positions on international board for the discipline. Represented worldwide graduate student member interests, published monthly newsletter column, organized and hosted networking sessions, workshops, orientation seminars, presentation panels, and grand-scale graduate student receptions at annual conference. Two-year term, 2004-2006.
• Co-Chair, International Communication Association Student Affairs Committee. Selected, directed, and facilitated international committee members in collaborative shaping of ICA student agenda. 2004-2006.