Meet the Faculty
Marco Adria, PhD is Professor of Communications. Dr. Adria has participated in national research projects examining the implications for rural communities of broadband networks. His research has also considered
Katy Campbell, PhD is Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Extension. Dr. Campbell's research program focuses on 3 areas: the sociocultural process of learning design, the lifeworld of the designer, and the faculty experience of design as transformative practice. These main threads are framed by a feminist epistemology of ethical, relational knowing, and from a critical theory perspective. From within these frameworks Katy explores issues of inclusivity in learning design and practice (especially related to gender issues).
Ann Curry, PhD is Professor, Graduate Program in Communication and Technology. She was Director and Professor at the U of A School of Library and Information Studies (2008-2011), Professor at the UBC School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies (1990-2007), and Program Chair Library Technician Program MacEwan University (1975-1981). She has also worked as an oil company librarian, a children’s puppeteer and librarian, and as a public library manager. Her research interests focus on access to information issues, particularly those associated with controversial subjects and those that involve inequitable access for particular groups. Ann’s teaching areas include research methods, library/archival architecture and building planning, and information ethics and censorship. She is the recipient of the UBC Killam Teaching Prize and the Association for Library and Information Science Education Award for Teaching Excellence.
Gordon Gow, PhD is Associate Professor of Communication and Director of the Graduate Program in Communications and Technology. From 2003-2006 he was lecturer in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics, where he was Director of the Graduate Programme in Media and Communications Regulation and Policy. Dr. Gow is also affiliated with the Centre for Policy Research on Science and Technology (CPROST) at Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Gow’s research interests revolve around the impact of social media and other new communication technologies in the areas of public safety, public health, and community engagement. His current projects include a SSHRC-funded study on emergency alerting at Canadian post-secondary institutions, as well as a KIAS-funded study on the use of information technology to support sustainable farming practices in developing countries. Dr. Gow has also been involved with an IDRC-funded study on the use of mobile phones for health surveillance in Sri Lanka and India. IN 2009 he received a grant to develop a facility at the University of Alberta in order to examine the potential for mobile phones and other wireless devices to support scholarly as well as community-engaged research projects.
His research projects typically involve close collaboration with community stakeholders, and he has organized several workshops around the theme of communications technology and public safety. Participation at these events has included representatives from community and industry organizations, as well municipal, provincial, and federal agencies.
Stanley Varnhagen has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. His specialty is in program evaluation and research, especially in the domain of educational technology. Dr. Varnhagen teaches in the MACT program. His major administrative responsibility is leading a team of evaluators in assisting faculty to evaluate their various instructional technology projects.
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