Dr. Heather Ferrara joins Cazenovia College Faculty

CAZENOVIA, NY (11/01/2012)(readMedia)-- "What's on your license plate?" asks Dr. Heather M. Ferrara, a new assistant professor in the Communication Studies Program at Cazenovia College. The interdisciplinary nature of communication studies, Ferrara believes, is inherently a mix of theoretical and applied communication.

Of her work, she says, "Most everything that sparks my interest and encourages me to ask questions has a place in the field of communication." Her primary interests are in social structure, popular and public culture, and human interaction, which fall under the umbrella of communication studies. She says, "I love to teach theory, in part, because students find the information so incredibly interesting - we know that people communicate in certain ways, but theory helps us to understand why people interact as they do and gives us a vocabulary for explaining the phenomena, including the messages on vanity license plates."

She says, "When teaching a course, such as effective speaking, students are able to learn the theory and abstract concepts and then subsequently apply those concepts. This mixture simultaneously embraces the aura of a liberal arts education and prepares students with specific skills and application to succeed in any career."

Ferrara research is primarily in the areas of public culture's depiction and conceptions of marriage, and identity performance. She is currently employing her love of Yankees baseball in exploring the ways Yankee fans communicate and perform "their fandom." She notes that she is working on this research with a colleague who is a Boston Red Sox fan.

Of her casual research into vanity license plates, she says, "I have been working with a co-author, Megan Dowd, who teaches at Hamilton College for several years. We have a giant list of vanity plates compiled from our own travels and from friends and colleagues. We are exploring the ways in which people express their identities through these vanity plates. In some instances, people use vanity plates to report their status in society (we saw a number of people expressing high-end professional identities such as lawyers and doctors). Some individuals show their sports fandom or hobbies. "Interestingly, some people use their vanity plates to report their sexual(ized) identities, and," she adds, "many reference their dogs and children."

Ferrara was an adjunct instructor during the 2010 fall semester. She says, "When I first began teaching at Cazenovia I was thoroughly impressed with the emphasis on the dual task of teaching application and theory. Many other institutions focus mainly on one or the other, but Caz really encourages both."

Of the College itself, she says, "I knew this would be a great home for me because of the community environment. I really enjoy getting to know students; the small classes and close-knit campus allows for students and faculty to know each other. Also, I have found that students here are willing to work and accept challenges outside their comfort zone."

Originally from the Rochester, N.Y. area, Dr. Ferrara earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Ohio Northern University, a Master of Science degree at Ithaca College, and her Master of Arts and Ph.D degrees from Ohio University.

Cazenovia College, founded in 1824, is an independent, co-educational, baccalaureate college near Syracuse, N.Y., offering a comprehensive liberal arts education in an exceptional community environment, with academic and co-curricular programs devoted to developing leaders in their professional fields. Cazenovia, named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report, is also a national College of Distinction. For more information, visit www.cazenovia.edu.

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