SOU News: Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast

Faculty & Staff Spotlight #16: Bernie Boscoe

The May episode of Southern Oregon University's Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast is a conversation with Bernie Boscoe, an assistant professor in SOU's Computer Science program [https://sou.edu/academics/computer-science/programs/computer-science-ba-bs/] and a prolific researcher. Boscoe has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation totaling more than $400,000 over the past two years to study tacit knowledge in research settings – gathering, storing and retrieving the unspoken practices of academic teams that sometimes are lost when a project is disrupted or ends. She has created a Large Language Model (LLM) of artificial intelligence to archive the protocols of scientific groups, and the resulting tacit knowledge archive benefits researchers by preventing the loss of unstated practices in research labs when participants leave the projects. She and her students have also used artificial intelligence to document and archive photos of animals from images collected at the future site of a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 south of Ashland. Boscoe is a computer and information scientist who builds and researches infrastructures and tools to help domain scientists do their work. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from the Pratt Institute in New York, an associate degree in computer science from Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania, a master's degree in mathematics from California State University-Northridge and a Ph.D. in information science from UCLA. Boscoe is interviewed in this 16th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is Codi Kirksey, a Media Innovation major from Ashland.

Faculty & Staff Spotlight #15: Greg Grano

The April episode of Southern Oregon University's Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast is a conversation with Greg Grano, an adjunct faculty member in SOU's Digital Cinema program – and traveling storyteller. Grano took a 60-day roadtrip around the U.S. – visiting 30 states – staying with and interviewing people he met on the journey, then produced the documentary "American Bear, an Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers." He later walked diagonally across the country, from Imperial Beach, California, to Lubec, Maine, and is currently writing a book about that adventure. Courses he has taught at SOU include "Reality on Your Screen," "Production Arts: Audio" and "Production Arts: DSLR Video." He also teaches in the Digital Media program at Ashland Middle School. Previous teaching assignments for Grano have included Rio Hondo College, Fullerton College and the Los Angeles High School for the Arts. He received his bachelor of fine arts degree in Film and Television from New York University and his master's degree in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University. He grew up in New Jersey, then gravitated toward the Southern California film industry following college. After his walk across the country, he felt ready for a move to Ashland to join his partner, who had come to SOU for grad school. He enjoys hiking the local trails, gardening, cooking and even roasting his own coffee. Grano is interviewed in this 15th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is Codi Kirksey, a Media Innovation major from Ashland.

SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #14: Al Case

The February episode Southern Oregon University's Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast is a conversation with Al Case, an associate professor of businss at SOU – and the university's official sports photographer. Case received his bachelor's degree in accounting and master's degree in accounting with a tax emphasis, both at Brigham Young University. He then worked mostly in corporate tax areas for Deloitte, a prominent business services firm, before moving on to work in the tax departments of two multi-billion-dollar, high-tech companies. He and his family moved to Ashland in 2000 to find a better work/life balance, and a year later he began teaching at SOU. He continues to teach a variety of accounting courses, focusing more on tax planning than typical accounting professors. He taught himself photography along the way, and became the university's official sports photographer after his work was noticed by the Athletics Department. Case sees some parallels betwee his teaching and his photography – helping his students to see the story behind the numbers, just as viewers may see the fuller story behind his photos. "I'm tryng to get them to see the big picture, as well as the details," he says. Case is interviewed in this 14th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is Codi Kirksey, a Media Innovation major from Ashland, Oregon.

SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #13: Alexander Gonzalez

The initial episode of the 2025-26 academic year for SOU's Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast is a conversation with Alexander Gonzalez, an assistant professor of music and director of bands at SOU. He also serves as artistic director of the Rogue Valley Symphonic Band. Gonzalez will conduct SOU's Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band, and will also teach music applied lessons in trumpet, and courses in music pedagogy. He served as the assistant director of bands at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he also earned his master's degree in Wind Conducting. His career includes teaching conducting courses at Capital University Conservatory of Music in Ohio, directing the Professional School Orchestra, leading the Middleton Symphony Orchestra's Wind Octet in Wisconsin and educating students in music history at Hillsborough Community College in Florida. His journey began in public schools in Florida and Colorado, where he taught a range of music courses at the middle and high school levels. Gonzalez is interviewed in this 13th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is Codi Kirksey, a Music Innovation major from Ashland, Oregon.

SOU Faculty & Staff Spotlight #12: Dee Fretwell Carreon

The final episode of the 2024-25 academic year for SOU's Faculty & Staff Spotlight podcast is a conversation with Dee Fretwell Carreon, a senior instructor of business and director of the Global Innovation Scholars program. Carreon is also a co-director of the annual SOU Creativity Conference and is a former chair of the School of Business. Carreon began her career in 1999 as an operations director and later worked 10 years as vice president of operations for agricultural manufacturer Ecoteas of Ashland. She has recently worked on scaling issues with Heather's Choice, a "packable meals and snacks" company that was featured on Shark Tank and has since relocated to Ashland. She has worked in the nonprofit world, assisting in nonprofit development for organizations across the United States. She also enjoys developing systems and assisting in the direction of music festivals and major events. Carreon describes herself as an "operations girl" who is admittedly nerdy about the nuts-and-bolts of businesss. She is interviewed in this 12th installment of "Faculty & Staff Spotlight," an SOU News podcast series in which a student multi-media host in SOU's Office of Communications shines a light on SOU faculty and staff members who make an impact on students and their campus community. This year's podcast host is SOU freshman Hailey Demarest, of Wolf Creek, Oregon.