Today, the Division of Academic Affairs launches a new social media campaign highlighting campus faculty members through illustrated portraits and quotations.
Hosted on Tumblr, http://21stcenturytitans.tumblr.com/, as well as on the Academic Affairs website, the initial two-week launch will feature one faculty member each day. After the first two weeks, a faculty member will be featured once a week. Additionally, the portraits will be posted on Facebook and other social media outlets.
The idea for the series started when Jenny Williams, communications specialist for the Office of the Provost, reached out to a handful of faculty members for another project.
“It was fascinating to learn about their research, their backgrounds and what they love about CSUF,” Williams said. “The Office of the Provost is always looking for more opportunities to honor and celebrate our terrific faculty. The idea came up to put together a series similar to Humans of New York, which offers slice-of-life glimpses into people’s lives through simple photographs and captions. I had been experimenting with a digital illustration technique that translated well to portraits — and the 21st Century Titans project was born.
“The portraits are inspired by the subject’s area of expertise,” she explained. “It’s been a rewarding challenge to find images that are related in some way to the person’s interests, and then create a portrait that’s unique to them. The quotations emerge from conversations in which they talk about their passions and pursuits and share their journey to CSUF in their own words.”
Long term, the Office of the Provost hopes to profile many more of part- and full-time faculty members.
“Every faculty member brings something unique to the CSUF community,” said José L. Cruz, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “With this project, we have a chance to showcase the incredible diversity of disciplines and perspectives that’s part of what makes our campus so special.”
Williams shared that the project especially hopes to feature people who are exemplary members of the campus community but may not be getting a lot of public coverage already.
To suggest individuals for inclusion in this project or if you have questions or comments, contact: 21stcenturytitans@fullerton.edu.