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S he looks nothing like a "Hound Dog." Nor is she the "Devil
in Disguise" and doesn't come close to being a "Hard-Headed Woman." Who is she? She's Dr. Cynthia Frisby, faculty member in the Advertising Department of the Missouri School of Journalism.
Cynthia, Cyndi as she is referred to by her friends, says that she "Can't Help Falling in Love" with Columbia, her research, teaching and her students here at the infamous J-School.
Since joining the Mizzou faculty in January 1998, Dr. Cynthia Frisby has slowly but surely made her presence known.
Faculty and staff have come to know her through her service on the Undergraduate Scholarship, Master's Admission, Assistant Professor Search, and Curriculum committees.
Many undergraduate students have come to know her as the "Advertising Principles and Practice," or the "Media Planning" teacher, and recently the "Retail Advertising" teacher. Even a
few graduate students have had the chance to work with Cyndi due to her willingness to serve on several Master's project and thesis committees. And, if that's not enough, Cyndi has
started to make her presence known in the community by volunteering to create media strategies, advertising plans, and on-site promotional events and print ads for a few
retailers in the Columbia area. She also made her presence known last summer at Bernstein-Rein advertising agency in Kansas City.
Cyndi graduated from Lincoln East High School, (Lincoln
Nebraska) in 1978 and began her undergraduate studies in elementary education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the early 80s, Cyndi decided to move to Gainesville, Fla.,
where she began a twelve-year career working in various jobs and career occupations. At Nationwide Insurance, Cyndi served in various job titles: working as a coder, an
underwriter, and as the executive director of the Employee Credit Union. She also worked as the activities/public relations director for more than 800 home office employees.
She also worked part-time at a local radio station, WONE, where she served as an on-air personality, and acted as the public service director and media sales representative. Her
jobs, however, didn't stop there. In fact, Cyndi tells us that in the last 20 years, she has dabbled in various other areas such as retail sales, management and human resources. She
worked briefly as a human resources administrator for an innovative and growing software developer. Her main responsibilities concerned creating and publishing a company
newsletter; writing press releases and setting up trade shows or displaysthat could be used to recruit top job candidates. Why she's even enjoyed a brief career as a fashion
model/coordinator and emcee for several retailers in the Gainesville community.
Dr.Frisby's research interest is in the area of market research, media use and consumer behavior. Her research interest
focuses on defining the viewing habits and behaviors of specific markets and segments. Her main research focus and concern is to understand the wants, desires, thoughts,
concerns, motivating forces and ideas of the consumer. It is her desire to develop, refine, and evaluate advertising messages in order to gain an understanding of how certain
messages and appeals affect a consumer's sense of self and self-worth. A vast majority of research suggests that idealized images of women in advertisements significantly affects
self-concepts and esteem for teenage girls and women who have low self-esteem. Unfortunately few, if any, of these studies focus on how idealized images affect ethnic women,
nor do any of these studies focus on how idealized images of males affect the male consumer's self-concept and self-esteem… until now. Within the next year, Cyndi hopes to
complete several studies aimed at examining how idealized images affect behaviors of two specific markets and segments (men and women of various ethnic backgrounds).
Another interesting study that Cyndi is conducting along with
Associate Dean Esther Thorson and Dr. Craig Frisby, of the College of Education focused on the effects of advertising on the attitudes, expectations and behaviors of urban
African-American youth. The research will be used to inform and aid in the design of media literacy curricula that can be used by public schools to develop students' critical viewing
and media literacy skills in relation to advertising and the functions and roles of advertising in society. Funding has been requested for one full year to conduct a study in
partnership with urban, predominantly African-American middle schools (grades 6-8) in St. Louis and Kansas City to study th eeffects of alcohol billboard advertising on cognition,
attitudes, alcohol expectancies and alcohol-related behaviors.
In her spare time, and yes she has some, Cyndi says
she enjoys many activities. In case you didn't know, Cyndi is an avid Elvis Presley fan and c ollector (If you haven't seen her office, stop by and see all of her Elvis collectibles). And to avoid "Crying in the Chapel," Cyndi says she jogs 4 – 6 miles a day seven days a week, is an active,
participating member of the E-Free Church of Columbia where she derives joy from the fellowship and singing in the church's praise band. She also says that
she finds pleasure in spending time with her family and close friends, shopping, eating, playing golf, shopping with friends, shopping with or without money, shopping oncredit, shopping
on the internet, and just plain 'ole shopping.
Dr. Frisby's Teaching Philosophy
Effective teaching, in my opinion, is an art because great teaching is a skill that can be improved on, and maybe even perfected. To me, good teaching is a blend of positive
attitude, knowledge, motivation, concern for students, enthusiasm in and about the course content and subject, as well as technique. In short, my philosophy on effective
teaching revolves around three major components: a positive learning environment, mature and responsible students, and an enthusiastic teaching style. In the sections that follow, I
will briefly describe and explain my philosophies concerning each of these components. The philosophies that I will discuss are a reflection and a combination of my experiences
as a student and an instructor, and are also based upon my experiences and relationships with many of my undergraduate and graduate professors and advisors.
"Team Teaching" Approach"
Like a coach of a football or basketball team, teachers are in the business of motivating students to learn. A good teacher knows that for students to do well in and learn
something from a course, they have to be "coached" or motivated to do so. I believe that even the most resistant student can learn something and take something away from a
course. College students, in my opinion, are not clients or customers, but are and should be treated as if they are team players and are part of a "learning team." I consider myself in
the role of a "head coach" and my students are like the "players." I present "the plays" (course material) and the players take the plays and game plans and "play" or apply they
concepts.
Students in my opinion are responsible for their learning and the quality of what they learn and are expected to regularly attend and participate in class discussions and must actively
contribute to and take responsibility in the learning process. I believe that if students are to become critical thinkers and dependable adults, they must and have to be held accountable
for learning course material, preparing for exams, and completing assignments.
Set challenging, but realistic goals
I believe that goals set for students in the form of projects, journal or writing assignments, workloads, and tests should be challenging, but realistic. Students enrolled in my classes are
afforded with various opportunities and learning tools that allow them to channel their energies in productive ways, ways that encourage and stimulate application of important
advertising concepts as well as critical and independent thinking skills and abilities.
In order to determine if my teaching goals are attainable and realistic, I try to make it a point to be sure that students in my classes: a) find me approachable and feel free to communicate
concerns and other blocks or obstacles that may hinder their learning, goal achievement, and academic progress, b) feel as if they can visit me in and outside of the class room, c) receive
objective and honest feedback concerning their work, and d) are allowed to work on activities and projects outside class. In all of my courses, enrolled students enjoy a wealth of learning
activities and projects that ultimately result in a feeling of self-satisfaction and accomplishment.
My Teaching Style
Motivating students involves knowing and understanding that as a teacher, I can only "facilitate" their learning process.
I have come to realize that a large portion of student learning should and must occur outside the classroom. I have also learned that the quality of student learning largely depends
upon the student and his or her level of motivation and ability. Consequently, this understanding forces me to do all I can to make lectures and lecture topics thought-provoking and
interesting. And, I have learned that in order to motivate my students to learn, I must provide course material (in the form of textbooks, study guides, and other activities) that is
stimulating, current, interesting to the student population and age group, applicable, and interesting.
I look for course material that stimulates curiosity and research outside of the classroom. This means that I tend to motivate students to learn by assigning projects and outside
activities designed to help them discover their own unique creative skills, talents, and problem-solving abilities. Research has shown that providing students with
opportunities to display their talents and abilities increases self-esteem, self-efficacy, and confidence. Maybe this philosophy does not and will not work for all students. But I do
believe that all students, from the resistant to the most accomplished ones, can gain and walk away with something, be it a better understanding of a particular concept, enhanced
skills, or an increase in self-confidence. What is most important to me is that my students leave my courses feeling inspired, confident, and encouraged.
Many of my students have described me as a teacher who raises the level of student performance very high, so high that students feel that they are challenged and are motivated to
learn because goals are "attainable." The students in my classes oftentimes feel that they are encouraged to achieve levels they otherwise would not have achieved if it were not
for my standards…. That means a lot to me.
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