Office of Media Relations at the University of San Diego
April 6, 2021 | View in web browser

USD News Connect: Connecting Expert Voices to the Stories Impacting Our Community

April 6, 2021

Good morning newsrooms!

Here's your USD News Connect — where each week the University of San Diego media relations team offers expert voices to speak on stories impacting our community. If you're interested in the stories below, or need experts for any other topic you might be working on, don't hesitate to reach out to us at press@sandiego.edu.*

Professor helping Spanish-speaking community secure vaccinations, navigate appointment sites

USD Spanish Professor Amanda Petersen volunteers her free time with local organizations assisting San Diegans who have trouble navigating the vaccination sites and securing appointments, which open up sporadically and fill-up quickly. She’s one of several volunteers able to help the Spanish speaking community who oftentimes are the most in need of vaccinations but unable to secure them due to lack of information.

As students return to the classroom, what are children’s legal rights in special education?

Margaret Dalton, vice dean and professor of law, is available to provide useful information on special education law, and share what resources are available for families to help parents understand their children’s legal rights in special education.

Marketing professor connects students with small businesses/nonprofits to develop marketing strategies

Aarti Ivanic, associate professor of marketing, has been connecting her undergraduate marketing research class with real hands-on experience by helping local small businesses and nonprofits with their marketing strategies at a time when these connections and support for local businesses are more important than ever. This year, students are working on a variety of projects, including with Xula Coffee, to create a marketing plan for their company to explore new product offerings.

For all media inquiries, email our team at

press@sandiego.edu.

* Please note that times of availability will vary according to professors' schedules.

USD Expert Spotlight

“The thing that we don’t know and the thing that will be important to know in the future is, if an infected animal can transmit (tuberculosis) to other animals or to other humans. We don’t have evidence of that but that doesn’t mean that it can't happen or hasn’t happened — that’s what the worrisome thing is.”

- Marni LaFleur

Assistant Professor Marni LaFleur, PhD, alongside a team of researchers, diagnosed a human variant of tuberculosis in an illegally wild-captured ring-tailed lemur. The research, which was published on the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases site, found that the lemur was most likely in close contact with a human.

Learn more →