Communication, Media and Persuasion Faculty Members Set to Retire

With a combined 59 years of service teaching at Idaho State University, Department of Communication, Media and Persuasion faculty members Jackie Czerepinski and Annick Dixon will retire this May.

Jackie Czerepinski

After serving 46 years at Idaho State University in multiple roles, Jackie Czerepinksi, Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion senior lecturer, is retiring. Serving ISU was been in Czerepinski’s blood since before she was born: two of her grandparents attended ISU, her great-grandparents ran a boarding house on campus and her grandfather, Edward P. Norby, is a member of the ISU Sports Hall of Fame. Czerepinski came to ISU between her junior and senior year of high school in 1965, first taught as a graduate student in 1972 and began teaching again in 1975 after receiving her master’s degree.

After studying and teaching in New Mexico and Colorado, she came back to ISU and has been teaching since. She also worked as the Business Manager for ISU’s Summer Theatre program and Theatre ISU. She participated in ISU productions from 1967 to 2010 as either an actor, director or costume designer. She has also been a part of the Pocatello Arts Council, the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association Board of Directors and Westside Players.

During her 46 years on campus, Czerepinski taught various classes in speech and drama including Principles of Speech, Business and Professional Speaking, Introduction to Leadership, Nonverbal Communication, Gender and Communication, Beginning Acting, Intermediate Acting and Women in Theatre.

Czerepinski said her favorite thing about teaching happens when students realize that the things she teaches them happen in the real world and they can apply their knowledge. “My favorite thing is when people really get it,” she said. “Or when they come back five, 10, or 20 years later and say how much the things they learned helped them.”

Another one of her favorite things about teaching, Czerepinksi said, is that in a speech class, the audience is real and that speech matters and has an impact on people. She recalls a speech class where a student spoke about a shelter for victims of domestic violence in the area that did not have a running toilet or the means to get one. The students in that class were able to get the home a toilet because of the impact the speech had on them.

Another memory is students raising money for pool fees for a special-needs athlete to train for the Special Olympics after hearing about it during a class speech.

As for retirement, Czerepinksi has no definite plans except to enjoy herself and have the best time she can every day.

Annick Dixon

Department of Communication, Media and Persuasion associate lecturer Annick Dixon will retire this May after teaching at Idaho State University for 13 years.

Dixon taught ISU’s Principles of Speech and Communication and Business and Professional Speaking courses exclusively on the ISU Idaho Falls Campus. She said she liked teaching at the Idaho Falls campus because of the diversity.

“I enjoy the diversity of students we have on the Idaho Falls campus,” she said. “We have a lot of non-traditional students on our campus who come to our classes with a wide variety of life experiences. Because we are a small campus and because many of the students are going to school part time – we have the opportunity to keep in touch with them as they progress through their education.”

In addition to teaching, Dixon enjoyed the diverse faculty and staff on the Idaho Falls campus. She enjoyed having the opportunity to interact with chemistry, English, history, math, physics and biology faculty members, as well as the Idaho Falls librarian, director of the Student Union Building, the director of Trio, the student who manages the Idaho Falls Benny’s Pantry and other staff.

Dixon said she enjoyed teaching communication because it helped students throughout their lives. She also enjoyed watching students grow.

“I believe that what we teach in communication classes benefits students in their personal lives, academic lives and will prepare them for their professional lives,” she said. “My favorite part of teaching is watching student’s grow. Every student that completes the course grows. It is such an honor and a joy to be a part of that growth.”

After retirement, Dixon plans to spend more time with her family and friends, traveling and spending more time outside gardening, hiking, camping, rafting, cross-country skiing and more. She also plans to use her knowledge of communication to help people through volunteering.