Stacy L. Smith (PhD., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1999) joined the USC Annenberg Faculty in the Fall of 2003. Her research focuses on children’s responses to mass media portrayals (television, film, video games) of violence, gender, and hypersexuality. Dr. Smith has written nearly 40 journal articles and book chapters on content patterns and effects of the media on youth. Further, she has received multiple "top paper" awards for her research from the Instructional Developmental Division of the International Communication Association.

Most recently, she has been working with a team of graduate and undergraduate students to assess portrayals of males and females in children’s media (technical research reports available at www.seejane.org). This body of work is funded by See Jane, a program at Dads and Daughters and started by Academy Award winner Geena Davis.

While research is important, Dr. Smith is most passionate about teaching. She currently teaches the undergraduate "Introduction to Mass Communication" (Com 203) course at the Annenberg School for Communication. Dr. Smith has been recognized for her outstanding teaching, receiving multiple awards from different constituencies on campus. In the Spring of 2006, she received the Outstanding Professor Award from the Annenberg Students Communication Association, the Greek Professor of the Semester Award, and was recognized as an Honorary Member of Lambda Pi Eta.

Outside of research and teaching, Dr. Smith enjoys laughing, drinking coffee, and telling stories. Her favorite books include The Alchemist, The Catcher in the Rye, and Blue Like Jazz. Stacy Smith’s office hours this term are on Wednesdays, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.