Dean of the School of Communication Lisa Sparks’ public comments on the reopening of Orange County schools has induced opposition from public health officials, leading to a conflict with two personal friends. 

Sparks is a member of the Orange County Board of Education (OCBE), that over the summer recommended schools return to in-person instruction in the fall. In response to Sparks’ July 14 interview with NPR’s Sarah McCammon, in which she questioned the feasibility of “100% compliance” with mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines, the National Communication Association’s (NCA) Health Communication Division released a July 16 statement refuting the recommendations of the OCBE. Authors asserted in the statement that NCA division officers “do not endorse” views that don’t follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Sparks told The Panther she stands by her position on schools re-opening. Factors defending her argument include students’ mental health, constitutional right to an equal education and the inability for certain children to get the education they needed in a remote fashion.

“It’s important for people to realize that the (NCA) statement wasn’t intended to be a personal attack on Dr. Sparks; it wasn’t a rebuke of who Dr. Sparks is and it wasn’t, in any way, shape or form calling for her expulsion from NCA or the removal of her credentials,” said Keith Weber, graduate director at the School of Communication. “It was simply a statement put forward as part of a good academic discussion.”

Despite Weber’s belief in the statement’s lack of personal intent, among 142 total NCA statement endorsements, two professors who were extremely close with Sparks and her husband, President Daniele Struppa, signed the document to stand with the NCA’s opposition. Struppa told The Panther he had “no beef” with any of the others that signed the statement, but told The Panther the two – whose identities he declined to disclose –  never picked up the phone to call and let them know of that decision. Struppa called the move “despicable” and “beyond reproach.” He penned the two an extremely strong email, emphasizing that his anger was not with their viewpoints but their lack of any prior communication. 

“As a personal friend, you don’t go out and sign a public letter to jump on the bandwagon of public outrage. You contact me,” Struppa said, describing the email he wrote. “I regret any time I spent with them in the past; it was a waste of time and I would never talk to them anymore.”

The only reason the NCA got involved, Weber said, was because Sparks had asserted her credentials and years of experience as a health communication professional to back up her statements in the NPR interview. Chapman faculty had discussed how to respond, Weber said, and only one professor, Michelle Miller-Day, decided to sign the statement. Miller-Day declined The Panther’s request for comment.

Sparks’ comments, however, could have an effect on the School of Communication’s Ph.D. program in Communication, Weber said. As the program is new – with the first class of students set to graduate in spring 2021 – Weber asserted that while current students in the program wouldn’t be negatively affected, Sparks’ comments could decrease interest from prospective applicants.

“I do worry about some of our colleagues in the field saying, ‘Well, now I’m not going to send you my (student) because of this,’” Weber said. “But the truth is, the serious applicants will still be there because people are sending their kids to work with us.”

Sparks, however, strongly dismissed any claim that her public statements on the Board of Education could hinder the interest prospective students have for the program. 

“The numbers in our program have been steadily increasing since the inception of the program and I see no evidence whatsoever for this claim, nor do I understand the logic behind it,” Sparks wrote in an email to The Panther. “In fact, if you have any proof to the veracity of this statement, I would love to see it.”

Sparks shared a July 17 Fox News interview she participated in three days after the NPR interview, and one day after the NCA statement was released. In the segment, she explained why schools should be prepared for a hybrid model of reopening, and expressed that if students or teachers weren’t comfortable returning, they should have the option to continue remote instruction. Sparks told The Panther the Fox News interview represented her ideas better than in the NPR segment, due to the interview being live.

“One thing that I do tell people is Lisa, because of the nature of who she is – she’s the dean of the school, she’s on the Board of Education, she ran for Congress – she does get, to a degree, scrutinized more than any other person, than any other dean would,” Weber said.