Rick Houlberg

Rick Houlberg was a BECA Professor from 1982 to 2012. He taught KSFS Radio, intro to electronic communication, media performance, research and other classes. Houlberg says he loved his work in BECA but is thankful, lucky and blessed to be retired and still able to live in SF. Every day he opens his front door and steps into the grand carnival that is the San Francisco Bay Area.

Houlberg’s Advice: If you want to be successful in life, study human performance. He figured that out in high school (see pic) and that knowledge has served him incredibly well ever since. Start by investigating your performance (private, public, and mediated), then study the performance of others (interpersonal and group), and finally figure out what makes you happy. If you know how to use these communication skills and understand what makes you happy, then you can successfully integrated all that into your life and you will be happier and more successful whatever paths you choose to take. Keep your eyes and heart open for the opportunities that will present themselves along the way and have the courage to choose the ones best for you. Please do not think you can hide your real self behind blogs, tweets, emails, phone calls, videos and other electronic communication.

Houlberg has been an on- and off-stage and media actor since high school, and he has been extremely happy and successful because of those activities. He says he failed only when he did not trust himself or muster the courage to do the right thing for himself.

He became aware of BECA (then BCA) in l967 while completing a radio-television undergraduate degree at Southern Illinois University. By 1967 the BCA Department had a glowing and growing national reputation. To Houlberg’s consummate delight, the department was located in San Francisco. He had no idea in 1982 he would be offered the greatest job of his lifetime, a teaching position in BCA/BECA.

Finally, Houlberg suggests that you must find out what you love to do, and do it. Do that and you will be successful, happy, and be able to have whatever personal, social, employment and martial “things” you might want. Be true to yourself and you can be helpful to others. Your choice. Make the effort. It is essential and worth it.

If you want to talk, contact Rick Houlberg at houlberg@sfsu.edu, and he can help you work it out.