Regional Association News
Central States Communication Association
CSCA welcomed three new inductees into its Hall of Fame, all of whom were recognized at a recent luncheon. This year's inductees include: Robert C. Rowland (University of Kansas), Diana B. Carlin (University of Kansas), and Deanna D. Sellnow (University of Central Florida).
CSCA also recently named its new Executive Director, Dr. Chad Edwards. Thank you to Northern Illinois University’s Jimmie Manning for serving as the Executive Director of the Central States Communication Association for the last five years.
In publication news, Patric Spence of the University of Central Florida will begin his term as the new editor of the CSCA journal Communication Studies. Submissions are now being accepted. Additionally, CSCA's newest publication, Journal of Communication Pedagogy, released its first volume on June 13. The association congratulates inaugural Editor Scott Myers, the editorial board, and the authors on this new release.
Southern States Communication Association: Looking Up Down South
By Jason B. Munsell, President
SSCA continues to thrive. Our recent 88th Annual Convention and 28th Annual Undergraduate Honors Conference in Nashville this past April was our second largest convention event in recent memory. Our theme was Muses and Musings in the Music City, and more than 800 participants in 226 program slots rocked the house. We had several fantastic elements, including a panel at the Nashville Public Library’s Civil Rights Reading Room, a public panel at Nashville’s Parthenon in Centennial Park (sponsored in conjunction with the City of Nashville), additional panels on the history of Nashville and the music industry in the city, and a keynote address delivered by National Public Radio’s Ann Powers.
Our 89th convention will be held April 3-7, 2019, in Montgomery, Alabama, at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa. The theme is Conflict and Crisis at the Crossroads of Change, and the convention will be planned by our First VP, Pamela Bourland-Davis. Montgomery is an excellent site for our current milieu – it is where an act of not giving up a bus seat led to a Supreme Court decision that segregation on the bus was unconstitutional. Montgomery was the destination for the march from Selma, and the city where Freedom Riders were attacked. It’s both the “Cradle of the Confederacy and the “Birthplace of Civil Rights,” a paradox in its own right, one that places the city at the crossroads of change, even if that change came in small increments, is seemingly threatened today at every turn, and still seeks fulfillment.
The deadline for convention submissions is September 7, 2018. Our Second VP, Shawn D. Long, will be planning our associated 29th Annual Undergraduate Honor Conference, for which participants come from around the country. Most recently, we saw undergraduate students from Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Ohio, and, of course, from states throughout the southern region. The deadline for UHC submissions is December 10, 2018. Please see our website for the full call: https://www.ssca.net/.
Under the leadership of Editor Jennifer Samp, our Southern Communication Journal continues to make significant contributions to our understanding of human communication. Our journal welcomes submissions from all communication perspectives and methodologies. Considering our focus in Montgomery, I’m particularly fond of the published essays on civil rights issues, including recent articles on Little Rock Central High and civil rights tourism, among others. Please visit the SCJ homepage for more information.
Our Marketing Director, Ashli Stokes, is all over our SSCA social media presence, and we created our very first podcast earlier this year. We are planning four new podcast episodes for the upcoming academic year. We are also looking for ways to work with other regional organizations for research and publicity opportunities. Contact Ashli for more information, and find us on Twitter and Facebook.
SSCA has a great leadership team. Joining those already mentioned are Finance Chair Wendy Atkins-Sayre and Immediate Past President Victoria Gallagher. Our Executive Director, Jerry Hale, is our rock as we continue to roll. SSCA is a convivial organization, and things are looking up down South. If you haven’t attended one of our conferences, we hope to see you in Montgomery!