NCA Annual Convention

Without you, there would be no NCA convention!

The sheer energy I witnessed at the 105th NCA Annual Convention tells me people engaged one another, the convention theme, "Communication for Survival," and Baltimore. Convention registration and attendance were up. Convention activities were vast, and much energy and excitement were had. Sincere thanks go out to all those involved in convention planning, which includes the NCA Officers, the Executive Committee, the Diversity Council, the Publications Council, the Research Council, the Teaching and Learning Council, the NCA staff, unit leaders including division, caucus, and section officers, and participants themselves, who presented excellent, challenging, engaging, and inspiring work.

The Newcomer's Welcome and Orientation was the most robust I have ever seen it. Not only did we have a tremendous turnout for the event, but unit representatives invited to meet newcomers were full of exuberance about NCA and the convention. We hope newcomers had a wonderful time and want to come back to NCA in future years.

Lisa A. Flores, from the University of Colorado at Boulder, delivered a fantastic Arnold lecture, "Mobility, Containment, and the Racialized Spatio-Temporalities of Survival." The room for the lecture was packed. Those who could not find a seat in the main room might have found space in the "spillover room," where Dr. Flores's talk could also be heard.

Star Muir's Presidential Address considered the role of technology in producing a culture of distraction and encouraged us, among other things, to make the educational activity of debate a more prominent part of what we do as Communication teachers and professionals.

Special thanks go out to all of our event sponsors for their generosity and vision: Kendall Hunt, Routledge, Taylor & Francis; Pearson; the Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society; Purdue University, Brian Lamb School of Communication; Morgan State University; Salisbury University; and University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Additional thanks go out to members of the Legislative Assembly, Mentorship Task Force members, NCA Anti-Bullying Task Force members, NCA Qualitative Research Working Group members, and all those who met to do the sometimes behind-the-scenes business of the association. Thank you all for your time, effort, and dedication.

While the Convention was such a positive experience for many, for others it was not as positive. To those members and to those who have given valuable feedback on how to improve NCA and future conventions, thank you! We care about all NCA members, and those who attend NCA's many gatherings, including its Annual Convention, and our goal is to make NCA a welcoming association, one where all people are welcome, safe, and appreciated.

For those who attended the convention, thank you for doing so, and for working to make the Annual Convention a success. If you attended the convention, please take a few moments to fill out our convention evaluation form which was emailed to you earlier this month, so that we may improve our offerings. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to excellent Communication teaching, scholarship, and service.

Kent A. Ono
NCA First Vice President
University of Utah