National Communication Association IDEA Awards
The Executive Committee of the Legislative Assembly recently approved the creation of three awards with a focus on IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access).
Members are invited to submit nominations for the following awards. Nominations must be submitted through the NCA website. Please read the applicable call for more information. Deadline for all nominations is August 2, 2021.
IDEA Engagement Award
The IDEA Engagement Award offers recognition for efforts and activities to engage communities in work that enhances inclusion, diversity, equity or access. Such engagement may be evaluated by the direct impacts or effects of such engagement (measured in different ways), or on sustainability and empowerment work that ensures change over the long term. This work may reflect the application of communication theories, pedagogy, or direct action to create positive community change. Since there is another IDEA award focusing specifically on research, this award highlights activity that may be drawing on research but can also be work done teaching or directly engaging within a community. Finally, this award may offer recognition for individuals working on specific projects or for engagement and activism that reflects a more extended career of commitment.
Given the breadth and scope of IDEA, research and engagement may be focused on a variety of issues surrounding inclusion in different environments and cultures, diversity across multiple characteristics, equity in structure and human relations, and access that may be related to something physical or mental or issues of voice, presence, and agency, among others.
Requirements: Recipients must be members of NCA that exhibit a strong record of research relating to inclusion, diversity, equity, or access.
Nominations must be submitted by someone well acquainted with the scholarship. Self-nominations are encouraged. Nominees must be current members of NCA. The nomination packet must include the following materials:
- A cover letter with rationale or explanation for why this award is deserved
- An updated copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- No less than one and no more than three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with your qualifications.
Submission Information
All nominations for this award must be submitted as a PDF through the NCA website. Submit your nomination using the button below:
Questions about the award process can be sent to nomination@natcom.org.
Committee Members
IDEA Council
Rachel Alicia Griffin, Chair
James Cherney
Jamie Guzmán
Deryl Johnson
Natonya Listach
Ashley Noel Mack
Elizabeth Parks
IDEA Scholarship Award
The IDEA Scholarship Award offers recognition for scholarly engagement with inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. Such engagement may be evaluated for the depth and development of an extended research program, or on the impact of ideas and innovation on the discipline, or both. There are no methodological or paradigmatic preferences identified as prerequisites for this award, as these issues transcend much of the human experience. Since there is another IDEA Award focused on community engagement, this award is more explicitly about research, the diffusion and importance of a research program, and bringing new insight and understanding to the discipline.
Given the breadth and scope of IDEA, research may be focused on a variety of issues surrounding inclusion in different environments and cultures, diversity across multiple characteristics, equity in structure and human relations, and access that may be related to something physical or mental or issues of voice, presence, and agency, among others.
Requirements: Recipients must be members of NCA that exhibit a strong record of research relating to inclusion, diversity, equity, or access.
Nominations must be submitted by someone well acquainted with the scholarship. Self-nominations are encouraged. Nominees must be current members of NCA> The nomination packet must include the following materials:
- A cover letter with rationale or explanation for why this award is deserved
- An updated copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- No less than one and no more than three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with your qualifications.
Submission Information
All nominations for this award must be submitted as a PDF through the NCA website. Submit your nomination using the button below:
Questions about the award process can be sent to nomination@natcom.org.
Committee Members
IDEA Council
Rachel Alicia Griffin, Chair
James Cherney
Jamie Guzmán
Deryl Johnson
Natonya Listach
Ashley Noel Mack
Elizabeth Parks
Shawn D. Long IDEA Program Award
The award honors the career contributions towards inclusion, diversity, equity, and access from long time NCA member Shawn D. Long. The award offers recognition for programmatic and organizational efforts to enhance inclusion, diversity, equity and access. Some programs and departments make the extra effort to be inclusive and welcoming, some work to shift the culture of their campus environment, and some are engaged in broader activities that may affect local, regional, national, and international populations.
Expectations and Evaluation: Since there are many ways to demonstrate a programmatic commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and access, this award will be based in part on markers of such activity developed by the NCA Inclusivity Task Force. The nomination packet must include the following materials:
- A cover letter from the Program Head with a summary of the case for receiving the award.
- A brief five-to-eight-page report that offers evidence supporting some or all the “indicators of inclusivity” listed below.
- A letter of support from the Dean, Provost or Leader of the unit to which the Head of the submitted Program reports. If reporting lines are split, a letter from each reporting line is preferred.
IDEA Indicators list for evaluating programmatic efforts:
Plan, Goals, and Assessment
- Has developed a diversity plan based on input from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other relevant constituents, with a clear timetable for implementation.
- Has identified specific, realistic, and measurable goals for faculty and student diversity, has a clearly articulated assessment plan, and can point to progress toward meeting or exceeding those goals.
- Has identified specific, realistic, and measurable goals for making diversity and inclusivity an integral and infused component of instruction (inside and outside the classroom), and can point to progress toward meeting or exceeding those goals.
- Has identified specific, realistic, and measurable goals for making diversity and inclusivity an integral component of departmental culture (outside of faculty/student diversity and instruction) in ways other than those identified above (e.g., partnerships with HBCUs, incentives to bring in diverse voices into the classroom).
Structure and Training
- Has a standing committee in the department that is focused on issues of IDEA.
- Has taken steps to ensure faculty, students, and staff are well trained on issues of IDEA.
- Has made exposure to issues of inclusivity and diversity a central aspect of both its undergraduate and (if relevant) graduate program.
- Has taken active steps to create and maintain an inclusive classroom environment for all its students.
- Has clearly articulated mentorship plans for students (graduate and/or undergraduate), faculty, and/or staff of color.
Diffusion and Communication
- Has made its diversity strategic plan easily accessible (e.g., website, brochures, programs).
- Uses its online and/or social media presence to bring awareness of its commitment to diversity.
Activities
- Has undertaken scholarly or professional project initiatives to create a more diverse and inclusive climate (e.g., grants, community partnerships, invited speakers, colloquium series).
- Actively supports and promotes research and instruction on issues of IDEA.
- Has concretely/directly supported campus and/or community programs/efforts/initiatives/service projects geared toward improving the lives of diverse communities.
- Has faculty members, staff, and/or students involved in programs, committees, and/or decision-making bodies on campus, off-campus, and/or at the national and/or disciplinary levels with direct relevance to IDEA efforts.
- Has active and ongoing engagements with community organizations advocating for structurally disadvantaged populations.
- Has received recognition for its efforts toward making the department, the university, and/or the community a more diverse and inclusive environment.
Submission Information
All nominations for this award must be submitted as a PDF through the NCA website. Submit your nomination using the button below:
Questions about the award process can be sent to nomination@natcom.org.
Committee Members
IDEA Council
Rachel Alicia Griffin, Chair
James Cherney
Jamie Guzmán
Deryl Johnson
Natonya Listach
Ashley Noel Mack
Elizabeth Parks