In the Media
Rich West, Emerson College, spoke to The Washington Post about TV icon Norman Lear’s 100 years.
Trevor Setvin, Steven Zwier, Robin Zwier, Kim Hannah-Prater, Sheri Trivane, Brooke Bognanni and Evan Balkan of the Community College of Baltimore County recently completed a series of podcasts as part of a project funded by an NCA Advancing the Discipline grant. Check them out!
Academic Appointments & Research
This fall semester, the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University welcomed new tenure-track faculty member Jenna Hanchey as an assistant professor of communication. Hanchey specializes in decolonial intersections of rhetoric, African communication studies and critical development studies.
New qualitative research from Lynsey K. Romo, North Carolina State University, Cimmiaron Alvarez, Rutgers University, and Melissa R. Taussig, North Carolina State University, uncovers how blind and visually impaired people navigate social challenges. The study, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, “… provides tangible ways blind and visually impaired individuals, as well as sighted people, can use communication to create more positive social interactions.” says Romo, corresponding author of the study and an associate professor of Communication.
Awards, Calls & Opportunities
The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas honored Ryan Neville-Shepard, associate professor in the Department of Communication, with the Nolan Faculty Award, one of its most prestigious endowed faculty awards. Professor Neville-Shephard’s research is in the areas of political communication, rhetorical criticism and argumentation, and tends to focus on the communication of political outsiders.
DEADLINE EXTENDED: NCA's Mass Communication Division Invites Nominations for 2022 Awards
Matthew Lapierre, mlapierre@arizona.edu
The Mass Communication Division extended the deadline for teaching, service, and dissertation awards nominations to Sunday, August 14, 2022. All awards will be presented at the NCA's Mass Communication Division Business Meeting held during the NCA Annual Convention in November 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. For more information about the conference, please refer to: http://www.natcom.org/convention/
Teaching Award
The MCD Teaching Award is designed to recognize excellence in teaching, using the term "teacher" in a broad sense. In order to be considered, the nominee must be a member of NCA and the MCD, must have taught for over ten years (post-graduate), and must have evidence of outstanding teaching, which can be demonstrated through evaluations and testimonials or formal recognition for teaching excellence by the nominee’s department, unit, college/university, or other group or association. This includes, but is not limited to awards, merit evaluations, student recognition, etc. Self-nomination is encouraged in addition to nominations by others. The nomination packet should include the Nomination Form, a list of three references with contact information (note: names and contact information are required, reference letters are optional), and the nominee’s curriculum vitae (CV).
Service Award
The MCD Service Award is designed to recognize excellence in service, using the term "service" in a broad sense. To be considered, the nominee must be a member of NCA and the MCD, must have served the NCA and MCD in a number of capacities, and must have evidence of exemplary service to several of the following: NCA, MCD, their profession, their community, their department, and/or their college/university. Self-nomination is encouraged in addition to nominations by others. The nomination packet should include the Nomination Form, a list of three references with contact information (note: names and contact information are required, reference letters are optional), and the nominee’s curriculum vitae (CV).
Dissertation Award
The MCD Dissertation Award is designed to recognize the outstanding doctoral dissertation in the field of Mass Communication. Nominations should reflect the division's focus, which seeks to enhance understanding of the structure, content, function, interpretation, and effects of our complex media environment. To be eligible for the award, the dissertation must have been officially completed (i.e., defended and filed) between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022. Nominations should be made by the dissertation advisor or a member of the Mass Communication Division of NCA. The nomination packet should include a nomination letter speaking to the intellectual and academic merit of the dissertation, a 500-word (maximum) abstract of the dissertation, the dissertation table of contents, and one dissertation chapter considered to be representative of the manuscript. (Complete dissertations will not be accepted.)
Awards Call: 2022 National Communication Association Group Communication Division
Pavitra Kavya, pkavya@cpp.edu
The Group Communication Division of the National Communication Association invites nominations for its annual awards. The deadline for all award nominations is Friday, August 26, 2022:
1. Dennis Gouran Research Award
2. Ernest Bormann Research Award
3. Laura Crowell Thesis/Dissertation Award
4. Marshall Scott Poole Career Achievement Award. Career Achievement Award. This award has very specific details, so please make sure to read all criterion carefully.
General Eligibility Criteria:
- To be eligible for the first three awards, the article, chapter, or book must have a 2020-21 copyright date; Those submitting work for award consideration must be members of NCA’s Group Communication Division, or must join the Division prior to receiving an award.
- Nominations for the first three awards will be evaluated by the Division’s awards committee with regard to the article, chapter, book, thesis, or dissertation advancing group communication theory, methods, pedagogy, and/or other practice (e.g., facilitation). The criteria for the career achievement award are provided in detail at the end of the document. In any given year, the awards committee shall review nominations for the award, and may forego recognition based on the merits of the cases or the lack of nominees.
- The awards will be presented at the business meeting of the Group Communication Division at the 2022 NCA convention in New Orleans, LA (or online).
Award-Specific Eligibility Criteria:
1. Dennis Gouran Research Award: Given to the author(s) of an outstanding article or chapter that focuses explicitly on group communication. The article or chapter can be published in a communication journal or edited book, an interdisciplinary journal or edited book, or a journal or edited book in another discipline. Nominations for the Dennis Gouran Research Award should include:
- A brief, 100 words or less, letter of nomination (self-nominations are encouraged) that provides a rationale and explanation of the significance of the article or chapter to group communication theory, research, pedagogy, and/or other practice; and
- A copy of the nominated article or chapter; and (c) any published reviews of the nominated article or chapter.
2. Ernest Bormann Research Award: Given to the author(s)/editor(s) of an outstanding scholarly book or monograph that focuses explicitly on group communication. (Textbooks are not eligible for this award.) Nominations for the Ernest Bormann Research Award should include:
- A brief, 100 words or less, letter of nomination (self-nominations are encouraged) that provides a rationale and explanation of the significance of the book or monograph to group communication theory, research, and/or practice;
- Three copies of the nominated book or monograph; and
- Any published reviews of the nominated book or monograph.
3. Laura Crowell Thesis/Dissertation Award: Given to the author of an outstanding thesis or dissertation that focuses explicitly on group communication. Nominations for the Laura Crowell Thesis/Dissertation Award should include:
- A letter from the thesis or dissertation director that provides a brief rationale and explanation of the work to group communication theory, research, and/or practice; and
- A 25–35-page abstract of the thesis or dissertation or a 25–35-page representative chapter of that work. Theses or dissertations must have been defended from 2020-21.
4. Marshall Scott Poole Career Achievement Award: Given to a scholar who has made outstanding, sustained contributions over the course of her or his career to the study of group communication. Because the award may be presented to individuals who are no longer active scholars (or awarded posthumously) but whose work has made exemplary contributions, the recipient need not be a current member of the Division, but there should be evidence of long-standing involvement with NCA and/or the Division.
Nominations for the Marshall Scott Poole Career Achievement Award should include:
- At least two letters of nomination from current NCA Group Communication Division members that address the judging criteria listed below;
- The nominee’s most recent vitae; and
- Three article-length examples of scholarship that exemplify the quality of the nominee’s work.
Nominations for the Career Achievement Award will be judged on the following criteria:
1. Theoretical/Conceptual, Methodological, and/or Practical Impact: Describe the nominee’s corpus of work, explaining how the work has advanced the study of group communication. This statement must include evidence of the impact of the work on the field.
2. Awards & Other Recognition: List awards, grants, and other forms of recognition that the nominee has received for professional accomplishments that are relevant to this award.
3. Service: Cite offices, committees, and other examples of the nominee’s service to the Group Communication Division, NCA, and other professional associations; community groups; and organizations. When discussing service outside the Division, explain how the nominee’s involvement has advanced the interests and visibility of group communication scholarship.
4. During the year following the presentation of the Career Achievement Award, the Division’s program planner will organize a session at the NCA conference celebrating the work of the recipient. Those nominating the recipient, along with the recipient (when possible), will be asked to deliver presentations describing the recipient’s work.
Submission Information:
All nomination materials for these awards above should be sent as PDF files to Pavitra Kavya pkavya@cpp.edu. If an e-copy of the book or monograph for the Ernest Bormann Research Award is not available, please email Pavitra to receive mailing addresses. All nominations and materials must be received by Friday, August 26, 2022.
2022 Awards Committee:
Pavitra Kavya (chair)
Britney N. Gilmore
Connie Yuan