In This IssueWSCA Annual Meeting, March 5-9, 2010 , Anchorage, AlaskaReflections on the 2010 WSCA ConventionAnchorage 2010Alaska Comparisons & InformationLast chance for $1,000 Life Memberships and other Executive Council and Legislative Assembly actionsWSCA Scholar Award Presented to Walter FisherDistinguished Service Award Presented to Ron LustigAnd, Of Course, There Was The IditarodExecutive Council Names 2014 Convention Site |
WSCA Annual Meeting, March 5-9, 2010 , Anchorage, Alaska
Reflections on the 2010 WSCA Convention
by Daniel J. Canary, Immediate Past President
For those who could not make last month’s WSCA convention, allow me to state that the convention was VERY COOL! Heather Hundley, then President-elect and Primary Program Planner, provided an innovative program. Also, the convention was packed into one day of preconvention workshops and two days of competitive panels. I found the convention to be one of the most rewarding in recent memory. Thank you Heather for your thoughtful and efficient planning. And thank you to all the program planners who worked so hard to make each panel a quality one.
In addition to the preconference and panel offerings, local co-hosts David Stevenson and Doug Parry made sure that our convention contained several fun extracurricular activities. These activities included the 75th anniversary of the “Fur Rendezvous,” Anchorage’s premier winter carnival, a welcome party on the historic Alaska railroad, and the start of the Iditarod. Although we could not see Russia, these activities made for a special and fun convention. Thank you David and Doug.
The convention luncheon offered “fine” dining and classical music to complement the many awards presented. Of particular note, Ron Lustig was honored with the WSCA Distinguished Service award—an award that Ron certainly merits. And Walter Fisher received the WSCA Distinguished Scholar award—only the third person to receive our highest honor for ongoing research excellence. Heather Hundley offered a tribute to outgoing WSCA Executive Director, Mark Bergstrom, for his steadfast service to our association. WSCA members from all over the country contributed to Mark’s gift. And the President (name withheld) delivered a speech, “Mixing Metaphors,” that underscored C.P. Snow’s call for humanists and scientists to respect each others’ work. On a personal note, a handful of friends thought the speech was quite memorable (though they could not recall what was said).
Finally, the Anchorage Hilton staff offered excellent service in a wonderful venue. WSCA members seemed to own the place. However, I did meet a gracious couple from Nome visiting Anchorage for the week to get out of the cold (it’s true).
In brief, the 2010 WSCA Convention in Anchorage well represented the intellectual strengths, recreational zeal, and warmth of WSCA members. You betcha, the convention was a marvelous success. Yep, it was one cool convention!
Anchorage 2010
Last chance for $1,000 Life Memberships and other Executive Council and Legislative Assembly actions
by Mark Bergstrom, Executive Director
The Finance Committee recommended that WSCA’s Life Membership Fee be increased from $1,000 to $2,000 beginning in September when the notices for membership renewal are distributed to members. The Fee has never been increased since the inception of the Life Membership. Both the Executive Council and the Legislative assembly passed the motion. If you are considering joining the Life Member ranks, do so before September in order to take advantage of the old rate!
Last year the finance committee was charged with surveying the membership regarding support for increasing the current AV fee of 5 dollars to 10 dollars. The increase will not significantly increase monies for AV, but it should bring our income up enough to cover current expenses. The Executive Council voted approval of the motion.
The Executive Council voted unanimously to put the elementary and secondary interest group on probationary status.
The Executive Council voted unanimously to approve the Futures Committee Recommendation: Recognizing that the fewer Local Host services WSCA uses, the less personalized registration services will be for WSCA members, the Futures Committee recommended that WSCA pursue a Local Host for its conventions but not require one. WSCA will continue to follow the suggested location rotation, as that puts the convention closer to a different group of schools each year. WSCA will, however, consider specific locations based on anticipated draw, new locations, and other factors rather than just considering locations with a Local Host commitment.
The Legislative Assembly voted to approve a resolution from the 2008-2009 Futures Committee chaired by Past president Sara Hayden. The Resolution states “Whereas WSCA is a family-friendly association, and whereas WSCA is committed to making association activities accessible to all members, and whereas some members are precluded from participating in WSCA activities due to family responsibilities, be it resolved that WSCA commits to considering issues of family responsibilities when identifying and implementing association activities.”
Finally, John Reinard will be assuming the role of Executive Director in July. WSCA is fortunate to have John taking over as Executive Director. It has been my great pleasure to serve the membership over the past five years, and I look forward to seeing all of you in Monterey!
Anchorage 2010
WSCA Scholar Award Presented to Walter Fisher
by Pat Ganer, President-elect
[Pat Ganer delivered these remarks in announcing the WSCA Scholar Award.]
It is my great privilege to present the 3rd annual WSCA Scholar Award. In establishing this award, the Association set forth five criteria: a sustained research program, one that is theoretically grounded, is analytically sound, advances the discipline and has been featured in WSCA journals as well as other outlets. Our first two recipients, Leslie Baxter and Brian Spitzberg personify the type of scholar we had in mind in establishing this award.
This year’s Scholar Award Committee had a number of extremely worth nominees, individuals I suspect we will see in the coming years. However, I think you will agree that there is a certain logic, a logic of good reasons, why this person was chosen.
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We seek an individual who has a sustained research program. Going back to the 1960s, this individual has published in all the major national journals, specifically the Quarterly Journal of Speech, Communication Monographs, Communication Education, the Journal of Communication and Argumentation and Advocacy, demonstrating the wide scope of this person’s thinking. The recipient’s work is also in all our regional journals, including eleven articles in the Western Journal of Communication alone. In addition, the recipient’s books, chapters in books and conference papers have stretched the boundaries of our discipline
Our criteria ask that the research be theoretically grounded, analytically strong, and advance the discipline. Our recipient’s accomplishments in that arena help a motive view of our decision. Let me expand the narrative a bit more. It has been said that our recipient has been significantly formative in rhetorical theory be being one of the few to redress the reliance on theorists outside the discipline by providing a homegrown theory, one that has heavily influence research both within and outside the discipline. Any survey of contemporary rhetorical theory is incomplete unless it considers this person’s work—work that is both theory and paradigm Moreover, one individual wrote, “I challenge anyone to read the writings and not be impressed by the elegance and accessibility of the work. Unlike many writers with more turgid argot, these works are written with such concise prose that they are themselves exemplars of the art of persuasion.”
Continuing the narrative, publications alone do not represent the totality of this person's contributions to scholarship. The awardee has served as Editor of the Western Journal of Communication and has directed the dissertations of thirty-eight students, five of which earned the dissertation awards from the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association.
Those students and the colleagues from a forty year career at the University of Southern California will probably be the first to rise as we honor a former WSCA editor, a former WSCA President, a former WSCA Distinguished Award winner and, now, the WSCA Scholar, Walter R. Fisher.
Anchorage 2010
Distinguished Service Award Presented to Ron Lustig
by Shane Moreman, Chair, Distinguished Service Award Committee
[Awarding Dr. Myron L. “Ron” Lusting with the WSCA Distinguished Service Award, Shane Moreman authored this speech.]
It is my honor to present this year’s Distinguished Service Award.
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My first WSCA conference was in 2004 in Albuquerque, New Mexico… the land of enchantment. I was inspired by that particular conference’s contagious congeniality as well as its “fierce” leadership. At this conference, I quickly learned of the rites of rituals of WSCA: the reunions in the lobby, the Sunday night sock hop, the Monday morning hangovers, the long, long, long Executive Council meetings… And through the years I’ve tried my best never to miss a WSCA.
One of the important rituals of WSCA is this luncheon here today. And within this ritual is the awarding of the Distinguished Service Award.
So, who is it?
Look to your left, look to your right. Possibly you are sitting next to someone who has put in hours and hours to help WSCA run like a well-oiled machine. Interest Group Chairs, Interest Group Secretaries, Paper Reviewers, Panel Chairs, Panel Respondents… and of course the members of numerous committees like the Finance Committee, the Publication Committee or even the program planner for WSCA 2012 in Monterey Bay.
The service that we do for and at WSCA does not necessarily get us much “street cred” in our departments; it doesn’t necessarily get us kudos in our families; nor does it necessarily get us higher paychecks. What it does get us is moments like this one, nestled in a warm hotel in Anchorage, Alaska with some people who will come to offer us some of the most meaningful friendships throughout our lives.
The Distinguished Service Award stands to honor someone amongst us who has made “considerable and longstanding contributions to WSCA and the communication field.” As hard as you worked to make WSCA happen, this person is being honored as someone who is an example of one of the hardest workers throughout the years among us.
Another ritual of WSCA is that I am not allowed to tell you the name of the recipient until the end of my speech. Growing up with Spanish as one of my languages, all things have a stated gender. In Spanish you place “el” or “la” before a noun. “El piso” means that the floor is masculine. “La mesa” means that the table is feminine.” In writing this English-languaged speech, I got so confused with mixing the masculine and the feminine, that I decided to use a hybrid of the two and refer to the awardee as an “it.” So rather than he or she, him or her, this person is “it.”
So, who is it?
This person, “it,” has been an active WSCA member for years and years. “It” has served on the Executive Council, Publications Committee, Legislative Assembly, Finance Committee, Name-Change Committee, Distinguished Service Award Committee, Future’s Committee, Nominating Committee, Distinguished Scholars Committee, Time-and-Place Committee, and in various interest-group positions. And you know what, “it’s” still attending interest group meetings. I was at the Intercultural Interest Group meeting and I saw “it” there.
So, who is it?
It has served at First Vice President, President Elect and Primary Program Planner, President and Immediate Past President. And it continues its involvement with the Executives Club.
Even though it has been so busy with WSCA, it has always continued to shape our field with its scholarship. 24 articles, 17 book chapters, two highly important textbooks, and 60 conference papers. And it’s presenting a paper at this conference too!
Sue Pendell wrote: “Perhaps a little known fact about [it]. [It’s] an avid and accomplished photographer. [It] took many of the photographs published in the book, Intercultural Competence and [it] has even seen [its] photographs published in the Los Angeles Times.”
So, who is it?
It clearly has a commitment to WSCA as evidenced through extensive participation both through scholarship and service. The personality of this person is wonderfully subversive. Of this nominee, Kathy Adams said “You can always count on [it] to be the devil’s advocate. [It’s] contrariness has more often than not helped WSCA see issues in a different way and in a much needed different way. [It’s] a bit of a contrarian AND [it’s] the sort of person that allows any organization not to get stuck.”
So, who is it?
One last thing: It’s a person who is in a faculty early retirement program at its university. A person who, rather than resting on its laurels after retirement, has decided to take on new challenges by focusing its energies on teaching in Shanghai, China. For the past two years, it has been teaching there. Of this person, Kurt Lindemann says, “[This person] inspires me with [its] commitment to teaching. Like no other professor, [it] is dedicated to undergraduate teaching and has shown me how important it is not only to focus on the graduate students, but on the undergraduates too.”
So, who is it?
El macho… El hombre de la hora…
Please join me in congratulating this year’s Distinguished Service Award winner. Dr. Myron L. “Ron” Lustig.
Anchorage 2010
And, Of Course, There Was The Iditarod
The 2010 ceremonial start of the Iditarod took place in downtown Anchorage during the WSCA convention. Some WSCA members watched the proceedings from the top floor of the Hilton Hotel, where they also enjoyed a warm breakfast and coffee. Others joined the crowds on 4th Avenue, on which snow had been dumped for the occasion. Among them was former WSCA President Ron Lustig, who took these photos:
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The official start of the race occurred outside of Anchorage on Sunday, March 7. The winning sled, with four-time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey as team captain, pulled into Nome on March 16. The last team to reach Nome arrived on March 20.
Executive Council Names 2014 Convention Site
by Sue Pendell, Colorado State University
At its Anchorage meeting, the WSCA Executive Council selected Long Beach as the 2014 convention site. The local host team will be anchored by the communication studies faculty at California State University, Long Beach.