1997 Convention Offers "Not Business as Usual"
WSCA Distinguished Service Award Speech: 1996 Honoree: John W. "Sam" Keltner
1997 WSCA Distinguished Service Award
32nd Annual Hayward Rhetorical Criticism Conference
Attention Health Communication Scholars!
University of Utah Department of Communication
Call for Contributions Communication Yearbook, Vol. 22
By the time you read this column, many of you will be making final arrangements for Monterey. Drives to Big Sur will be planned, whale watch tours will be scheduled, trips to the newly expanded Monterey Bay Aquarium will be anticipated, and presentations will be rehearsed.
I am certainly looking forward to the intellectual and social stimulation I have come to expect at WSCA. All indicators suggest that the 68th annual meeting will be a smashing success! President-Elect Leslie Baxter and Program Planner Lee West have pulled together 133 different programs for our intellectual pleasure, while local hosts Kathy Adams and Dave Natharius have been working for months to insure that we have fun.
Of the 133 programs scheduled, 7 emphasize Health Communication, a newly approved and probationary WSCA interest group. At the interim Executive Council meeting in November, we approved a petition from scholars in health communication to form an interest group to address the special interests of those who do research in health care. As the petitioners met all criteria specified in the WSCA Policies and Procedures, they were granted a two-year probationary period. At the end of two years the number of programs sponsored by the group, the number of members affiliating with the group, the number of members attending annual meetings of the group, and elaboration of the goals of the group will be reviewed. At that time the Executive Council will make a recommendation to the Legislative Assembly regarding the group's permanent status.
At the November Executive Council meeting, we also finalized four other items. First, Ron Lustig of San Diego State University was appointed as Editor-Elect of Communication Reports, Virginia Fish of Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming was selected as incoming Speech Activities Coordinator, and Kurt Nordstrom of CSU-Chico was selected as Institutional Membership Coordinator. We also voted to hold our February 1999 meeting at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia.
At the end of the 1997 conference, my service as President of WSCA comes to an end. Over the last six years I have had the privilege of serving the Association as a Member-at-Large, Second Vice President, First Vice President, President-Elect, and now as President. I approach the Monterey convention with a great deal of reflection about my personal and professional commitment to this organization. Simply put, I am delighted to have had the opportunity to serve this Association, as I have learned so much from observing my predecessors. As a tribute to them, in my Presidential Remarks, I will review the speeches of Stephen Littlejohn, Bill Eadie, Bob Avery, and Jolene Koester to highlight the contributions they have made to this Association and the discipline it serves.
So, until we meet in February, I wish all of you a productive fall term. I look forward to celebrating the spirit and verve of WSCA with all of you in Monterey Bay!
--Betsy Wackernagel Bach
Had enough of the "white stuff?" Shoveled that driveway once too many time this winter? Not seen the sun since forever? Well have Dave and Kathy got a remedy for the wintertime blues. Come to Monterey CA!
The Western States Communication annual convention in February (14-18) is located in one of the most beautiful areas of the United States.
If you want some surf we have that. If the wilderness is your pleasure we have that too. For the shoppers we have the towns of Monterey, Pacific Grove and, of course, Carmel. Dave and Kathy have put together a list of local host events and planned excursions we are sure all of you will find exciting. On Saturday (15) the gold tournament will be held at the Old Del Monte Golf Course at the convention hotel--the Monterey Hyatt Regency.
Also, on Saturday we will hold the tennis tournament at the hotel's tennis courts. Sunday evening is the traditional WSCA Sock Hop in the Regency Grand Ballroom--bring your dancing shoes or should we say your dancing socks! Our planned excursions will be a trip to see the elephant seals at the Ano Nuevao State Reserve and a trip to the Big Sur Wilderness area. These are planned for Saturday. Sunday's trip is a Monterey Bay sailing cruise and whale watch. Dave and Kathy look forward to seeing all you in Monterey for what promises to be an unforgettable experience.
--Kathy Adams & Dave Natharius
Planning for the 1997 convention in Monterey is now completed. We have 133 programs and over 610 listed participants in the program. The range in program content promises something of interest to everyone!
We will kick off the convention on Saturday, February 15th with another (in)famous WSCA Town Hall Debate on the resolution "Resolved: In the 21st century, the communication curriculum will not be 'business as usual'." We will conclude the debate by dividing the house, so be sure to attend and have your vote counted!
On Sunday, February 16th, Dr. Kenneth Gergen (Swarthmore College) and Dr. Mary Gergen (Penn State University) serve as our keynote speakers on the topic "Relationalia: A Performative Hyperlogue." For over a decade now, the Gergens have been leaders in developing an alternative approach to the doing of social scientific research, known as social constructionism. The Gergens previewed their presentation with the following description: "We take seriously the sense in which language is performative. We explore various facets of a relational theory of communication and cultural construction by moving through diverse sites of performance. As hypertextual spaces are generated, in which sites are related in multiplex dialogue, the narrative form of argument is broken.
The theory/action binary is subverted, theory is given visual, auditory, and dramatic dimensions. We hope our shift in presentational form permits us all to have a good time." Join the Gergens for brunch preceding the Keynote and be sure to attend what promises to be an unusual, and stimulating "Keynote Hyperlogue." Leslie A. Baxter, President-Elect
"He is a man of great personal warmth and wisdom whose friendship and support has been appreciated by many members of WSCA over the years" (J. Elvins). The objective of this award is to honor a colleague who has served this association and our discipline in many ways, for many years.
The 1996 recipient of the WSCA Distinguished Service Award was John W. "Sam" Keltner. He has served our discipline in many ways, including:
WSCA: President, Vice President, Executive Council member, Executive's Club member, and as a member of numerous committees.
Scholarship: numerous articles, book chapters, and convention presentations.
Additional contributions include: Outstanding Professor, Practitioner/Consultant for numerous agencies and organizations, Department Chair, and a mentor to many scholars and professionals.
The committee was most impressed while reviewing the letters of nomination. A few quotations confirm the impact Dr. Keltner has had on WSCA and our discipline including:
"For a number of years his writing virtually defined this young and very rapidly growing part of our field" (John Stewart).
"deserves the award because he was a hell of a good teacher" (R. Victor Harnack).
And to summarize, a final quotation: "His career has been varied and his influence on careers and lives profound" (Janet Anderson).
These testimonials confirm the impact this individual has had on:
WSCA and the discipline; those who have shared time with him in the classroom, workshops or collaborated on consulting projects; friends and colleagues in his community; and even spouses of colleagues.
Individuals nominating him for this award hold positions as Professors, Consultants, and governmental officials--including a former member of the Oregon State House of Representatives, a most impressive list of individuals who attribute a great deal of their success to our honoree.
--Timothy M. Downs
The Distinguished Service Award of Western States Communication Association honors persons who have made considerable and long-standing contributions both to WSCA and to the field of Communication. Previous award winners include Gale Richards, Walter Fisher, James McBath, Malcom O. Sillars, Jack Samosky, Thomas M.
Schiedel, Nancy Gossage McDermid and John W. "Sam" Keltner. The WSCA Distinguished Service Award Committee seeks nominations, which should include a detailed listing of the nominee's accomplishments (or a vita) and one or more of the nominee's contributions to WSCA and the field. Past nominee materials may also be updated.
Nominations should be forwarded no later than January 31, 1997.
Direct questions and nominations to the committee chair: Dr. Wen Shu Lee, Committee Chair, Department of Communication Studies, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192-0112. Phone (408) 9245371; Fax (408) 924-5396; e-mail: wen-shu@ sjsuvm1.sjsu.edu.
--Wen Shu Lee
The 32nd Annual Conference in Rhetorical Criticism will be held at California State University, Hayward, on Friday, May 9, 1997. The Conference includes professors' oral and written critiques of papers with rhetorical dimensions by undergraduate and first-year graduate students; ample opportunity in a relaxed and informal atmosphere to share thoughts with well-published as well as beginning critics of rhetorical communication; presentation of commended papers; and a social hour and banquet.
This year's featured critic and main speaker will be Thomas B. Farrell, Northwestern University. Professor Farrell will present an informal morning lecture on "Rhetorical Collecting: Toward an Appreciative Criticism," and deliver the keynote banquet address: "Magnitude, Minutia, and Cultural Delirium: An Allegorical Adventure." All participants will receive the 1997 Conference journal which will carry Professor Farrell's address and commended papers by students. If interested in participating, please immediately contact Karen Fritts (510)885-3925 (kfritts@csuhayward.edu), or Anne Pym (510)885-3930 (apym@csuhayward.edu) at the Department of Speech Communication, California State University, Hayward, CA 94542.
--Karen Fritts
There will be a meeting of the newly formed
Health Communication Interest Group,
Sunday, February 16, 1997, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Big Sur #1.
The University of Utah Department of Communication has a long and distinguished tradition of commitment to excellence in graduate education.
The Ph.D. program offers the opportunity to study the many facets of human communication within a broadbased and eclectic orientation.
The Utah Ph.D. program has two distinctive features. First, the department is committed to research and teaching across the full spectrum of communication. It has effectively integrated areas of study in Speech Communication and Mass Communication which offers an exceedingly rich and diverse context for doctoral studies and research.
A second distinctive feature of the Utah Ph.D. program is that it is competency based. That is, requirements for the Ph.D. degree are not defined by a specified number of credits or course requirements. Rather, completion of the degree is based on the achievement and demonstration of four areas of competency. Two of these competencies, communication theory and research methodology, must be demonstrated by all students in the program. The other two competencies are established in consultation with a supervisory committee and are uniquely defined for each student.
Thus, each student's program of study is individually designed in accordance with the student's personal and professional objectives, and the department's ability to provide corresponding learning opportunities.
The Department of Communication makes a concerted effort to insure individual attention and to maximize faculty-student interaction. The concept of a "community of scholars" who share the excitement of learning is fundamental to the Ph.D. program. Approximately 60 Ph.D. students are currently enrolled in the program and there are 29 faculty members.
For further information contact Professor Robert Tiemens, Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112; or visit the department's web site at http://diakonos.hum.utah.edu/communication/dept.html.
--Robert Tiemens
Editor Michael Roloff is soliciting manuscripts and proposals for Communication Yearbook 22. Communication Yearbook publishes stateof-the-art literature reviews, and thus seeks articles providing comprehensive syntheses of literature (i.e., articles that survey, critique, and integrate a large body of literature that has appeared on a specific, relatively narrow topic).
Reviews from all areas of the communication discipline are welcome; CY seeks to represent the diverse range of philosophical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives informing contemporary communication scholarship. Literature reviews employing both narrative and quantitative (i.e., meta-analytic) methodologies are sought. Contributions from scholars residing outside the United States are especially welcome.
Completed reviews or extended proposals (15-30 pages) will be considered; brief proposals are not acceptable and will be returned to the author. Proposals should (a) identify a specific topic on which an extensive body of material has been published, (b) develop a rationale for the review of this literature, (c) delineate the approach and methodology to be used in the review, (d) provide a detailed outline of the review, and (e) present a working bibliography. A cover letter addressed to the Editor should briefly describe the qualifications of the author(s) to undertake a literature review in the designated area. All submissions to CY undergo blind review by at least two experts in the field.
Complete manuscripts or proposals must be received by March 3, 1997. Send three high-quality copies to: Michael E. Roloff, Editor, Communication Yearbook, Dept. of Communication Studies, 23 Harris Hall, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. Phone: (847)
491-5834; Fax: (847) 467-1171; Internet: m-roloff@nwu.edu.
With the SCA, WSCA, ECA, and SSCA Archives now housed at the Marriott Library of the University of Utah, an effort is being made to develop an inventory of Archives for the profession. Malcolm Sillars of the University of Utah would like to know of any archives of individuals or organizations, where they are housed, and how they may be accessed.
He would also like to know the nature and location of any publications (dissertations, theses, monographs, etc.) that develop the history of a particular department, influential person, biography, or activity. The video or audio tapes of persons who were significant to the field also need to be located.
The Archives at the University of Utah are subsidized in part by SCA and the regional organizations. The Marriott Library does not have the means to process and store individual or departmental archives; however, most University libraries maintain archives of prominent faculty members.
Retired faculty members should keep this is mind and make arrangements to have their archives preserved at their home institution. Such archives usually contain items such as correspondence, drafts of papers, syllabi, photos, diaries, and audio and video tapes. Books and journals are usually found in the regular library collection.
Any member of SCA whose papers are archived at a University library (or elsewhere) or who knows of other papers that are so archived, please inform Malcolm Sillars, Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, (801) 581-5875.
The Speech Communication Association Archives are now housed in the Special Collections Division of the Marriott Library at the University of Utah. They are now sorted and boxed and the library staff is currently developing a finding aid for their use by scholars researching the history of the profession.
The Special Collections Division also houses the Western States Communication Association Archives (finding aid available) and the Eastern Communication Association Archives (at the Library, sorting to begin soon). The Southern Communication Association Archives are expected to be sent to the University of Utah soon.
For additional information on the Communication Archives, you can contact Nancy Young, Special Collections Division, Marriott Library, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, (801) 581-8864, or SCA representative to the Archives, Malcolm Sillars, Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, (801) 581-8864, or SCA representative to the Archives, Malcolm Sillars, Department of Communication, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, (801) 581-5875.
WSCA News Western States Communication Association News is published three times yearly. Deadline for copy: March 14, 1997. Please send copy to the editor: Michael E. Mayer, Department of Communication, Arizona State University, PO Box 871205, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1205, phone: 602-965-5090, e-mail: Michael.Mayer@asu.edu. Typesetting provided by Publication Assistance Center in the College of Public Programs, Arizona State University.
WSCA News: The Web Version was adapted by John A. Cagle for the Internet.
Link to WSCA.