WSCA Elections

Statements of the Candidates
for Association-Wide Offices

(presented in random order)

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT  (One person is elected who moves up to President-Elect/Program Planner, serves as President, and then Immediate Past-President, and also serves on Executive Council.)

Lisa A. Flores (Associate Professor, University of Colorado).  I am honored to have been asked to run for First Vice President of WSCA.  I attended my first WSCA in February of 1996, the year that I took my first full-time tenure track position.  Since then, Western has been an important organization for me, helping me to understand what it means to be in the discipline.  As I reflect upon my career and upon the significance of being a candidate for this position, I realize just how crucial our organizations are in our lives, both professional and personal.   WSCA has given me professional and personal tools that have shaped who and how I want to be—a dedicated professional who finds meaning and engagement in my work and in all of my life—and this candidacy offers me the opportunity to think about how to help continue the strong tradition and set of values that is WSCA.

In the years that I have been involved with WSCA, I have had the chance to learn about different aspects of the organization.  As program planner for the Intercultural Division and as Vice Chair of the Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC), I participated in program planning and newsletter writing.  Later, as President of ORWAC, I was charged with ensuring the continued growth, fiscal health, and overall vigor of the organization.  Relatively early in my career, I was elected an at-large member of the WSCA Executive Committee, where I headed the Model Teaching Program Award Committee and was involved in larger organizational discussions and decisions such as site selection, creation of nominees for various committees, and budget planning.  In the year that I served as 2nd Vice President, I was responsible for planning both the undergraduate research conference and the graduate open house.  Both experiences were incredibly rewarding, as I was able to see and meet some of our best and brightest students.  Running the membership drive in that same year provided incredible perspective, as I had to become familiar with the many populations we serve.  Finally, I have served for the past several years on the editorial boards of both the Western Journal of Communication and Women’s Studies in Communication, experiences which continue to remind me of the importance of scholarship and of the necessity of mentoring young scholars.  Each of these positions has been crucial to both my professional and personal growth.  I benefitted from the mentoring of others, and I was given openings through which to develop networks of colleagues and friends who have helped to nurture me.  I developed incredible respect for WSCA and its commitment to remaining a member-centered organization that is dedicated to fostering its members and helping us learn to navigate an often confusing profession.  I value the commitment of WSCA to mentoring graduate students and junior faculty and to creating ways for the full range of our members to find a space and a home in the organization and the discipline.  That WSCA continue to strive to meet our needs and to do so in ways that are also about friendship and fun is in large part why I am willing and honored to serve the organization as 1st Vice President. 

Sustenance is the word that best captures how I think about WSCA and what I would like to see the organization focus on over the next few years.  I imagine that the next few years will bring considerable challenges, as more faculty across different campuses face budget cuts and furloughs, as graduate students see program resources and job openings shrink, and as support for part-time instructors is perhaps diminished, we need ways to find meaning and identity in our work.  We will need to remain fiscally-strong at a time in which many of us will have fewer resources, and I will need to work with WSCA leadership to ensure that.  At the same time, WSCA can and should be part of how we connect to and continue to generate enthusiasm for our work as well as for our bodies and souls.  The humanity that has long been at the heart of WSCA must be nurtured so that WSCA can continue to strive to understand and then meet all of our varied needs.  I would enjoy the opportunity to work with all of you in this effort.

Douglas Fraleigh (CSU Fresno)—The 2010s will begin my fifth decade with WSCA, and like more than a few members, that connection began with my participation in forensics.  When I left for three years to teach and coach at Cornell in the late 1980s, I would run into colleagues from Western having a great time together at NCA, be welcomed like a long-lost family member, and remember what I was missing.  Since beginning my career at Fresno State in 1990, it has been a pleasure to look forward to conferences from Albuquerque to Anchorage.  I am honored to be nominated to run for office and appreciate the opportunity to share some information about my participation in WSCA, professional experiences, and aspirations if elected.

     A Life Member, my involvement in WSCA includes the Finance Committee (Chair 2006), Executive Council, and three terms as chair of the Freedom of Expression and Legal Communication Interest Group.  My convention activity includes presenting papers, participating in panel discussions, debates, and mock trials, serving as respondent, and judging competitive papers.  During my tenure as forensics director, the Barking Bulldogs participated in the WSCA tournament every year (except for the time our van died en route in 1993).  I also have experience in leadership positions in regional and national forensics organizations.

     My own teaching and research interests include argumentation, freedom of speech, and legal communication.  My publications include books on freedom of expression and public speaking (co-authored with Joseph Tuman).  At Fresno State, I teach a diverse range of students--from first semester freshmen in our introductory speech course to students in our Honors College and graduate program.  I have been our undergraduate program coordinator for the past four years.  My previous teaching includes speech and debate classes for elementary, middle, and high school students.
        
     If elected, my objectives would be:

• To work collaboratively with the leaders and members of WSCA to achieve shared goals; for example, increasing membership and participation from the broad range of students, faculty, and programs that we serve, showcasing the diversity of our fields and methods of inquiry and the productivity of our research at conventions and in the community, ensuring our financial health, and considering options for using resources more efficiently.  WSCA presidents are not like CEOs who may be asked to take a business in a new direction over the course of several years.  And academics are not known for their love of top-down reforms.  Our presidents serve for one year and pass the torch to their successors, making it important for leaders to extend the good work of their predecessors and work with the membership to identify and implement shared aspirations of the future.
• To help WSCA serve as a resource for programs facing financial exigency.  I have seen this problem first-hand with students dropping out mid-semester because they cannot afford tuition increases and long-time colleagues with excellent records of teaching not being rehired for financial reasons, and I know the situation is not unique to our campus.  WSCA colleagues and institutions are coping with a myriad of threats, including program closures, faculty layoffs, loss of classes, and budget cuts.  As a leader, I would like to make administrators more aware of the good work of our colleagues and students.  As an institution, I would like to see us take a more proactive role to share our experiences and possible solutions through discourse and on our Website.  We need to be prepared to help each other to make the case for communication programs to administrators and the public.
• To maintain our tradition of working hard and playing hard.
• To make a commitment commensurate with the trust you would place in me.  I would make WSCA my #1 professional focus and endeavor to be well-organized, attentive to our organization’s needs, and responsive to your e-mails and phone calls.  During my years as forensics director at Fresno State, we hosted a large annual forensics tournament.    I worked hard for weeks in advance to ensure it would be organized, on time, and enjoyable.  I would make the same effort for WSCA. 

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT (One person is elected for a one-year term to conduct a membership campaign, coordinate the Undergraduate Scholars’ Research Conference, the Graduate Student Workshop and Open House, and serve on the Member Services Committee and the Executive Council.)

Tracey Quigley Holden—I first joined Western in 1994, as an MA student at San Diego State University. I have maintained my WSCA membership ever since, and continued attending Western conventions while obtaining my Ph.D. from Penn State. While I first joined Western because of its great scholars, cutting edge knowledge, and outstanding leadership, I have remained a member because of Western’s unique, dynamic organizational spirit and camaraderie.

I have been involved in Western in many ways.  I’ve presented, responded to and/or reviewed papers for the Rhetoric and Public Address, Media Studies and ORWAC interest groups. I’ve served as the Rhetoric and Public Address interest group secretary, vice-chair and chair.  I was an At-Large representative to the Legislative Assembly for 2007-2009.  I’ve also served three years on the Finance Committee, chairing in 2008 and sitting on our Executive Council, and will serve another term on the Finance Committee as we transition to our new Executive Director.  My Western experiences have been a central element in my academic career to date.  I have taught in a wide range of academic settings: community college, large research institution, mid- level state school, and small private college. My research focuses on American political and institutional rhetoric, especially the American military, although recently I’ve been exploring organizational and business discourse.  I’m passionate about making research accessible to undergraduates, graduates, colleagues, and the world beyond academia.  At Western’s 2005 convention in San Francisco, I organized a successful preconference on social movement rhetoric which included time for students and senior scholars to share their work.  All of these experiences have been invaluable.  Most importantly, participating in Western has given me the opportunity to see what Western does well, and how it can further improve its support of members.

That is why I’m running for Second Vice President. The 2nd VP is responsible for the Undergraduate Student Research Conference, the Graduate Open House, and a membership drive. I believe Western can and should offer more opportunities to showcase the scholarship and leadership of our current members and their students. We should publicize job postings, recognize Western members who are publishing and engaging in other forms of scholarship, and connect Western people who are now in other regions with new graduate students and new PhDs.  We should increase participation in the USRC by encouraging submission of class papers and working with campus Lambda Pi Eta chapters.  We should ask current graduate students to attend the Open House and share their insights with prospective students, both informally and by incorporating a graduate student “survival panel” into the program.  Most importantly, we need to ensure that Western continues to offer all the opportunities it does now, and to trumpet the benefits of membership in Western to those who are missing out.
I love Western!  And I would be honored to serve as our association’s Second Vice President, working to continue our traditions of professionalism and camaraderie, preserve the organization that we value so highly, and ensure our continued future success.

Michelle Holling—As a candidate for Second Vice President of the Western States Communication Association, I welcome the opportunity to serve the organization.  I am currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Co-Coordinator of the Ethnic Studies Program at California State University San Marcos.  Prior to these appointments, I held positions at Colorado State University and Syracuse University preceded by earning my doctorate at Arizona State University.

Over the course of my career, I have taught 17 courses at lower and upper-division, honors, and graduate level.  Specific courses taught include fundamentals such as Argumentation, Public Speaking and Small Group, culture related courses such as Gender, Intercultural, Feminist Rhetorical Theory, and ethnic specific courses focused on Chicana/os’ and Latina/os’ history and mediated representations.  In my current position I teach courses falling within the rhetorical tradition.  My scholarly pursuits have been central to delivering course content.  Broadly speaking my research examines the rhetoric of marginalized voices.  More exactly, I study Chicana/o vernacular rhetoric, both contemporary and historical texts, with attention on issues related to discursive constructions of identity, hegemony and counter-hegemony, and dominant and self representations.  In 2007, I was honored to have my scholarship be awarded the B. Aubrey Fisher Award for Outstanding Journal Article.

My involvement and experience with WSCA began well over a decade ago when I attended my first conference in Albuquerque as a master’s student.  Since then I have attended WSCA over the years as a presenter and reviewer for a division.  Although I have more extensive professional service at the level of NCA, that which is most relevant to WSCA is my three years spent as President of ORWAC (the Organization for Research on Women and Communication).  I have found my tenure to be especially gratifying as I, with the support of fellow officers, developed and implemented a research development grant that supports scholars at all ranks pursuing feminist research.  As well my responsibilities have included searching for and seating a journal editor, planning conference programs, gathering and archiving the organization’s herstory, (re)negotiating contracts with journal distributors and publishers, and participating in branding the organization.  I am confident that the experience I have gained through ORWAC will play a central role in becoming Second Vice President, if elected.

My interest in the position of and responsibilities associated with the Second Vice President of WSCA extends and aligns with professional commitments I maintain currently.  I am a strong proponent of efforts designed to mentor undergraduate students, to introduce and heighten students’ interest in producing original research, and to acquaint students more directly with the discipline of Communication.  At my current institution, I serve as a faculty mentor, formally and informally, to undergraduate Communication students; I have helped undergraduates to navigate the “conference scene”; and I have advised students submitting their work for research competitions both locally and regionally.  Finally, my interest in the position is guided by my commitment to valuing and espousing diversity; that is, diversifying the leaders and members of the association as well as elevating the perspectives of marginalized groups in the discipline.

DELEGATES-AT-LARGE TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY (Five people are elected for two-year terms to represent WSCA members at the annual convention’s Legislative Assembly meetings.)

Teresa Bergman (Ph.D., University of California, Davis, 2001) is an Associate Professor at the University of the Pacific.  Teresa joined WSCA in 1998 and over the years has presented papers and served as a respondent and as a reviewer for the Media Studies and the Rhetoric and Public Address Interest Groups.  She also served as a reviewer for the WSCA Undergraduate Conference in 2008.   She was president of the Media Studies Interest Group during 2006­–7, and in 2007 she served on the committee to select the B. Aubrey Fisher award.  She currently serves on the editorial board for the Western Journal of Communication.   Teresa has found a wonderful academic home in WSCA—one that is full of great colleagues and that provides a dynamic atmosphere supporting new and creative research.  She looks forward to the possibility of continuing the give back to WSCA by serving on the Legislative Assembly.

Eve-Anne Doohan is an Assistant Professor at the University of San Francisco where she teaches courses in interpersonal and family communication.  She has been a member of WSCA since 2000.  She has served on the WSCA Nominating Committee, as Chair and Program Planner for the Communication Theory Interest Group, and as Legislative Assembly Representative for the Interpersonal Communication Interest Group.  She has enjoyed serving WSCA in these positions and would like to continue her service to the organization. 

Julie Schutten, Northern Arizona University, has been attending WSCA almost every year since 1999. WSCA was her introduction to the world of Communication Studies outside of her undergraduate classes. This world offered a place where ideas and activism were valued. In addition to attending WSCA conferences over the years, she became a member of ORWAC and soon found a place for her feminist voice. In working to create more space at WSCA for urgent environmental voices to be able to share scholarship and generate ideas, Julie and two others worked to found the Environmental Communication (EC) Interest Group in 2006.  Now in its second year as an interest group she is currently serving as Chair. As a part of WSCA, she has learned much about collegiality, scholarship, and blending hard work with hard play. In addition to serving in these other capacities she would be honored to continue her service representing her colleagues as a Member-At-Large in the Legislative Assembly of WSCA.

Alexis Olds (Ph.D., University of Utah, 1989, MA, BA San Jose State University) is an Adjunct Professor at the University of La Verne, and a lecturer at Cuesta College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.  Alexis began her membership with WSCA in 1982 while in the Graduate Program at Michigan State University.  Her academic interests lie in the study of media effects and teaching both quantitative and qualitative research methods.  During her long association with WSCA she was Chair and program planner for the Media Studies Interest Group, presented a top three paper to the MSIG, Chaired and Responded on several panels for Media Studies, Interpersonal, and Organizational Communication interest groups, presented her own research, co-authored with and accompanied several of her students to present at WSCA conventions, and served on the Legislative Assembly.  She looks forward to once again serving on Legislative Assembly. 

Cindy Koenig Richards is an assistant professor of Rhetoric and Media Studies at Willamette University. She’s been actively involved in WSCA since she was a graduate student, and she recently published "Inventing Sacagawea: Public Women and the Transformative Potential of Epideictic Rhetoric" in Western Journal of Communication. One of the things she values about WSCA is the way it encourages the exchange of ideas and networking among people at various stages of their careers, from undergraduate students to full professors. In the interest of supporting this exceptional quality and the good work of WSCA, she welcomes the opportunity to serve on the Legislative Assembly of the Association.

Eric Aoki (Ph.D., University of Washington, 1997) is an Associate Professor at Colorado State University. Eric began his membership with WSCA back in 1991. Through the years he has presented and/or served as respondent with the Intercultural, Interpersonal, Media Studies, Rhetoric and Public Address, and Instructional Communication Interest Groups. Eric is affiliated with multiple ethnic minority and GLBT caucus groups, and he currently serves on the Editorial Board for the Western Journal of Communication. Eric’s membership with WSCA is foundational to his scholarly identity and his long-term sense of academic community. He looks forward to the possibility of serving on Legislative Assembly.   

Amy Kilgard is an Assistant Professor in the Communication Studies Department at San Francisco State University. Her areas of expertise are performance studies, qualitative and critical research methodologies, and performance pedagogy. She has been a member of WSCA since 2003. She has been a chair and program planner for the Performance Studies Interest Group, and a co-chair of the local host planning committee for the 2005 conference in San Francisco.

Kurt Lindemann has been an active communication teacher and scholar in the Western region for several years. After receiving his Ph.D. from Arizona State University he became an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication at San Diego State University, where he directs the basic communication course, and teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in communication theory, ethnography, organizational communication, and performance studies. This experience has enabled him to participate in WSCA in a number of ways: he has been a regular attendee and presenter since 2003, has served as Secretary and Chair for the Performance Studies Interest Group, was elected as the Western Regional Representative for the PS Division at NCA, and has published in the Western Journal of Communication. His continued efforts and interest in the rich tradition of communication scholarship and education in the West fuel his desire to serve as a member of the WSCA Legislative Assembly.

Amy F. Edwards is a full-time, tenured, Communications Studies professor at Oxnard College in Southern California. Amy is the only full-time member of her department, so she is solely responsible for the majority of Communication Studies-related events and projects. Professor Edwards has been attending and actively participating in WSCA since 2001 and knows she will always serve because this association, through collective learning and collaboration, makes her a better teacher and learner. Amy currently serves on the WSCA Member Services Committee, was the Community College Interest Group chair and program planner for two years, and has presented and chaired several panels over the years. In addition to teaching Communication courses and working with WSCA, Amy is proud to be giving back to the youths in theatrical community as the owner of a children’s musical theatre company called Class Act Musical Theatre in Woodland Hills, CA. Her two careers meld into one, as they both focus on the dynamics of human communication, performance, and the process of learning. On a personal level, Amy is a proud newlywed! She, and her husband, Guy, were married in May, 2008, and were recently accepted as contestants on “The New Newlywed Game”. The couple doesn’t have children, yet, but the future is wide open.

From the Executive Director

WSCA 2009 Election Goes Online

by Mark Bergstrom, WSCA Executive Director

Last February, the Executive Council and Legislative Assembly approved a proposal to move to electronic voting for WSCA elections.  WSCA is using BallotBin.com for our online election process this year.  The Ballot and Candidate Statements will only appear online.  Electronic notices will be sent out Sunday, November 1st.  You will have until Sunday November 22nd to vote.

If you have “aggressive” spam filters, please set your filters to allow emails from notices@ballotbin.com.  We have tested the system and have not discovered any problems.  Your privacy is protected, and your ballot remains confidential.  If you encounter any problem, contact BallotBin.com or email me directly at mark.bergstrom@utah.edu .

The 2009 membership mailing will be going out this week.  It is time to renew your membership.  Memberships run from January 1st to December 31st.  I have simplified the renewal process on the WSCA website, and I hope you are pleased with the new process.  A reminder to vote in the election will be included in the membership mailing.

WSCA Annual Meeting, March 5-9, 2010 , Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage Awaits

by Doug Parry, co-Local Host

This morning there are two moose next to the swing set in our backyard in the middle of Anchorage. Beyond the moose, stand the beautiful Chugach Mountains. Moose and mountain views, including Mount McKinley, the Chugach Mountains, Sleeping Lady, and the Alaska Range, are everyday sights in Anchorage.

The downtown Anchorage Hilton hotel is ideally located. You will be able to experience nature walking along the Coastal Trail, the arts, music events, enjoy numerous restaurants and cafes, or shop for local Alaskan gifts. The Fifth Avenue Mall, which includes Nordstroms, offers shops found in any modern city. You will be less than a block from the start of the Iditarod dog sled race to Nome.  Numerous Anchorage Fur Rendezvous events will be going on near the hotel.  You are a short drive to the Chugach Mountains where hiking and ski trails await you. March is getting closer! To make the most of your Alaskan adventure review previous articles about Anchorage in the WSCA News, visit the following web sites and read about Alaska.

http://www.anchorage.net/
Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau site includes sections on “Planning a Trip”, “About Anchorage”, “Art and Nightlife”, and “Experiencing Anchorage on a Budget: 20 things to do under $10”. The Chugach Mountains are at the edge of Anchorage with many winter outdoor activities, see
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/chugach/

http://www.iditarod.com/
Read about the race, see race footage, and learn about Iditarod legends, such as four time winner Susan Butcher. Anchorage Fur Rendezvous events will also be going on near the Hilton view http://www.furrondy.net/

www.alyeskaresort.com
The Alyeska Resort is in the scenic town of Girdwood (http://www.girdwoodalaska.com/) , forty miles south of Anchorage. The drive to Girdwood along the Turnagin Arm is breathtaking. The web sites include information about downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, hiking and dining.

Read a book or two about Alaska to get in the mood. There are many choices including Coming into the Country by John McPhee and The Frozen Toe Guide to Real Alaskan Livin by Brookelyn Bellinger.

We are excited about hosting WSCA in Anchorage. The moose have wandered off but a bald eagle just flew by.