SSCA Elections 2010
The following candidates are on the official SSCA ballot for the following:
- Vice President-elect
- Candidates to serve as the four-year College/University representative on the
NCA Legislative Assembly (2010-2012)
Vice President-elect
Candidates for Vice President-elect (to plan the 2011 UHC activities in Little Rock, to plan the convention program in 2012 for San Antonio, and to preside over the 2013 convention in Louisville).
Platform StatementSSCA, I believe, continues a legacy of leadership that represents the members and their interests. Member representation has been achieved in many ways ranging from new divisions to consideration of new journals. My “platform” would be to continue to build on this momentum, especially in maintaining regional relevance and support to faculty and communication programs.
I would welcome the opportunity to serve the membership of SSCA in this role.
Biographical Information
I take pride in having served the association for six years in the elected position of what was then-called Advertising and Exhibit Manager. As manager, I developed a new conference sponsorship opportunity connecting graduate programs with undergraduates. I worked with two executive directors and a variety of other leaders on journal and conference budgets, conference venue arrangements, and strategic planning. In addition to these positions, I also serve on an awards committee and chaired the local host arrangements for the conference in Savannah. I have been part of the Public Relations Division, a relatively new group for which I have served in most elected or appointed roles. Besides the PR Division, I have presented to and/or been a member of the Applied Communication, Instructional Development and Mass Communication divisions.
I serve as Chair of the Department of Communication Arts at Georgia Southern University, a department encompassing Communication Studies, Journalism, Multimedia Communication, Public Relations & Theatre. I have taught speech, feature writing, media theory and the gamut of public relations courses. My research has centered around organizational culture, internships, PR firms, health communication and activism. I have been involved in NCA, specifically serving on the PR Division’s PRIDE awards committee. I am also active in AEJMC having served as head of the 500-member PR Division, and now completing a three-year term on the association’s finance committee.
Platform StatementIn 1991, while working for the Executive Director, I became familiar with SSCA’s effort to enrich academic research and create scholarly connections. I have been actively involved in the Community College, Communication Theory, Interpersonal, and Political Communication divisions, having served as chair, secretary, and on the nominating committee in three of these divisions. I also represented SSCA as the K-12 NCA Legislative Assembly Representative for three years.
My service demonstrates commitment to our organization. Believing in SSCA’s mission, I will utilize the conference to promote professional development by providing scholarly opportunities, information to improve instruction, recognition of academic achievement, and the unification of all areas of Communication study. Further, I will work with the Executive Council to ensure equal representation of all divisions and interest groups.
Biographical Information
I have been an active member of SSCA, beginning as an undergraduate and continuing through my graduate work at The University of Southern Mississippi. This influenced me to choose a career in academia. My membership in SSCA has afforded me the opportunity to meet, interact with, and be inspired by many outstanding individuals. Having also served as president of MCA, I look forward to such annual meetings because they re-energize my commitment to scholarship and instruction.
I have experience teaching at the high school (where I directed theatre and forensics), community college, and university levels. Currently, I am a professor at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. I teach Argumentation and Debate, Interpersonal Communication, Public Speaking, and was the first to develop the on-line Public Speaking and Interpersonal Communication courses for my institution. In addition, I serve as a Phi Theta Kappa advisor and International Studies coordinator. I am developing a Leadership Ambassador Program for our students enabling them to interact with local and state legislators while enhancing communication and leadership skills.
Candidates to serve as SSCA four-year College/University representative on the NCA Legislative Assembly (2010-2012)
Platform StatementI first attended SSCA in 1999 as a graduate student, the year the southern and central regional conferences met together in St. Louis: that collaborative event was my first glimpse of the dynamic breadth and depth of our discipline. Later that year I participated in my first NCA conference in Chicago and was impressed with the interconnectedness of scholarly interests and in regional and national goals of developing our strong presence in the academy. I continue to be active in both NCA and SSCA. I have particularly enjoyed the support and spirit of collegiality from SSCA members as I worked to increase the membership and presence of the performance studies division as vice chair and program planner in 2008. I have helped develop the ethnography interest group as vice chair and program planner in 2009. Collaboration, collegiality and interdependence of our areas of scholarship, and need to fortify our presence in our respective colleges are core communicative values that inspire and guide my intellectual and professional practice, and if elected, will guide my representation of SSCA at the national level.
Biographical Information
My early career was in graphic design, business communication, and professional sales. I earned my B.S. and M.A. in Speech Communication from Eastern Michigan University. I received my Ph.D. in Communication Studies/Performance Studies from Louisiana State University. Currently I am an Assistant Professor in Communication Studies at Georgia Southern University. I teach communication theory, intercultural communication, and performance ethnography and oral history. I adapt and direct original and secondary research for the stage for Performance Works, an organization producing experimental theater on campus, and work with local and state community art associations for which I have received several grants. I have published scholarship in performative ethnography, community activism, and interdisciplinary collaboration. My current research involves migrant workers in Georgia.
Platform StatementI am running for the position of Nominating Committee Representative to the National Communication Association out of a desire to safeguard and further the interests of the Southern States Communication Association, an organization that has supported my scholarly and educational growth from the very beginning of my career. Specifically, I want to promote decisions at the national level that reflect the humaneness fostered at SSCA, and that support the significant scholarly and pedagogical contributions of SSCA members to our larger disciplinary community.
Biographical Information
I am an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and my research focuses on public morality and power in popular cultural contexts, especially sport. Since becoming an active member of SSCA in 2001, I have presented multiple papers at our conferences, planned the 2005 convention program for the American Society for the History of Rhetoric Interest Group, served for three years on the Nominating Committee for the John Sisco Excellence in Teaching Award, and received the Janice Hocker Rushing Early Career Research Award in 2009. I graduated from Louisiana State University in 2004 with a Ph.D. in rhetoric and public address.