Ohio Communication Association

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President's Corner ...

As I continue to pull pages from my calendar, I am reminded that it is not too soon to look ahead to OCA’s 2010 conference. The theme this coming year is “Interdisciplinarity, Interdependence & Collaboration,” in recognition of the both the challenges and opportunities Communication scholars and teachers are presented with working alongside our colleagues in other fields.

We want to encourage you to submit papers and panels that explore how we play with others in the proverbial sandbox. Do you team-teach a course with a colleague in another department? Are you encouraged to work in interdisciplinary teams to strategize for institutional dilemmas like enrollment management problems? Have you completed a research project with a scholar in another field? If so, we would like to invite your contributions to the conference program.

Moreover, if you have colleagues and co-authors who would be interested in joining you for your presentation (and us for the whole conference), we’d welcome their participation in this year’s gathering. This would be a great opportunity for you to show those outside the field just how much good work is going on in Communication Studies at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.

We look forward to seeing you - and your entourage - at Clark State Community College in Springfield on October 2, 2010!

-- Matthew J. Smith

From the Executive Director...

I returned home from the conference at Capital University late Saturday night. Sleep was difficult. The memories of the day raced through my head. I thought about the wonderful people I met, the cool SecondLife session (my only session) I observed, and the awards ceremony during the business meeting. I thought about the new friends I made and the friends with whom I reconnected.

When I checked email on Sunday morning, I was surprised to see I wasn't the only one reflecting on conference. Just about everyone on the executive board and some other members were sharing their observations about the conference – what they liked, what could be changed for next year – but mostly about how obviously strong we are a state association.

As communication educators, professionals, and students, we have an amazing ability to share our gifts with others. We see something, or experience something, and we want to share it with others. We should be able to do that all year long with people across the state – and not just one weekend a year.

During the business meeting, I announced that we will soon launch some social networking endeavors that will give members a chance to connect online. My hope is that with services offered through Facebook and Wikipedia, will help us build on what we do each fall at our annual conference. Look for more information about our Facebook group and Wikipedia entry coming soon.

-- Adam C. Earnheardt