President's Message

In March of 2006, the annual convention of the Wisconsin Communication Association was held for the first time in concert with the Business of Communication conference at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. WCA members participated in and attended provocative panels, and Professor Jody Roy of Ripon College delivered a stunning keynote address on the convention theme, "Communication and the Struggle for Unity."

The WCA/Business of Communication merged convention (now called "Wisconsin's Statewide Communication Conference") was well received by our members. I want to thank last year's WCA President, Jim Pratt of UW River Falls, for the great work he did in facilitating the merger. I would like to see the WCA and Business of Communication partnership develop further to encourage joint efforts in teaching, professional and scholarly work, and promoting communication studies across our state.

And so it is with enthusiasm that I ask you to attend the next Wisconsin Statewide Communication Conference. The event will be held at the Country Springs Hotel and Convention Center in Stevens Point on March 2, 2007. Come to Point to catch-up with old friends, make new ones, and help to maintain the convention's reputation as a dynamic space for discussing communication studies.

Our convention theme - "The Challenge of Teaching Communication: Theory and Practice"- invites discussion and debate about contemporary, low and high tech challenges to teaching the communication arts in our time. Dr. Lori Carrell of UW Oshkosh, a past winner of our organization's Weaver Award for outstanding teaching and a nationally recognized authority on communication pedagogy, will deliver the keynote address. Please add your voice on the challenge of teaching communication by responding to the Call for Papers for the 2007 convention.

As communication professionals our challenges are not only in the classroom. We also face the challenge of making politicians and education administrators recognize the value of what we do. Therefore we must continue with our campaign of advocacy with the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Legislature. In the recent past, members of our organization have met with DPI and legislative representatives to discuss our concerns. We will continue to work toward the goal of full inclusion of speech education in state standards. If you have suggestions on how best to accomplish that goal, please email me and let me know what they are (Palmeri@uwosh.edu).

Thank you for your support of the Wisconsin Communication Association. We look forward to seeing you in Stevens Point on March 2nd.

Tony Palmeri
President Wisconsin Communication Association

2006-2007 Wisconsin Communication Association Executive Board

The Challenge of Teaching Communication: Theory and Practice
Explore the Challenge in Wisconsin at the Joint Convention of the
Wisconsin Communication Association
The Wisconsin Conference on the Business of Communication

Friday, March 2nd, 2007
Country Springs Hotel and Convention Center - Stevens Point

Call For Proposals

Teaching communication happens in a variety of ways, incorporating a plethora of topics. We are seeking program proposals and research papers that explore any aspect of issues related to the practice and understanding of what it means to teach communication. Some possible topic areas include:
**Service Learning.
**Distance education in communication
**Politics and the teaching of communication
**Curricular issues at the high school, technical college, and university levels
**Communication Pedagogy

Date Due: December 1, 2006
Please submit all proposals by e-mail (Microsoft Word attachments) to:
Wayne Sorenson, WCA First Vice-President wsorenso@uwsp.edu

Include the following information in your proposal:
1. Names and contact information for all presenters.
2. Detailed outline of your proposal including title.
3. Abstract of your proposal (maximum 50 words) for convention program.
4. Specify any audiovisual equipment needed.
5. Programs will be 50 minutes in length. Indicate whether you are proposing a full program or a paper to be grouped with similar papers.

Professors, please gather your best papers this semester for the...

Wisconsin Communication Association Annual Student Paper Contest

The Wisconsin Communication Association invites undergraduate and graduate students to submit research papers to its Annual Student Paper Contest.

Contest Requirements:
1. The paper must address a specific area of communication studies.
2. The competition is open to any collegiate undergraduate or graduate student.
3. Papers should be 6 to 25 pages in length (double-spaced) with appropriate citations, endnotes, or bibliography.
4, The paper must have been written during the previous two academic years in a Wisconsin college or university.
5. The paper should be thoroughly researched and documented.
6. Each student may submit only one paper.
7. Please submit all papers in electronic form using Microsoft Word attachments. Page one should be a cover sheet which should include the student's name, title of paper, school, faculty member and course, student's address, phone number, and e-mail address. This page will be deleted before the paper is submitted to an anonymous three-judge panel. Please be certain that the student's name or institutional affiliation does not appear elsewhere in the paper.

Papers will be judged anonymously based upon content, style, and form by a three-judge panel.

Entries must be submitted electronically by January 15, 2007, to:
tricia.clasen@uwc.edu

The winning paper, with required revisions, will appear in the Wisconsin Communication Association Journal

WCA Journal

Call for Papers

The Wisconsin Communication Association is composed of a diverse membership of communication scholars, educators, administrators, and students. Members hold institutional affiliations with public universities, private four-year colleges, two-year colleges, high schools, middle schools, various businesses, and the government.

The Journal of the Wisconsin Communication Association is an annual publication which reflects this diversity by soliciting and accepting articles from the entire spectrum of pedagogy and scholarship in the field of communication. The Journal typically does not include movie reviews, works of fiction, poetry, or drama.

The Journal of the Wisconsin Communication Association employs blind peer review.

Manuscript submissions for the 2006 volume should conform to the following requirements:

1. Submit three copies of the manuscript on 8-1/2 x 11" white paper. Attach to each copy a cover sheet including name of author(s), academic position and affiliation, highest degree held and granting institution, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address, and prior publication/presentation history of the submission. No information which might identify the author(s) should be included on the manuscript itself or in the notes.
2. Manuscripts normally should not exceed 6,000 words (approximately 25 double-spaced pages of text), not including footnotes, references, tables, or figures.
3. Manuscripts should conform to the guidelines of the American Psychological Association Manual of Style, 4th edition.
4. For consideration in the 2005 volume of the Journal of the Wisconsin Communication Association, submissions should be postmarked by December 1, 2006, and sent to:

Deborrah Uecker,
Editor, Journal of the Wisconsin Communication Association
Wisconsin Lutheran College, 8800 W. Bluemound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53226 414/443-8840, deborrah_uecker@wlc.edu

The Andrew T. Weaver Award

Nominations for the Andrew T. Weaver award are being sought. The award, given to an outstanding communicator at both the high school and college/university level, is the WCA's highest award and is given to individuals who have provided leadership and excellence in the field of communication. If you know of such an individual and wish to nominate that person, please submit the nomination information described below.

Each year the WCA solicits nominations for an outstanding High School Educator, Outstanding College Educator, and Outstanding Communicator. The individual selected in each category receives the Andrew T. Weaver Award, a recognition plaque honoring one of Wisconsin's seminal figures in speech communication education. Selection criteria include working in Wisconsin for the past three years, relevant professional training, publications relevant to the communication field, other honors and awards for communication contributions, and (for educators) development or continuation of curricular or co-curricular communication programs.

Please consider deserving colleagues you wish to nominate. Nomination deadline is January 15, 2007.

Andrew T. Weaver Awards Nomination procedure:

Please provide the following information

1. Name of Nominee
2. Place of Employment
3. Address of employment, e-mail address
4. Specify High School Teacher, College Educator, or Outstanding Communicator.
5. Rationale for this person to be considered for this award:
6. Your name, address, phone, e-mail address.

Please submit by January 15, 2007, to:
James W. Pratt
University of Wisconsin - River Falls
SCTA 410 S. 3rd St, River Falls, WI 54022
james.w.pratt@uwrf.edu

WCA Scholarships Available

The Wisconsin Communication Association is offering a $150.00 scholarship to a high school student who plans to attend a college or university to pursue a degree in the field of communication, and a $150.00 scholarship to a college or university student who is majoring in communication.

Eligibility criteria include:
1. Wisconsin residency

2. Submission of required application information:
      A. Name, address, birthdate, age, phone, e-mail address
      B. Parent(s) or Guardian(s) name and address
      C. Educational Background
           (1) List secondary schools and colleges attended in the past three years;
           (2) Describe your curricular speech communication activities (list classes taken);
           (3) Describe related co-curricular experiences;
           (4) List other co-curricular activities (by year) in which you have participated;
           (5) List honors, recognition, or awards received (curricular and/or co-curricular);
           (6) List other relevant activities, honors, or recognition received (non-school)
           (7) Request academic certification from your school: Overall GPA, GPA in speech
              communication related courses, class rank
      D. Post-Secondary Education plans
           (1) List school(s) you have chosen to attend or are attending.
           (2) Describe career(s) or occupation(s) you are considering.
           (3) Describe major courses of study you plan to take or are currently taking.
      E. Personal Letter describing your educational goals, why you feel qualified for this scholarship,
         and what you foresee as your personal and career goals.
      F. Names and contact information of the two persons you have asked to write letters of recommendation.

3. Two letters of recommendation: one from the individual in charge of the communication program, the other from a non-relative who can speak to the student's potential in the area of communication studies; letters should be submitted directly as indicated below.

4. Submission of a brief letter which describes the student's educational, personal, and career goals, and why the student is qualified for the scholarship.

Application deadline is February 1, 2007.

All application materials may be submitted electronically (Microsoft Word attachments) to:
james.w.pratt@uwrf.edu

Materials may also be submitted by mail to:
James W. Pratt,
UW-River Falls, SCTA, 410 S. 3rd St., River Falls, WI 54022

Jennifer L. Willis-Rivera,
Executive Secretary-elect
University of Wisconsin-River Falls SCTA, 410 S. 3rd St. River Falls, WI 54022

Wisconsin Communication Association Membership
Join or Renew Today!

Individual Membership:
1 year, $30
2 years, $56
3 years, $71
Life, $200

Institution or Department Membership:
1 year, $30
2 years, $56
3 years, $71

Student Membership:
1 year, $5

Emeritus Membership:
1 year, $15

Please send your check for the appropriate amount and your contact information to:
Eric Dimmitt,
Cedarburg School District
W68 N611 Evergreen Blvd., Cedarburg, WI 53012
(262) 376-6112
edimmitt@cedarburg.k12.wi.us