Welcome
The mission of Central States Communication Association (CSCA) is to unite and educate people with both an affinity to the central region of the United States and a scholarly interest in all areas of communication for promotion of their mutual goals and advancement of their field. CSCA strives to provide:
- Sustained mentoring from senior to junior scholars.
- Ongoing facilitation of networking across the discipline of communication.
- Annual honors and awards for outstanding service, teaching, and scholarship.
- Nationally recognized outlets showcasing excellent scholarship for both consumers and producers (via the journal and the annual convention).
- Regular opportunities to share innovative teaching practices that influence life-long learning.
CSCA 2011
Hyatt Regency Milwaukee
April 5-10, 2011
Primary Program Planner:
Dr. Scott A. Myers
First Vice-President
Department of Communication Studies
PO Box 6293 108 Armstrong Hall
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506-6293
(304) 293-3905 ext. 2137
phone/(304) 293-8667 fax
"Home"
"My home is not a place, it is people."
--Lois McMaster Bujold
I consider--and always have considered--CSCA to be my academic home. Since joining CSCA in 1992, I have looked forward to attending the annual convention which has provided me with many personal and professional opportunities I might not otherwise have been afforded. In a sense, CSCA has served as the place where I have grown from an awkward, struggling scholar naïve to the ways of the academic world to a middle aged adult who has benefited from the advice, support, and encouragement offered selflessly and frequently from his peers. Along the way, I have found my voice as a scholar, been mentored from members whose primary goal was to make me a better academic citizen, and considered perspectives with which I was unfamiliar or otherwise had not considered. More importantly, I have learned to not take myself so seriously by recognizing that without the development of peer relationships, the academic world truly can be a lonely place.
With this sentiment in mind, my theme for the 2011 convention is "Home." As you begin to think about next year's convention, I encourage you to take a moment and reflect on what it means to be a member of CSCA, our academic home. Consider how CSCA has served as a place for you to gather with others to learn, share, influence, disagree, challenge, motivate, and captivate. Consider how CSCA has cultivated your growth as a scholar, as a teacher, and as a person. Consider how CSCA has facilitated your development of new relationships and your renewal of old friendships. Consider how CSCA has contributed to your socialization as a member of the academy. Consider how CSCA has influenced the ways in which you welcome newcomers to the world of academe. But most of all, consider how CSCA is not a place, but is people.
