ECA – 2012 Convention Recap

What a wonderful time we had in Cambridge!  Thank you to all who made the 103^rd annual convention such a huge success. 

Here are some highlights:

727 were in attendance.

An additional 50 student volunteers from Cape Cod Community College, Regis College, and Suffolk University helped all things run smoothly throughout the convention.

The 2^nd annual James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference featured submissions from over 100 students.

The following awards were given at the General Business meeting:

• Susan Drucker, Hofstra University, Donald H. Ecroyd & Caroline Drummond Ecroyd Teaching Excellence Award
• Benjamin Bates, Ohio University, Past Presidents’ Award
• Samuel McCormick, Purdue University, Everett Lee Hunt Award
• Mary Kahl, SUNY New Paltz, and Douglas Marshall, Duquesne University, Applied Urban Communication Research Grants
• Don Boileau, George Mason University, Distinguished Service Award
• Sara DeTurk, University of Texas-San Antonio, Article of the Year Award
• Sean Luechtefeld, University of Maryland, Centennial Scholarship

2012 Teaching Fellows:

• Jason Wrench, SUNY New Paltz
• Janie Harden Fritz, Duquesne University

2012 ECA Research Fellows:

• Theodore Avtgis, Ashland University
• Ann Bainbridge Frymier, Miami University
• Danette Ifert Johnson, Ithaca College
• Timothy Mottet, University of Texas-San Marcos
• Trevor Parry-Giles, University of Maryland

Top paper awards for the 2^nd Annual James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference went to Julie Bruhn and Jamie Esposito, University of Connecticut , Joy Cox, West Virginia University and Jonathan Wyatt Ronan, Northeastern University.

Other pieces of business conducted at the Executive Council meetings, include the following action items:

• Trevor Parry-Giles, University of Maryland and the National Communication Association, will transition into the role of ECA Archivist, working with James Chesebro, Ball State University, who is retiring this year. 
• Ronald Arnett, Duquesne University, was unanimously appointed ECA executive director for another three year term.
• President Nancy Willets is appointing task forces whose work will center around convention planning; to include online submission processes, no shows for presentations,job descriptions for planners, and information and nominations for all awards.
• Immediate Past President Cindy Lont is continuing her work with the visual task force in the exploration of the Association’s brand image and web presence.

Stay tuned for the following:

• A call will be issued for the next editor of Communication Research Reports 
• Voting will take place on two bylaw changes during the October election
  

The following members have been nominated for the Fall 2012 Ballot:

First Vice President Elect-Select to plan the 2015 Convention in Philadelphia:

J. Kanan Sawyer, West Chester University

Mary Toale, West Virginia Wesleyan College

And finally, the “blue shirts” ask that you take a few minutes to give us some feedback with this short ten question survey.   http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SPT9PPR

Thank you all for your continued support of ECA.  Have a great restful summer break….convention planning for 2013 begins before you know it!

Nancy Willets
President