12/03/2024

2025 CSCA Kay Award Call (Deadline Extended)

2025 CSCA Kay Award Call (Deadline Extended)

The Central States Communication Association issues a call for nominations for the Jack Kay Award for Community Engagement and Applied Communication Scholarship. This award recognizes individual communication scholars (dyads and groups/teams are not eligible) who have achieved notable records of success in applying their work to confront issues of social injustice, inequality, intolerance, and prejudice. The award, thus, recognizes and celebrates a significant body of engaged, applied, and/or activist communication scholarship. The award is made possible through a generous gift from the Michigan Association of Speech Communication.

The following materials should be submitted with a nomination:

1. A curriculum vitae.
2. A narrative (maximum of three pages) that describes how the scholarship (which includes research and/or teaching) demonstrates community engagement, addresses social justice issues and explains impacts that it has had or can have on public policy, social activism, judicial reform, and other avenues of social change.
3. A list of published scholarship that is germane to the award, along with one or two exemplars to showcase.
4. Up to two examples of public scholarship (e.g., reports, white papers, newspaper editorials, and/or videos)

The selection committee is comprised of:

• Kallia O. Wright (Chair), University of Miami
• Amy Aldridge (Vice-Chair), Middle Tennessee State University
• Tim McKenna-Buchanan, Manchester University       
• Natasha Howard, Morehouse College
• La Royce Batchelor, Independent Scholar

All materials must be submitted electronically in one file, as a pdf, by Monday, December 9, 2024, to Kallia Wright (kallia.wright@miami.edu). Please reference the Jack Kay Award in the subject line. All submissions will receive an email confirmation. Self-nominations are typical. Per association bylaws, nominees must be CSCA members at the time of the nomination, and the award recipient must attend the Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon and Business Meeting held at the 2025 conference in Cincinnati, OH (April 1 – 6, 2025) to receive the award and accompanying honorarium to support the person’s engaged scholarship.

Dr. Jack Kay (1951–2015) was a distinguished member of the communication community. He was a past president of the Central States Communication Association, Michigan Association of Speech Communication, Nebraska Speech Communication Association, and Delta Sigma Rho/Tau Kappa Alpha. He served as (a) Provost and as Executive Vice President at Eastern Michigan University; (b) Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Interim Chancellor at the University of Michigan-Flint; (c) Associate Provost for Student Services; Interim Dean of the College of Urban, Labor, and Metropolitan Affairs; Interim Dean of the College of Fine Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University; and (d) Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As a communication scholar, Dr. Kay published extensively in argumentation, rhetoric, and political communication. He researched and spoke on issues of race, diversity, and the language of oppression, presenting frequently about anti-Semitism and other expressions of hate on the Internet. His publications include the book Argumentation: Inquiry and Advocacy, and many book chapters, journal articles, and newspaper editorials. His contributions to doctoral advising were recognized by receiving Wayne State University’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award.