Officers

 
  Membership

 
  Convention

 
  Newsletter

 
  Archives

 
  Resources

 
  Links

FAMILY COMMUNICATION DIVISION NEWSLETTER
Volume 6	Spring-Summer 1996	Number 1

After several years as a commission, the Family Communication interest group has become a division: The Family Communication Division (FCD). What exactly does this mean? Gail Whitchurch, who with John Monsma co-founded the Commission on Family Communication in 1989, stated that "becoming a Division means that Family Communication has achieved recognition as a full member of the communication discipline at large. Upon achieving Division status, an interest group acquires voting representation on the SCA Legislative Council. Having served on the Legislative Council, I know how important that is." John Monsma likened the FCD evolution to the family growth process: "It's nice to watch the child grow up and gratifying to be part of it. This shows that the family is one of the most valuable areas of our discipline." Lynne Webb who drafted the first set of by-laws for the Commission on Family Communication, always knew this elvation of status would occur. "It was a natural progression," observed Lynne, "as families have been around a long time . . . I think it's great. We had one of the strongest commissions in SCA, and that really helped." Deep appreciation is expressed to all individuals who had the foresight to start this interest group, who have contributed to it's growth, and who will do whatever is necessary to make this Division flourish in the future.

What a Conference! The preconference and the conference itself provided a tremendous amount of dialogue and showcasing of research. In Addition, it was just flat-out wonderful to all be together again. In an effort to expand this experience beyond our annual meeting, the Family Communication Division is creating a directory that will identify members, members' interest, and individuals who would like to offer their expertise to help others in their research or pedagogical pursuits. To aid us in this pursuit, please complete the questionnaire at the end of this newsletter as soon as possible. In addition, I want to let our members know that this year at SCA, we will have a program set up for roundtable discussions with scholars in our field. More information on this session will follow in later months, but if you have a project you are engaged in, or in the process of designing, you will be able to send an abstract of the project by September 1 to me, and you will be scheduled for a roundtable discussion with an expert in your area of study. Anticipating a great year,

Doug

Call for Kudos

New FCD Officers

Please tell us of your successes. Have you had an article, book or book chapter accepted recently for publication? Have you received career promotions, grants, academic appointments, awards, community recognitions, research fellowships, or other professional honors? Please let us know, because we would like this information published in the next newsletter. Send relevant news to: Sherilyn Marrow Ferguson FCD Secretary University of Northern Colorado Dept. of Speech Communication Greeley CO 80639 (970)351-2738

Congratulations to the newly-elected officers on the FCD Executive Committee: Cynthia Burggraf, Vice-Chair Elect Sherilyn Marrow Ferguson, Secretary H. Paul LeBlanc III, Student Representative They join officers Doug Kelley (Chair), Nancy Buerkel-Rothfuss (Vice-Chair), Marcia Dixson (Curriculum Development Committee Chair), Richard Long (Liaison Committee Chair), and John Monsma (Archivist). See the List of FCD Officers for contact information.

Key information communicated to participants at the FCD Business Meeting included:

• At this year's SCA Convention:
  • FCD hosted 17 panels, slating 32 out of 43 papers received;
  • FCD's successful preconvention session attracted 70+ attendees;
  • Kathleen Galvin received an honorary gavel for her work for the Commission over the last few years as outgoing Chair.
  
  
• At next year's SCA Convention:
  • at least 10% of programming will be poster sessions;
  • as a Division, we receive five additional panel slots;
  • chairs and respondents are still needed;
  • a panel slot will be programmed for work-in-progress by a graduate student or faculty member;
  • a new award will be given to a member of FCD, in honor of Bernard Brommel.

The Family Communication Division encourages innovative approaches to the study of communication in marriages and families, soliciting submission of completed papers or proposals from members of all SCA sections and divisions. Theoretical, empirical, methodological, and pedagogical approaches are all welcome. Papers and proposals will be submitted to blind review.

Paper must include a separate cover containing author's name and affiliation(s); student or debut papers should be labeled in the upper right-hand corner. Proposals must included: (1) title, (2) rationale, (3) name and affiliation of each participant, and (4) an abstract for each participant/paper.

Five copies of all papers and proposals must be received by February 1, 1996. Send to:

Nancy Buerkel-Rothfuss
Speech Communication and Dramatic Arts
Central Michigan University
Mt. Pleasant MI 48859 (517)774-7274