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FAMILY COMMUNICATION DIVISION NEWSLETTER
Volume 9	Spring-Summer 1999	Number 1

As the family communication division (FCD) progresses into the 21st century, there is much cause for celebration. Membership remains strong. The number of our panels at the annual meeting continues to rise as do paper submissions. Beyond panels and papers, the FCD has sponsored very successful pre-conferences and will add yet another this year that focuses on the state of family communication education into the U.S. New scholarly books and textbooks continue to appear, along with articles about family communication in the field's major journals. And, the FCD will mark the transition into the 21st century with a new national journal, Journal of Family Communication, published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates and edited by Thomas Socha.

Indeed, we can take pride in what has been accomplished and can look optimistically towards the future and the work that lies ahead. Among the many projects on the horizon, a few stand out for me: supporting and expanding graduate education in family communication; widening our lens to study families outside the U.S. as well being more cognizant of the diversity of families in the U.S.; continuing to pursue the study of understudied families and family relationships; keying in on the family communication and family social justice problems such as poverty, homelessness, addiction, and violence; examining the digital revolution and family communication, and finally, bringing children to the forefront of family communication study.

I am excited about working with you as we take the study of family communication into the 21st century and thank you for your continued support.

Tom Socha

Vice-chair, Thomas Socha (Old Dominion University), called the meeting to order at 5:05 PM. The minutes were approved as corrected.

Report from the chair:

Cindy Burggraf was absent. Tom Socha presented her with an award in her absence.

Report from the vice-chair:

Tom Socha reported on the conference program planning.

Report from the vice-chair elect:

Fran Dickson (University of Denver) distributed volunteer sheets for program planning. The conference planning for next year's convention is striving for more inclusive participation from the membership. Fran reported that every paper that would like to be scheduled as a poster will go to Jim McCroskey (University of West Virginia). More information will be available on the NCA home page which should be ready in about a month. The 1999 conference theme is "Coloring Outside the Lines." Preference will go to panels and programs that follow this theme. The 1999 NCA program planners anticipate that they will have to cut panels submitted by 3% and there will be fewer slots at the Chicago conference for programs and panels. Due to the growth of the NCA membership, future conferences may need to be in convention-center cities where more rooms and lower hotel rates are available. Finally, Fran asked that students who submit papers should indicate "student" on their submissions.

Secretary report:

Roberta A. Davilla (University of Northern Iowa) reported that the Executive board recommended that the archivist office be combined with the secretary's position. The maintenance of records is a secretarial responsibility already so maintaining the archives would be a part of this record keeping. Tom continued by describing the FCD web page. Fran Dickson will facilitate the web page maintenance.

Liaison:

Rhunette Diggs (University of Louisville) reported that Distinguished Professor Gerald Handel, author of many family study articles, will appear on a FCD sponsored panel. The FCD hosted a reception in his honor.

Curriculum:

Roberta Davilla (University of Northern Iowa) reported that a panel of family communication textbooks featured Janet Yerby, Richard West, Lynn Turner, Kathleen Galvin, and Art Bochner.

Old Business:

Tom reported that Cindy began a handbook for officers. Plans to complete the project are under consideration. Doug Kelley announced that the winner of the Brommel Award is John Monsma. Doug reported that nomination files will be maintained for three years and that the award to be presented right after the General Business meeting.

Elections:

1. Lynn Turner was elected as Vice-chair elect.
2. Liaison (which connects with other divisions, receives a panel slot, and serves an articulation function) will be co-chaired over the next 2 years upon the suspension of the rules. Rick Buerkel and Shirley Staski will co-chair and decide how they will divide the functions.
3. Paper readers are Rhonda Sprague, Dan Weigel, Tammy Bollis-Pecci, Donna Palowski, Michelle Miller-Day, Rebecca Mikesell, and Amy Bippus.
4. Curriculum will be co-chaired by Michelle Miller-Day and Marceline Thompson (student).

Tom announced that the top paper panel will be tomorrow. Beth Haslett, Brant Burleson, and Steve Wilson are on this "think panel" about child-centered approach to family communication. Next year he plans a "Family communication and race" panel.

Announcements:

Lynne Webb (University of Memphis) announced that her department is searching for a chair. She has a flier to provide interested persons with information about the position.

New Business:

Will vote on the by-laws issue to combine the archivist position with the secretary's responsibilities next year. Sherilyn Ferguson (University of Northern Colorado) asked how many institutions offer family communication courses. She would like to see a study on the prevalence of family communication courses and the articulation of family communication with other disciplines.

Adjournment:

Tom Socha adjourned the meeting at 6:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Roberta A. Davilla

Secretary, Family Communication Division

The State of Family Communication Education:
Building for the Future

Wednesday, November 3, 1999 8:00am -5:00pm
Williford A, Chicago Hilton & Towers Fee: $30.00
Sponsor: Family Communication Division

All participants must preregister. Use the preregistration form in the August issue of Spectra. Refreshments are included in the conference fee.

This preconference appraises the current state of undergraduate and graduate education in family Communication in the United States and considers its future growth and development by means of invited speakers and roundtable discussions.

Conference coordinators:

Thomas Socha, Old Dominion University
Kathleen Galvin, Northwestern University
Roberta A. Davilla, University of Northern Iowa

For the Preconvention Conference program, please click here.

Communication and Committed Couples

Creative and innovative submissions are invited for a Southern Communication Journal special issue on communication and marriages or other forms of committed couples. Submitted manuscripts should be article-length and meet two basic criteria: (1) be data-based; and (2) conceptualize marriages and other committed couples as unique, co-constructed entities, rather than merely as a context in which interpersonal communication constructs are examined. That is, in their submissions authors should recognize that there are idiosyncratic, private characteristics of marriagesa and other committed couples that have no corollary in other kinds of dyads.

Especially desirable are submissions that emphasize family development theory. That is, although manuscripts on any topic related to the special issue theme are welcome, examples of especially desirable topics include: studies that examine marriages/couples in a particular couple/family life cycle state such as early marriage, mid-life, or later life; longitudinal studies of couples across several life cycle states; research on couples' communication during transitions between life cycles stages. The guest editor invites questions, including queries about the suitability of a particular manuscript for submission to the special issue.

Submissions must be postmarked on or before January 8, 2000. Include an e-mail address for each author. Manuscripts must comply with the "Notice to Contributors" in SCJ published in the most recent issue, except that five (5) copies should be submitted to:

Gail G. Whitchurch, Associate Professor
Guest Editor, SCJ
Communication Studies Department
309 Cavanaugh Hall, 425 North University Blvd.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140
(317) 278-1155 (campus office/voice mail)
whig@iupui.edu (e-mail)

Birth announcement

Congratulations to Melanie and Paul on the birth of their daughter, Sophia Renee LeBlanc who entered the world at 2:11 PM on Friday, July 16, 1999. Sophia's proud daddy reports that she weighed 10 Ibs. 1.5 oz. and was exactly 21 inches long. Best wishes to all three of you for a healthy and happy family!

The Journal of Family Communication will publish the very best articles on aspects of communication in families. This includes communication in family systems, communication in family relationships, and families managing communication with societal systems such as mass media, education, health care, and law & policy. In addition to empirical reports, theoretical essays, and review essays, the journal will include articles pertaining to applied family communication, family communication education, and reviews of books and other resources (such as web sites and instructional video-audio tapes). The journal welcomes diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives.

For more information, contact:

Dr. Thomas Socha, Editor
Journal of Family Communication
Department of Communication and Theatre Arts
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, VA 23529
Phone: 757-683-3833
fax: 757-683-4700
e-mail: Jfamcomm@odu.edu