September 2007

Council of Communication Associations
September 10, 2007
Minutes

National Communication Association Building
Washington, DC

Members Present:

Martha Watson, Chair, NCA and University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Judy Van Slyke Turk, ASJMC and Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael Haley, ICA
Andréa Press, ICA and University of Virginia
Charles Self, AEJMC and University of Oklahoma
Mary Alice Shaver, AEJMC and University of Central Florida
Jennifer McGill, AEJMC
Tin Kumkel, ASJMC and University of Maryland
Michael Sproule, NCA and Saint Louis University
Roger Smitter, NCA
J.D. Marshall, BEA
Jan Dates, BCCA & Howard University
Patrice Buzzanell, ICA and Purdue University
Linda Putnam, U of California, Santa Barbara
Tamara Baldwin, Southeast Missouri State U

Call to Order: Chair Martha Watson called the meeting to order at 9:00 am

Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved as presented.

Approval of minutes of the March 5, 2007 meeting of the CCA were approved as presented.

Update on National Research Council Doctoral Survey. Linda Putnam is the contact person between CCA and the NRC Survey. She reported that nation-wide the response to the survey was excellent. Several members noted the apparent impact of CCA efforts had to spur graduate coordinators department chairs to complete the survey. The target date for the completion of a draft is November 27, 2007. The target publication date is February 15, 2008. A national conference to present the results of the survey is planned for 2008.

Putnam described in some detail the processes the NRC followed in gathering the data. (See attached document.) Departments will not be ranked in the final results, other than to be grouped by quartile.

The group discussed what data it wanted from the survey. Several topics emerged from the discussion: data on faculty publications, data on student variables by department (mean GRE scores, support offered to students, diversity of students in the department), and data on programs (number of PhD programs, completion rates time to degree, quality of teaching experience and training.

Putnam agreed to circulate to the group the list of data categories available from the survey. CCA members are to provide a list of no more than 10 items. The CCA list will be submitted along with lists from other associations to form the Standard Report Items published with the survey. The CCA list is due to Putnam (lputnam@ucsb.comm.edu) no later than seven calendar days after the distribution of the list. Putnam will collate the list.

The Council members discussed a proposal from Dawn O. Braithwaite, who joined the meeting via telephone. Braithwaite is Director of the NCA Research Board and Second Vice-President elect of NCA. She said that there should be a response to the NRC that frames the issues of the communication discipline. She described the functions of such a response. She noted that CCA is well positioned to provide the response.

A motion was made and seconded:

The CCA is to form an inter-organizational and broadly representative committee to create a plan for analyzing, writing up and disseminating disciplinary NRC data.

The motion was approved by unanimous consent.

It was noted that any such inter-association effort would not replace what the individual associations could do with the data arising from the survey. It was also noted that the goal of the project is to provide an informative document to describe the discipline and identify what additional information should be gathered about doctoral education in the discipline.

The group discussed the implementation of the committee. After some discussion about the size of the committee, it was agreed that each association could nominate up to two persons from its membership. Nominations should be sent to Smitter (rsmitter@natcom.org) no later than October 1, 2007. The committee will begin its work in January. Watson will serve as convener of the committee. The committee will report at the March 3, 2008 meeting of the CCA in Washington.

It was noted that the final document will need to be written by a person with extensive experience in collating ideas.

ISI Rankings. Putnam had arranged for a presentation by James Testa, Senior Director, Educational Development and Publisher Relations of Thomsen. Thomsen provides information about publishing in academic disciplines, including the ISI Journal Citation Reports (ISI/JCR). He used a power point presentation to describe the workings of the ISI JCR (see attached). A detailed summary of his presentation is also attached. It was compiled by Linda Putnam.

Following Testa’s departure after lunch, the Board considered next steps. Putnam agreed to chair a reconstituted ISI/JCR task force. Each association is to purpose a member for the committee by October 1 to Putnam (lputnam@ucsb.comm.edu). Putnam will suggest additional names to create diversity. The charge is to follow up with ISI/JCR with a focus on international and diversity issues.

CCA election: Patrice Buzzanell was elected chair and Jan Dates was elected vice-chair for 2008 by unanimous consent.

Graduate Student Fellowships. Sproule began the discussion by describing his experience as a reviewer for ACLS dissertation fellowships in rhetoric. He provided a profile on the dissertation projects that were funded. None were in the communication discipline. This discussion expanded to consider
action plans to enable communication faculty and graduate students to become more completive for grants from associations, foundations and government agencies.
* coordination of visits to federal funding agencies by all CCA associations.
* creating more categories of funding that would welcome applications from communication scholars.
* the need to mentor faculty and graduate coordinators who in turn mentor graduate students to make successful applications for dissertation fellowships. A summer conference was mentioned as a viable route.

It was moved and seconded to form a committee to explore ways of encourage graduate students to seek dissertation funding and to assist them in making successful applications.
The motion was approved unanimously.

The committee will be Dates, Press, Birks, Watson and Smitter. The committee is to bring a proposal to the March 3, 2008, CCA meeting in Washington.

Addition business items:

Updates to the CCA webpage should be coordinated with McGill and Birks.

Bentham Publishing has announced a new journal with a name that duplicates what ICA provides, The Journal of Communication. ICA has issued a cease and desist letter to the publisher.

The Knight Foundation is funding a study to collect data on world-wide education in journalism. CCA members who know of previous such studies should contact Charles Self at the U of Oklahoma.

The International Encyclopedia of Communication will be published in March of 2008 by ICA.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 pm.

The next meetings of CCA will be

March 3, 2008
September 15, 2008.

Both will be in DC.

Follow up Tasks
CCA Meeting of September 10, 2007

NRC Standard Report Items – Linda Putnam coordinator

All associations are to send Putnam a list of 10 items from the NRC survey that are to be nominated by the Standard Report. Due September 18, 2007

NRC Survey Follow Up Committee — Martha Watson, Convener

Associations to send names of representatives to committee. Send to Smitter, rsmitter@natcom.org), by October 1, 2007. Development of timeline and tasks. Watson and committee to develop.

Report to CCA: March 3, 2007

Re-constitution of ISI committee – Linda Putnam, convener

Associations to send names of representatives to committee. Send to Putnam (lputnam@ucsb.comm.org) by October 1, 2007

Putnam to suggest additional names to expand diversity

Development of timeline and tasks. Putnam and committee to develop.

Committee to explore ways to encourage graduate students to seek out dissertation funding.

Committee: Watson, Birks, Press and Smitter
Develop timeline and tasks.

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