Educational Administration and Supervision | Open Access Articles

Think Tank Theatre: Decision Making Applied, Sara Gabel

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Reviews the book "Think Tank Theatre: Decision Making Applied," by Donald A. Borchardt (1984). University Press of America.

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Aca News

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This document contains the introductory pages of the 1986 Bulletin of the American Communication Association (Issue 55), including front matter such as the masthead, editorial information, association officers, and membership details. It provides a snapshot of organizational leadership, publication structure, and professional association membership at that time. This material serves as a historical record of the association’s administrative framework in the mid nineteen eighties. All listed contact information is archival and no longer current.

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The Argument From Setting: Theatre In The Liberal And Fine Arts, John Gronbeck-Tedesco

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay analyzes how the institutional setting of theatre programs within either the liberal arts or the fine arts shapes the assumptions guiding administrative argument and decision making. The author contends that academic leadership operates through the exchange of reasoned claims and that coherent argumentation requires shared first principles. Program location provides such grounding by offering distinct philosophical orientations for justifying resources, curriculum, and program direction. The essay distinguishes liberal arts education as centered on generating interpretive knowledge about the human condition through evidence based inquiry, while fine arts education focuses on creating artistic analogues of human experience that communicate …

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The Practical Issues, Vincent L. Angotti

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines the practical consequences of locating theatre programs within liberal arts or fine arts academic structures. It argues that institutional placement is often determined by historical and administrative convenience rather than coherent philosophy, yet this placement significantly shapes power, resource allocation, and evaluation standards. The discussion contrasts liberal arts environments, where theatre is justified as part of broader humanistic education and cost pressures are diffused across large colleges, with fine arts settings, where vocational preparation dominates and theatre units face intensified budget scrutiny. Faculty evaluation challenges emerge in both contexts, particularly in balancing scholarly and creative work and …

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Arts Funding, Patrick D. Mcdonough

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay offers practical guidance for funding the arts from the vantage point of a foundation administrator. It argues that effective strategies focus on local and state level funders rather than a small group of national foundations, noting that there are about twenty two thousand American foundations, only one hundred forty four with assets above fifty million dollars, and that most concentrate on needs close to home. The discussion urges partnership with regional corporations that link giving to marketing and public responsibility, and it recommends formal preparation through Council for the Advancement and Support of Education training and a two …

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Funding For The Arts: Legislative Sources, Robert J. Wills

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the process through which state legislatures fund public higher education and considers its implications for support of the arts. Focusing exclusively on state appropriations and excluding local, federal, and philanthropic sources, the analysis explains the central role of formula budgeting in determining institutional funding levels. Using Texas as a representative case, it outlines the multiple formulas that define institutional cost categories and describes how student credit hours, enrollment levels, and faculty student ratios determine budget allocations. The essay traces the multiyear sequence of study committees, coordinating board review, gubernatorial recommendation, and legislative action that culminates in appropriations. …

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Speech Communication Profession As Seen By A President, Donald W. Zacharias

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay offers a university president’s assessment of the speech communication discipline and outlines challenges facing academic programs as higher education enters a period of intensified competition and financial constraint. The author notes substantial scholarly growth over the preceding two decades, marked by increased publication and methodological rigor. The discussion emphasizes that declining enrollments, limited state support, and heightened institutional competition will require departments to articulate clear objectives aligned with institutional missions and to demonstrate measurable value to students and administrators. Recommendations include narrowing curricula to avoid unfocused expansion, establishing rigorous instructional standards, prioritizing individualized communication skills training supported by …

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Presidents Look At The Field Of Speech Communication: A Commentary, Donald Smith

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This commentary responds to essays by two university presidents on the condition of the speech communication discipline. The author affirms concerns about the field’s longstanding struggle to define a coherent intellectual identity, noting that communication emerged historically as a coalition of underrecognized instructional areas rather than through shared conceptual foundations. While acknowledging that disciplinary ambiguity is not unique in academia and may coexist with creativity and public appeal, the essay questions whether ambiguity can remain viable amid changing higher education environments. The author critiques tendencies toward imitative scholarship and excessive methodological debate at the expense of substantive inquiry into rhetorical …

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The Ritz Bar Or Abd: In Defense Of The Mfa, Peter Garvie

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay argues that the Master of Fine Arts is an appropriate terminal degree for university theatre faculty and challenges the claim that the Doctor of Philosophy represents a superior credential. The author emphasizes the realities of limited employment opportunities in both academic and professional theatre and contends that neither degree guarantees entry into those markets. The essay distinguishes the MFA as an advanced practice degree grounded in performance and production, whereas the PhD certifies research competence and does not necessarily attest to teaching or creative skill. Conservatory style training within a liberal arts setting is presented as legitimate and …

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A Rationale For Developing Communication Training Programs, Dan B. Curtis, Steven A. Beebe, Deems M. Brooks

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article argues for the intentional development of communication training programs within higher education to meet expanding industry demand for communication skilled employees and trainers. The authors document substantial growth in training and development initiatives across business, government, and industrial sectors, citing national surveys and reports identifying communication as a consistently critical competency for managerial effectiveness and employee performance. They outline core communication abilities valued by employers, including oral and written communication, listening, persuasion, interpersonal relations, small group leadership, and problem solving. The discussion identifies persistent barriers in academic settings, such as disciplinary stereotypes, lack of faculty preparation in adult …

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Curriculum Implications Of The New Technologies, Frederick Williams

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the curricular implications of emerging communication technologies, emphasizing that the central concern within the communication discipline remains the study of human use and social impacts of technological systems rather than their mechanical features. It argues that new media function primarily as extensions of existing forms, particularly as telecommunications and computing converge, enabling greater informational access, individualized communication, and distributed decision making. Rather than creating entirely new courses, the article proposes revising current communication curricula to reflect changes in media environments. Key areas for integration include the shift from mass communication to demassification through narrowcasting and text services, …

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Administering The Small College Program: An Introduction, Bonnie Wilson Buzza

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This introductory essay outlines the emergence of a coordinated national effort to strengthen speech communication programs at small colleges. It contextualizes the 1985 curriculum conference at Hope College as a significant point in the ongoing development of these programs. The essay explains that earlier initiatives established a foundation of shared concerns and collaborative activity through committees, conferences, and informal professional networks. The 1985 meeting marks a transition toward more deliberate work on curriculum design, faculty development, scholarly engagement, and improved relationships between small college programs and graduate institutions that supply future faculty. The introduction further summarizes the structure of the …

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Administrative Style And The Small College Context, Joseph W. Macdoniels

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines the distinctive administrative challenges faced by leaders of small college communication programs and argues that prevailing managerial models are poorly suited to the values and structures of these institutions. It begins by distinguishing administration, management, and leadership, noting that contemporary higher education privileges managerial thinking oriented toward efficiency, control, and product driven outcomes. The discussion contends that this framework conflicts with the interpersonal, process oriented commitments of communication faculty and with the collegial traditions of small liberal arts colleges. The essay outlines the limitations of the management oriented model at the departmental level, where chairs are expected …

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Departmental Administration Within The Small College Environment: Analysis And Extension, James E. Roever

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This response essay evaluates preceding analyses of small college administration and extends their implications through a methodologically oriented lens. It begins by addressing the definitional challenges surrounding what constitutes a small department or small liberal arts college, noting that existing definitions remain imprecise and often subjective. Using Allan Tucker’s framework of chairperson responsibilities, the essay proposes a structured means of comparing administrative roles across institutional types. It then examines the claims raised in earlier papers, including the influence of managerial models, the limited authority of departmental leaders, the prevalence of informal communication networks, and the extensive teaching and service commitments …

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Concerns, Questions, And Changes In Small Colleges, Dale M. Jackson

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay analyzes the distinctive concerns facing faculty and administrators at small liberal arts colleges and considers the curricular developments likely to shape the communication discipline through the remainder of the decade. It argues that although faculty share universal issues such as salaries, tenure, and job security, the small college environment introduces unique pressures. These include heavy teaching loads, broad course preparation, intensive committee work, and heightened student expectations generated by close faculty student interaction. Faculty also express anxiety over the expanding influence of vocational demands and the potential displacement of liberal education, even as they work to help students …

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An Exploration Of Some Problems Confronting Speech Communication Faculty, Sandra Manheimer

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines three persistent problem areas faced by speech communication faculty at small colleges that result from limited institutional resources. The analysis focuses first on the staffing of the basic communication course, noting that small institutions lack graduate teaching assistants and therefore must consider alternative instructional formats, technological delivery systems, undergraduate facilitators, part time instructors, communication across the curriculum initiatives, or the retraining of faculty from other disciplines. The essay then evaluates the challenges of offering upper level communication courses with low enrollments, particularly courses that require a minimum number of participants for effective skill development. It outlines strategies …

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Staffing The Basic Course And Still Having Flexibility To Meet Program Needs, Alan Lerstrom

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article analyzes the use of undergraduate assistants as a strategy for staffing the basic communication course in small colleges while preserving faculty capacity to meet broader programmatic needs. It reviews literature across disciplines to identify recurrent considerations in employing student assistants, including selection criteria, training, laboratory activities, grading practices, and compensation. The analysis highlights pedagogical benefits associated with laboratory based instruction, particularly increased student participation, enhanced opportunities for practicing communication skills, and improved peer level feedback. It also addresses concerns about consistency and evaluation by describing an approach that standardizes laboratory activities while allowing individual assistants to shape group …

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Approaches To The Basic Curriculum In Small College Departments, Roger Smitter, Joseph W. Macdoniels

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines required course structures in small college speech communication programs in order to determine whether curricular patterns reveal shared organizing principles for the major. Drawing on catalog data from sixty one institutions that are either small in enrollment or limited in speech communication faculty, the analysis categorizes required courses and identifies their frequency across programs. The findings demonstrate substantial variability in required curricula, with little consistency in course titles, sequences, or theoretical foundations. Public speaking emerges as the most common requirement, yet it is mandated at fewer than half of the institutions studied. Introductory courses vary widely in …

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Burnout Syndrome: Fighting The Battle Between Inspiration And Desperation, David C. File

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the concept of burnout as it affects administrators of small college theatre programs and identifies the structural and psychological conditions that make these individuals particularly vulnerable. Burnout is defined as an emotional safeguard that emerges when the energy required to meet goal expectations exceeds an individual’s capacity, creating an imbalance between effort and perceived reward. Drawing on Freudenberger’s work and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the article argues that burnout develops when persistent striving toward unrealistic goals erodes the sense of self worth and shifts behavior from creative engagement to defensive self protection. The analysis explains how limited …

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Integrating Forensics Into The Curriculum, Jay G. Verlinden

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article argues that intercollegiate forensics should be treated as an integral curricular component within small college speech communication programs rather than as an expendable extracurricular activity. Drawing on comparisons to laboratory requirements in the natural sciences, the discussion contends that forensics provides an essential laboratory experience through which students learn to select, analyze, and organize material in pursuit of varied rhetorical strategies. The article explains how tournament participation exposes students to diverse critical perspectives, motivates higher levels of performance, and develops confidence, poise, and credibility. It assigns primary responsibility for curricular integration to the director of forensics, who must …

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Disciplinary Integrity, Credibility, And Scholarly Activity: Small College Revisited, Peter L. Settle

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article reexamines the conditions under which small college communication programs establish and maintain disciplinary integrity and credibility, focusing on the tension between teaching and research expectations. It argues that integrity depends on curricular fidelity, defined as the alignment between a program’s scope, content, and goals and broader disciplinary developments. Because small colleges often face limited personnel, financial constraints, and restricted access to professional networks, they are at increased risk of drifting from disciplinary trends or relying on outdated knowledge. The article identifies traditional mechanisms for staying current, including scholarly reading, conference participation, and engagement with colleagues, but notes that …

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The Clinical Supervision Of Teaching In The Small College Communication Department, Ellen Hay

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the applicability of the clinical supervision model to the evaluation and improvement of teaching in small college communication departments. It argues that traditional supervisory practices often fail to support instructional development because they emphasize identifying incompetence rather than fostering growth among capable instructors. Clinical supervision is presented as a structured, five step process consisting of a pre observation conference, classroom observation with systematic data collection, analysis of observed behaviors, a post observation conference, and a concluding critique of the supervision cycle. The article details how this model encourages cooperative goal setting, focuses attention on specific teaching behaviors …

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Anatomy Of A Self-Study, Jane Kennedy Dale

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article provides a detailed account of the self study conducted by the Department of Communications, Speech and Theatre at Fairleigh Dickinson University, situating the process within university wide mandates for program evaluation. It outlines the administrative origins of the initiative, beginning with Senate guidelines that emphasized collegiality and established a strict timetable for departmental review, consultant selection, and report submission. The narrative documents the extensive data gathering required for the study, including faculty vitae, course syllabi, curricular rationales, library assessments, enrollment trends, facilities reports, and analyses of departmental programs such as internships, media operations, and theatre activities. It also …

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Directing The Combined Speech And Composition Course: A Practical Perspective, Raylene Tapia

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the administrative and pedagogical challenges of directing a combined basic speech and composition course, emphasizing the structural and interpersonal obstacles that shape program coordination. It argues that successful collaboration between speech and composition instructors depends heavily on institutional organization. Programs housed within the same division or school benefit from clearer lines of authority, shared goals, and greater ease in establishing common objectives. By contrast, when instructors are drawn from multiple departments or schools, coordination becomes more difficult, particularly when the course director lacks formal authority over participating faculty. The article also stresses the importance of voluntary participation, …

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Interfacing Of English And Speech In A Basic Course, Marion Sitzmann

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article proposes a combined basic course in English composition and speech for small colleges and justifies the model through demographic, curricular, and historical considerations. The argument begins by noting that significant declines in the eighteen year old population will likely force reductions in faculty and require the consolidation of foundational courses. The combined course is presented as a pragmatic response that can preserve curricular flexibility while allowing students additional space for electives or internships. The article then establishes a philosophical rationale by tracing the shared origins of writing and speaking in classical rhetoric, emphasizing the relevance of invention, arrangement, …

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Teaching The Basic Course From A Theme Perspective, Kathie A. Webster

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article proposes the use of a common materials approach to strengthen the basic public speaking course and to develop higher order cognitive and communication skills. It argues that contemporary demands for information processing, problem solving, and issue analysis require instructional strategies that integrate communication abilities with critical thinking. The common materials approach provides students with a shared body of content drawn from a curated set of books, articles, and reference materials organized around a single theme. The article explains how this method supports systematic library instruction, guided research practice, and problem solving group discussions that precede speech assignments. It …

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The Community Service Class At The Small College: A Medium For Discovery, Joe Ortiz

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article argues that community service classes provide small college communication departments with an important means of serving external audiences while simultaneously advancing internal departmental goals. It defines community service classes as credit or noncredit offerings open to campus and community participants, typically organized around practical concerns such as family interaction, workplace communication, or managerial effectiveness. The discussion emphasizes that these classes attract voluntary participants who seek immediate application of communication concepts, creating favorable conditions for engagement and for shaping informed public perceptions of the discipline. The article contends that such offerings can function as laboratories for curriculum development, allowing …

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Strange Bedfellows: The Small College And The Community Theatre, Pamela S. Wegner

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the potential for sustained collaboration between small college theatre programs of limited size and local community theatre organizations. It argues that cooperation can alleviate structural pressures common to small programs, including limited faculty, constrained production schedules, homogeneous casts, and insufficient opportunities for advanced students to apply theoretical training. The analysis identifies three foundational assumptions necessary for meaningful collaboration. First, small college directors must recognize the expertise and creative value present in community theatre, accepting that students benefit from exposure to multiple directing styles and production practices. Second, because most students become lifelong amateur participants rather than theatre …

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The Small College Director Of Forensics, Deborah S. Ballard-Reisch

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article reports findings from interviews with directors of forensics at fifteen small colleges in the Midwest in order to document the scope of responsibilities associated with administering active forensics programs in limited size institutions. The study identifies programs through national tournament participation and enrollment criteria and provides descriptive data on team size, coaching assignments, release time, and travel frequency. Analysis reveals that small college forensics programs are highly active, with directors overseeing individual events and debate squads, organizing extensive tournament travel, and managing teams that range widely in size. The article details the substantial teaching and coaching loads carried …

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Small College Debate: A Termination Decision, Peter L. Settle

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article analyzes the decision by a small liberal arts college to terminate a long standing intercollegiate debate and forensics program despite strong institutional tradition and prior administrative support. It argues that the decision emerged from converging personal, departmental, and institutional pressures rather than from deficiencies in funding, staffing, or attitudes. At the personal level, the director of forensics faced an unsustainable conflict between full time teaching responsibilities, full time program direction, and the delayed completion of doctoral work. Departmentally, rapid growth in the communication major and the expansion of organizational communication created competing demands that could not be met …

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Full-Text Articles in Educational Administration and Supervision

Think Tank Theatre: Decision Making Applied, Sara Gabel

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Aca News

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Argument From Setting: Theatre In The Liberal And Fine Arts, John Gronbeck-Tedesco

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Practical Issues, Vincent L. Angotti

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Arts Funding, Patrick D. Mcdonough

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Funding For The Arts: Legislative Sources, Robert J. Wills

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Speech Communication Profession As Seen By A President, Donald W. Zacharias

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Presidents Look At The Field Of Speech Communication: A Commentary, Donald Smith

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Ritz Bar Or Abd: In Defense Of The Mfa, Peter Garvie

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

A Rationale For Developing Communication Training Programs, Dan B. Curtis, Steven A. Beebe, Deems M. Brooks

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Curriculum Implications Of The New Technologies, Frederick Williams

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Administering The Small College Program: An Introduction, Bonnie Wilson Buzza

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Administrative Style And The Small College Context, Joseph W. Macdoniels

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Departmental Administration Within The Small College Environment: Analysis And Extension, James E. Roever

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Concerns, Questions, And Changes In Small Colleges, Dale M. Jackson

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

An Exploration Of Some Problems Confronting Speech Communication Faculty, Sandra Manheimer

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Staffing The Basic Course And Still Having Flexibility To Meet Program Needs, Alan Lerstrom

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Approaches To The Basic Curriculum In Small College Departments, Roger Smitter, Joseph W. Macdoniels

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Burnout Syndrome: Fighting The Battle Between Inspiration And Desperation, David C. File

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Integrating Forensics Into The Curriculum, Jay G. Verlinden

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Disciplinary Integrity, Credibility, And Scholarly Activity: Small College Revisited, Peter L. Settle

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Clinical Supervision Of Teaching In The Small College Communication Department, Ellen Hay

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Anatomy Of A Self-Study, Jane Kennedy Dale

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Directing The Combined Speech And Composition Course: A Practical Perspective, Raylene Tapia

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Interfacing Of English And Speech In A Basic Course, Marion Sitzmann

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Teaching The Basic Course From A Theme Perspective, Kathie A. Webster

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Community Service Class At The Small College: A Medium For Discovery, Joe Ortiz

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Strange Bedfellows: The Small College And The Community Theatre, Pamela S. Wegner

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Small College Director Of Forensics, Deborah S. Ballard-Reisch

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Small College Debate: A Termination Decision, Peter L. Settle

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin