Educational Administration and Supervision | Open Access Articles

High Schools And The Changing Workplace: The Employer's View, R. R. Allen

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Reviews the book "High Schools and the Changing Workplace: The Employer's View" (1984). Published by National Academy Press, Washington D.C.

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Roles And Powers Of Administrators: Theory And Practice For Communication Administrators: An Introduction, James E. Roever

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This introductory essay outlines the goals and structure of a seminar devoted to the roles and powers of communication administrators. It describes how participants, including chairs, deans, presidents, and fellows, examined administrative responsibilities through prepared remarks, group discussions, and case analyses. The seminar used a shared text as a foundation for exploring how administrative roles are interpreted across institutional contexts and how misconceptions arise from differing perspectives. The sessions considered ideal and problematic behaviors of chairs and deans, interpretations by senior administrators, and collaborative interactions among administrative levels. Additional discussions focused on recurring issues facing communication administrators and on systematic …

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The Ideal Chair: Appropriate And Inappropriate Roles, Anita Taylor

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the expectations and contradictions that shape the role of the academic department chair, emphasizing the gap between idealized conceptions and the constraints of institutional reality. It begins by illustrating the impossibility of the archetypal chair who simultaneously embodies exemplary teaching, scholarship, leadership, and administrative mastery. The discussion then turns to the variability of chair responsibilities across institutional contexts, arguing that appropriateness is determined by the norms, culture, and structural demands of each setting. Drawing on an extensive inventory of departmental tasks, the article underscores the scope and complexity of chair work and critiques systems that impose expansive …

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A Dean Interprets The Role And Powers Of An Ideal Chair, Robert C. Jeffrey

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article offers a dean’s perspective on the essential functions and powers of an effective department chair. Drawing on administrative experience, it characterizes the chair as the central operational force within an academic unit, responsible for managing departmental affairs, meeting institutional deadlines, and providing accurate information to higher administration. The discussion identifies five core attributes of an ideal chair: efficient management of departmental business, the ability to resolve problems without routinely escalating them, the provision of concise and relevant data in support of requests, the development of a forward looking vision aligned with institutional goals, and the cultivation of an …

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A President Interprets The Roles And Powers Of The Ideal Chair, Donald N. Dedmon

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article presents a university president’s perspective on the centrality of the department chair’s role in higher education. It argues that the chairship is the most critical and often most ambiguously defined position in the academic hierarchy, given its decisive influence over personnel actions, recruitment, evaluation, and the daily functioning of academic units. The discussion emphasizes housekeeping responsibilities as essential foundations, followed by three domains in which effective chairs are indispensable. First, strong chairs excel at recruiting faculty and students, shaping departmental quality through strategic appointments. Second, they make timely and well documented personnel decisions, particularly regarding evaluation, retention, and …

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The Ideal Dean: Appropriate And Inappropriate Uses Of Power, Richard R. Ranta

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the powers vested in a dean and the conditions under which those powers may be used responsibly or irresponsibly. It identifies multiple forms of power, including rule making, budget control, communication, discretionary funding, staffing, curriculum development, leadership by example, and integrative coordination. Appropriate use of these powers is characterized by openness, consultation, clear procedures, and alignment with institutional goals. Inappropriate use involves secrecy, favoritism, short term expediency, or actions that undermine academic standards and collegial trust. The article argues that the dean’s effectiveness depends on fairness, accessibility, and the ability to unite diverse …

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A President Interprets The Roles And Powers Of The Ideal Dean, Donald W. Zacharias

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article presents a presidential perspective on the responsibilities and qualities that define an ideal dean. It organizes these expectations into four areas: academic and professional standing, relations with faculty and chairs, relations with students, and relations with other administrators. The ideal dean demonstrates professional visibility, leadership in curriculum and research, broad institutional experience, and credibility within the academic community. In working with faculty, the dean cultivates rapport, ensures fairness in governance, distributes resources transparently, and maintains high standards in teaching and scholarship. Effective deans also engage with students through teaching, advising oversight, and recruitment. Administratively, deans are expected to …

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Ideal Interactive Roles Of Chairs And Deans, Jon Whitmore

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the collaborative relationship between chairs and deans, arguing that effective administration depends on open communication, shared responsibility, and mutual awareness of constraints. It identifies common barriers to productive interaction, including territorialism and limited communication. The article proposes a model in which deans guide and mentor chairs, while chairs offer grounded departmental insight, creating a reciprocal advisory relationship. It distinguishes the differing scopes of authority and responsibility held by chairs and deans and argues that alignment of goals requires systematic dialogue and coordinated planning. Evaluation is presented as a mutual process in which each party provides constructive feedback …

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A Nation At Risk: One Year After, R. R. Allen

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the impact of the National Commission on Excellence in Education’s report on the perceived decline in American educational quality. It begins by noting the unusual public visibility achieved by the report and reviews the indicators of national risk identified by the Commission, including declining achievement scores, functional illiteracy among adolescents, and widespread remedial instruction across higher education, the military, and industry. The article then surveys potential causes of this decline, ranging from weak graduation and admissions requirements to inadequate teacher preparation, poor instructional materials, insufficient parental support, and diminished professional morale. The discussion shifts to the responsibilities …

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Auditioning, Robert E. Ankrom

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article describes the development of a structured audition training course designed to prepare graduating acting students for professional auditions in major theatre centers. It begins by identifying the widespread problem that talented students often lack knowledge of professional audition practices, despite strong performance training. The essay outlines the creation of an auditioning class limited to advanced students and organized around a culminating trip to New York, where participants experience actual audition environments. The course includes instruction in self evaluation, type identification, professional photographs and resumes, monologue preparation, sight readings, and interview techniques. Additional components address appropriate attire, vocal and …

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The Problem Of Publication: A Response, Donald H. Ecroyd

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This response essay addresses the increasing pressure on communication faculty to publish in refereed venues as part of tenure and promotion review. It situates publication within a changing academic environment marked by tighter budgets, greater competition for journal space, and heightened scrutiny of scholarly output. Drawing on the perspective of a journal editor, the essay notes that professional journals receive many more submissions than they can publish and that early-career faculty face particular difficulty in securing publication. The essay responds to related discussions of why, what, and how scholars should publish by emphasizing that publishable work must offer scholarly value, …

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Theatre History: The Guided Design Approach, Donald A. Borchardt

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article describes the use of the Guided Design instructional method in an undergraduate theatre history course. Guided Design replaces lecture-centered instruction with small-group problem solving, asking students to apply course concepts through open-ended decision-making tasks. The article outlines the method’s origins, its emphasis on knowledge, values, and decision-making, and the instructor’s role in preparing problems, instructions, feedback, learning objectives, and resource materials. A sample theatre history problem asks students to determine when, where, and under what conditions a touring company should perform Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound, requiring attention to ancient theatre architecture, Greek festivals, staging practices, and questions of authenticity. …

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Classroom Climate For Women: The Tip Of The Iceberg, Roberta M. Hall

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines the classroom climate experienced by women students in higher education, focusing on subtle and overt patterns of differential treatment that can discourage women’s participation, confidence, and academic development. Drawing on student accounts and findings from The Classroom Climate Project, it identifies behaviors that single out women, such as sexist remarks, comments on appearance, gendered humor, and stereotyped examples, as well as behaviors that overlook women, including interruptions, reduced attention to women’s comments, and assumptions that men are more likely to contribute meaningfully. The article connects these classroom practices to broader patterns in advising, professional preparation, and campus …

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Minutes Of The Aca Executive Committee October 31, 1984 Chicago

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The annual meeting of the Association for Communication Administration (ACA)'s Executive Committee, held in November 1984 in Chicago, Illinois.

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Minutes Of The Aca Business Meeting November 1, 1984 Chicago

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The minutes of the business meeting of the Association for Communication Administration (ACA)'s Executive Committee, held in November 1984 in Chicago, Illinois.

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From Research Paper To Published Article: A Symposium Introduction, Goodwin F. Berquist

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The introduction frames a symposium on the transition from research paper to published article by highlighting the limited publication records of most PhD graduates and the resulting concern for graduate educators and academic administrators. It argues that weak publication outcomes stem less from lack of research capacity than from insufficient guidance on how to publish during early scholarly socialization. The narrative situates faculty development as a central responsibility of communication administration and calls for concrete, procedural information rather than generic exhortations to publish. It then describes a panel at the Central States Speech Association convention in Lincoln, Nebraska, where presenters …

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Why Publish?, Goodwin F. Berquist

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines why many trained communication scholars fail to convert research projects into published scholarship. It argues that publishing is essential for advancing knowledge, establishing credibility, and participating fully in the academic profession. The article identifies several barriers to scholarly productivity, including lack of awareness about the value of publication, post-degree burnout, heavy teaching and service demands, weak writing preparation, perfectionism, and misunderstanding the difference between graduate coursework and publishable manuscripts. It emphasizes the role of communication administrators, advisors, and senior scholars in helping graduate students and new faculty understand publication expectations and develop practical writing habits. The article …

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Publish What?, William R. Brown

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article addresses the question of what kinds of scholarly work are most suitable for publication in communication studies, with particular attention to the needs of young scholars and those who mentor them. It defines publishable scholarship as “news” for the profession: work grounded in genuine intellectual curiosity, connected to significant conversations in the field, and willing to take calculated risks. The article distinguishes between general qualities of newsworthy research and more specific topics for future inquiry. Its proposed research agenda centers on symbolically negotiated patterns in human communication, including perspective-shifting, infinite regress, hypostatizing, cultural enactment, and learning. These topics …

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Publish How?, Dennis S. Gouran

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article provides practical guidance on preparing, submitting, and revising scholarly manuscripts for publication in professional journals in communication studies. Written for graduate students, early-career faculty, and administrators involved in faculty development, it identifies the publication process as an important but often neglected part of graduate training. The article outlines key stages of journal submission, including assessing whether a manuscript offers a meaningful contribution, seeking critical feedback before submission, selecting an appropriate publication venue, following journal style requirements, and preparing a professional cover letter. It also cautions against premature submission, simultaneous submission to multiple journals, and inappropriate communication with editors. …

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Evaluating Theatre Technology, Silberstein, Frank Silberstein

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article considers how theatre technology and the work of theatre technologists can be evaluated, particularly when assessment is used to judge the professional performance of technical personnel. It distinguishes the theatre technologist from designers, emphasizing the technologist’s role in devising practical means for achieving production effects and solving technical problems. The article argues that evaluation should account for both administrative competence and production outcomes, including scheduling, budgeting, shop organization, paperwork, safety practices, accident records, workmanship, rigging, structural knowledge, and the efficient use of available resources. It also notes the difficulty of assessing theatre technology from outside the production process, …

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Computing Literacy In The University Of The Future, Vernon W. Gantt

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article discusses the anticipated role of computing literacy in higher education during the emerging personal computer era. It distinguishes computing literacy, defined as the ability to use computers and software for practical tasks, from computer literacy, which includes programming and technical understanding of computer operations. The article argues that universities must respond to rapid developments in microcomputer technology and that faculty and administrators risk becoming less technologically capable than their students if they do not acquire basic computing skills. It surveys potential applications of computers in university teaching, research, writing, administration, advising, publishing, libraries, testing, data analysis, and professional …

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Civic Virtue And The University Of The Future, Lawrence W. Rosenfield

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay considers the future of the university through the relationship between liberal education, civic virtue, and academic governance. It distinguishes the life of the mind from the university as a historical social institution, arguing that higher education has traditionally been tied to the preparation of citizens for public life. The essay traces this civic purpose from Renaissance humanism through American republican educational ideals and the development of public higher education. It identifies the academic department system and campus governance structures as central sites of crisis, rather than treating curricular reform or educational quality debates as the primary issue. The …

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Communication At The Center Of Future University Education: Implications For Innovation, John F. Deethardt

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article argues that communication should occupy a central role in future university education, particularly as universities confront complex social and global problems that exceed the boundaries of single disciplines. It critiques academic specialization and the department-based structure of higher education for encouraging disciplinary isolation, fragmented knowledge, and limited institutional capacity for interdisciplinary problem solving. Drawing on literature about interdisciplinarity, group communication, health teams, network analysis, and university reform, the article identifies communication across disciplinary cultures as a primary challenge for innovation. It proposes “interdisciplinary communication” as a future area of study within speech communication and describes a research agenda …

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Response To The University Of The Future, Lane Jennings

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This response essay reflects on the future of the university from the perspective of an editor and journalist responding to essays on civic virtue, interdisciplinary communication, and computing literacy. It considers the university both as a civic community and as a looser relationship among teachers, students, and knowledge, drawing comparisons between American residential higher education, medieval universities, and emerging computer-networked instruction. The essay supports the role of universities in preparing students for democratic participation while also warning that new telecommunications technologies may reshape or weaken campus-based community if institutions do not adapt deliberately. It discusses interdisciplinary communication as a way …

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The Communication Classroom: A Chilly Climate For Women?, Karlyn Kohrs Campbell

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article responds to research on classroom climate for women by considering how sexism operates specifically within speech communication. It identifies three areas of disciplinary concern: public speaking and debate, public address and rhetoric, and communication as a medium through which discrimination is enacted. The article argues that women’s participation as speakers has historically conflicted with conventional gender expectations, making public speaking and debate especially difficult contexts for women students. It also critiques the teaching of public address, noting that speech anthologies and curricula have often excluded women rhetors and thereby reinforced the idea that public eloquence is primarily male. …

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The Classroom Climate: A Chilly One For Women? A Response, Richard D. Rieke

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This response essay addresses sexism in higher education as a deeply embedded cultural pattern that shapes classroom and professional interactions. Responding to work on the “chilly climate” for women, the essay argues that denial is a major barrier to recognizing and changing sexist behavior. It discusses ways male faculty may view women students and colleagues through sexualized or dominance-based assumptions, and it emphasizes that advanced education does not necessarily prevent discriminatory behavior. The essay identifies examples of sexism in classroom interaction, advising, debate, faculty-student relationships, and professional settings, including women’s exclusion from informal academic networks, the dismissal of women’s contributions, …

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The Domestic Policy Association: A Test Of Public Communication, David Matthews

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article describes the development of the Domestic Policy Association and its National Issues Forums as a model for public learning and citizen discussion of national policy questions. Originating from a 1981 meeting of civic and educational organizations, the association sought to address public alienation, fragmented civic life, and the gap between citizens and policymakers. The article outlines how participating organizations selected issues with both national and local significance, developed accessible and politically neutral discussion materials, and organized face-to-face forums designed to help participants move beyond initial opinions toward more informed judgments. It also describes the role of the Public …

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Joining The Issues: Notes On Public Policy Debate, Robert J. Kingston

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article examines how public issues can be identified, framed, and discussed in ways that support meaningful public policy debate. It distinguishes casual public talk from deliberative discussion in which citizens weigh policy choices, consider tradeoffs, and move toward informed judgment. The article outlines several indicators for recognizing emerging public issues, including opinion polls, demographic trends, cultural change, geography, and latent public sentiment. It argues that issues suitable for public debate generally affect broad segments of the population, involve moral as well as technical dimensions, reveal differences between expert and public understandings, or arise when the political process has reached …

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The National Issues Forum: Bridging The Human Gap Through Innovative Learning, Eva M. Mcmahan

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article presents the National Issues Forum as a model for innovative learning and citizen participation in response to rapid social change and the widening gap between public complexity and citizens’ capacity to address it. Drawing on discussions of the “human gap,” participatory democracy, and the communication era, the article defines innovative learning as a process characterized by anticipation and participation. It argues that National Issues Forums support this process by bringing citizens together to examine public issues, consider multiple viewpoints, identify underlying values, and work toward shared understanding rather than predetermined solutions. The article further proposes that the forum …

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Full Circle: The Domestic Policy Association, Annabel Dunham Hagood

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article traces the development of the Domestic Policy Association from early concerns about public deliberation in the aftermath of Vietnam, Watergate, and declining trust in government to the first Presidential Library Conference on the Public and Public Policy in 1983. It describes the role of David Mathews, educational institutions, civic organizations, the National Consortium for Public Policy Education, the Johnson Foundation, the Public Agenda Foundation, and the Kettering Foundation in shaping a national network for public policy education. The article explains how the National Issues Forum emerged as a grassroots, non-advocacy model for informed public discussion of domestic issues, …

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Full-Text Articles in Educational Administration and Supervision

High Schools And The Changing Workplace: The Employer's View, R. R. Allen

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Roles And Powers Of Administrators: Theory And Practice For Communication Administrators: An Introduction, James E. Roever

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Ideal Chair: Appropriate And Inappropriate Roles, Anita Taylor

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

A Dean Interprets The Role And Powers Of An Ideal Chair, Robert C. Jeffrey

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

A President Interprets The Roles And Powers Of The Ideal Chair, Donald N. Dedmon

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Ideal Dean: Appropriate And Inappropriate Uses Of Power, Richard R. Ranta

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

A President Interprets The Roles And Powers Of The Ideal Dean, Donald W. Zacharias

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Ideal Interactive Roles Of Chairs And Deans, Jon Whitmore

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

A Nation At Risk: One Year After, R. R. Allen

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Auditioning, Robert E. Ankrom

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Problem Of Publication: A Response, Donald H. Ecroyd

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Theatre History: The Guided Design Approach, Donald A. Borchardt

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Classroom Climate For Women: The Tip Of The Iceberg, Roberta M. Hall

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Minutes Of The Aca Executive Committee October 31, 1984 Chicago

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Minutes Of The Aca Business Meeting November 1, 1984 Chicago

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

From Research Paper To Published Article: A Symposium Introduction, Goodwin F. Berquist

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Why Publish?, Goodwin F. Berquist

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Publish What?, William R. Brown

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Publish How?, Dennis S. Gouran

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Evaluating Theatre Technology, Silberstein, Frank Silberstein

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Computing Literacy In The University Of The Future, Vernon W. Gantt

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Civic Virtue And The University Of The Future, Lawrence W. Rosenfield

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Communication At The Center Of Future University Education: Implications For Innovation, John F. Deethardt

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Response To The University Of The Future, Lane Jennings

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Communication Classroom: A Chilly Climate For Women?, Karlyn Kohrs Campbell

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Classroom Climate: A Chilly One For Women? A Response, Richard D. Rieke

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The Domestic Policy Association: A Test Of Public Communication, David Matthews

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Joining The Issues: Notes On Public Policy Debate, Robert J. Kingston

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The National Issues Forum: Bridging The Human Gap Through Innovative Learning, Eva M. Mcmahan

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Full Circle: The Domestic Policy Association, Annabel Dunham Hagood

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin