Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

The Concept Of A School Of Communication, John Lee Jellicorse

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay traces the historical development of the communication disciplines and argues for the reintegration of their fragmented academic structures into unified schools of communication. Beginning with the rhetorical traditions of antiquity, it outlines the evolution of oral discourse education through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, highlighting key moments such as the elocutionary movement, the separation of speech from English departments, and the emergence of specialized areas including theatre, mass communication, communication disorders, and rhetoric. The analysis attributes administrative fragmentation to uneven disciplinary growth and institutional politics, which produced inefficiency and weakened the field’s collective influence. Drawing on examples from …

How Vital Is The Basic Course In The 1980'S?, James W. Gibson, Michael S. Hanna

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This empirical study examines the status and trends of the basic course in speech communication across U.S. colleges and universities during the mid-1980s. Drawing on survey data from 552 institutions, the analysis assesses enrollment patterns, instructional practices, faculty assignments, credit hour production, administrative support, and competition from other academic units. The findings indicate that the public speaking orientation remains the dominant model for the basic course, followed by combination formats integrating interpersonal and small-group communication. Enrollment trends show overall stability or moderate growth, particularly at universities and mid-sized colleges, with smaller institutions experiencing minor declines. Class sizes remain small, typically …

The Wisdom Of Reclaiming A Legacy, Allen S. White

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay responds to William J. Bennett’s To Reclaim a Legacy, offering a balanced perspective on the report’s critique of the humanities and its relevance to theatre education. The author acknowledges the value of reaffirming the study of Western civilization and the great books but contends that Bennett’s vision is incomplete without a more inclusive, pragmatic, and pedagogically dynamic approach. The argument emphasizes that higher education in a democratic society must balance excellence with accessibility, teaching the humanities as living, applicable knowledge rather than static tradition. Using theatre as a model discipline, the essay illustrates how creative interpretation, performance, and …

Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks, Judy H. Goldberg, Mark A. Laurin

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines the process of socialization, mentorship, and instructional development for new faculty members in community colleges. Framed metaphorically as “teaching new dogs old tricks,” it explores how novice instructors acquire institutional knowledge, pedagogical competence, and professional identity through stages of growth: neophyte, transitional, and competent. Each stage is characterized by shifting information needs, from managing overload and uncertainty to developing reflective practice and autonomy. The authors argue that mentoring is central to this progression, functioning as a dialogic relationship that helps instructors refine philosophy, improve confidence, and integrate effectively into the academic community. The discussion extends to the …

Teaparties In Wonderland, Or The Plight Of Theatre Technicians At Tenure Time, Paul A. Distler

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay addresses the distinctive challenges faced by technical theatre faculty during tenure and promotion evaluations. It argues that the work of theatre technicians, though integral to production, is often misunderstood by faculty committees grounded in traditional academic disciplines. The author identifies two primary obstacles: the lack of comprehension of the technician’s specialized domain and the mismatch between evaluative emphasis on product rather than process. Unlike directors and designers, whose contributions are visible in performance, technicians demonstrate expertise through planning, construction, and problem solving—processes largely invisible to evaluators. To address this, the essay proposes a structured strategy of documentation, selection, …

Aca Seminar And Programs In New Format, J. Robert Willis

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This report outlines the organization and thematic focus of the Association for Communication Administration’s fourteenth annual seminar and related programs held in November 1986 in Chicago. The seminar, structured around the theme of management and leadership, featured prominent scholars who examined evolving perspectives on organizational and educational leadership in communication contexts. Complementing the seminar, six distinct programs addressed critical administrative and pedagogical concerns, including training for new administrators, the dynamics of dual-career communication professionals, the impact of grade inflation, tenure considerations for nontraditional faculty, future management concepts, and the socialization of academic chairpersons. The events emphasized discussion and interaction among …

Why A Department Of Communication? Hanging Together Or Hanging Separately, Robert O. Blanchard

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay argues for the unification of the fragmented academic fields that study human communication, contending that the separation among speech, journalism, mass communication, and related disciplines weakens their collective intellectual and institutional standing. The author identifies three revolutions reshaping the field: the communication revolution, driven by interactive technologies that collapse distinctions between interpersonal and mass communication; the intellectual revolution, which demands integrative theoretical frameworks; and the campus revolution, which pressures academic programs to justify their disciplinary coherence and relevance to liberal education. The discussion critiques the persistence of outdated departmental divisions and vocational curricula, emphasizing the need for convergence …

Speech And Mass Communication: Together Again, E. Culpepper Clark

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines the historical development and administrative philosophy behind the integration of speech and mass communication programs at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. It situates the merger within broader debates over the relationship between professional and liberal arts education, arguing that the disciplines share enough theoretical and pedagogical ground to justify collaboration at the undergraduate level. Through a detailed account of departmental structure, curriculum, faculty composition, and tenure policy, the essay demonstrates how institutional design can balance academic and professional objectives. The author advocates for a liberal arts orientation rooted in rhetoric, hermeneutics, and language-based theory, even within career-oriented …

Change, The Only Constant In The Communication Discipline: From Administrative Structures To Curricular Requirements: A Response, Ronald L. Applbaum

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This response essay addresses the ongoing evolution of the communication discipline, emphasizing the need for adaptive academic and administrative structures capable of responding to institutional and societal change. Using a metaphor from Mark Twain to illustrate the challenges of coexistence among diverse academic actors, the author critiques the fragmentation and duplication of programs that have emerged from disciplinary divisions since the mid-twentieth century. The argument supports efforts to integrate communication subfields under unified departmental or school structures, which can strengthen shared curricular foundations and administrative efficiency. While acknowledging the limitations of large-scale reorganizations, particularly for smaller institutions, the essay calls …

The Oxford Accord: Documenting Off-Campus Professional Productivity, James M. Symons

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay analyzes the treatment of off-campus professional productivity in the Oxford Accord, a document establishing guidelines for evaluating theatre faculty. It argues that the Accord represents a significant evolution from earlier standards by broadening the concept of professional accomplishment beyond employment in commercial or professional theatre. The discussion reframes off-campus activity as a means of demonstrating professional recognition and quality rather than replicating the scholarly publication model used in other disciplines. The author emphasizes that faculty may document their achievements through multiple forms of evidence, including leadership in professional organizations, competitive recognition, invited teaching, or demonstrated artistic competence. The …

Artists And Campuses: A Rationale For Honoring On-Campus Creative Work, Donald L. Rosenberg

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay presents a rationale for recognizing on-campus creative work as a valid and essential component of faculty evaluation in theatre education. It critiques the historical inconsistency and lack of consensus surrounding the assessment of creative activity for promotion and tenure, particularly regarding the equivalence between scholarly publication and artistic production. Through analysis of policy developments from the American Theatre Association and related professional discussions, the essay argues that on-campus creative work constitutes legitimate evidence of professional achievement when it demonstrates public visibility, pedagogical integration, and artistic excellence. The author identifies three central justifications for such recognition: public presentation enables …

Documenting On-Campus Creative Activity, Jon Whitmare

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This report analyzes the procedures and principles outlined in the “Guidelines for Evaluating Teacher/Artists for Promotion and Tenure,” focusing specifically on the documentation and evaluation of on-campus creative activity. It argues that effective evaluation depends on contextual factors such as institutional mission, departmental size, faculty roles, and degree programs, which collectively determine the expectations for artistic work. The essay proposes a structured, multi-level evaluation process that includes input from chairs, peers, and external experts to ensure fairness, accountability, and professional validation. Emphasizing both process and product, it provides detailed examples of how chairs might engage in formative assessment by observing …

To Reclaim A Legacy: What Manner Of Anthology Is This?, Richard J. Dieker

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay offers a critical analysis of William J. Bennett’s To Reclaim a Legacy, a report advocating for a core humanities curriculum in American higher education. It argues that while Bennett’s call to strengthen the humanities and emphasize cultural literacy is commendable, his approach is ideologically narrow, privileging Western thought and promoting a prescriptive, conservative model of education. The author challenges the report’s assumption of scholarly consensus, its exclusionary canon, and its disregard for intellectual diversity. Through examples drawn from communication and the humanities, the essay contends that Bennett’s framework risks transforming education into indoctrination by privileging uniformity over inquiry …

Surviving In A Research University, Philip Emmert

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This study investigates the criteria and institutional expectations shaping tenure, promotion, and merit decisions in research-oriented universities, with particular attention to the communication discipline. Drawing on a pilot survey of twenty-one graduate programs, the analysis compares faculty workload distribution with evaluative weighting, revealing significant discrepancies between assigned duties and assessment standards. While assistant professors devote roughly sixty percent of their time to teaching, tenure and promotion decisions prioritize research productivity, which receives over half of evaluative weight. Quantitative expectations typically include approximately seven refereed journal articles before tenure consideration, with textbooks and conference papers valued substantially lower. The discussion contextualizes …

Tenure For The Technical Director, Mary Frances Hopkins

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay explores the challenges of securing academic tenure for technical theatre directors, arguing that their contributions to university theatre programs are both scholarly and indispensable yet often undervalued due to the process-oriented and collaborative nature of their work. The author situates the discussion within broader tensions between artistic practice and institutional evaluation, noting that the original purpose of tenure (protecting academic freedom) has shifted toward ensuring job security in a climate of fiscal restraint and accountability. Technical directors, whose expertise encompasses both artistic and managerial domains, are frequently excluded from tenure eligibility because their work produces few tangible artifacts …

The Big Click: Burnout And The University Td, William R. Peeler

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This empirical study investigates professional burnout among university technical directors and designers, a population often neglected in research on faculty stress. Using a nationwide mailed questionnaire distributed to 373 faculty members listed in a directory of design and technical theatre staff, the study achieved a 61 percent response rate, with 83 percent of respondents reporting burnout at some point in their careers. Analysis of survey data reveals that burnout is pervasive but multifactorial, arising from excessive workload, inadequate recognition, limited peer support, and undervaluation of technical contributions within academic hierarchies. Although respondents frequently cited long hours and production pressures, the …

The Oxford Accord: Further Guidelines For Evaluation And Implementation, Beverley Byers-Pevitts

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay extends the discussion of the “Guidelines for Evaluating Teacher/Artists for Promotion and Tenure,” emphasizing the need for consistent implementation and further refinement of evaluation procedures within theatre programs. It situates the Oxford Accord within a broader effort by professional associations to establish equitable standards for assessing creative and pedagogical work in higher education. The analysis identifies two primary objectives: developing comprehensive guidelines for evaluation and ensuring their effective institutional application. The author argues that evaluation must encompass both process and product, recognizing that artistic success cannot be judged solely by outcomes but must consider the educational and creative …

The Tenuring Of Technical Theatre Faculty: A Call For Assistance, Donald L. Loeffler

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines the inequitable standards and institutional inconsistencies affecting the tenure and promotion of technical theatre faculty, using Western Carolina University as a case example. It outlines the university’s policies requiring terminal degrees for tenure-track appointments and highlights the undervaluation of creative and technical work relative to scholarly publication. Despite departmental acknowledgment of creative activity as equivalent to research, university-level decisions consistently privilege traditional academic outputs, leaving technical faculty vulnerable to exclusion or demotion. The author describes cases where qualified designers were denied advancement despite exceptional performance and professional recognition, emphasizing the structural biases embedded in faculty evaluation systems. …

The Evaluation Of Creative Activity: A Definition And Measurement, I. Joe Filippo

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay proposes a framework for defining and assessing creative activity in theatre as an evaluative equivalent to scholarly publication in tenure, promotion, and retention decisions. It argues that administrative difficulty in valuing artistic work stems from a lack of standardized measures and conceptual clarity. The author defines creative activity broadly to include the work of actors, directors, designers, playwrights, and technicians engaged in theatrical or related productions. Evaluation is divided into quantitative and qualitative components. Quantitative measures involve documenting time invested and tangible artifacts such as prompt books, renderings, and production notes, which parallel research outputs in other disciplines. …

Tenuring Our Designers And Theatre Technologists, August W. Staub, Sylvia J. Hillyard

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This essay examines the persistent challenges facing designers and theatre technologists in achieving tenure within academic theatre programs. Drawing on administrative experience, the authors argue that attrition among design and technical faculty is not inevitable but rather the product of systemic undervaluation and misunderstanding of their artistic and pedagogical roles. They advocate recognizing these specialists as creative collaborators rather than subservient technicians, urging departments to adopt accurate professional terminology and to treat design and technology as equal to directing, acting, and playwriting. The discussion differentiates among three types of theatre programs: professional training, liberal arts based, and comprehensive, and contends …

Perceptions Of Tennessee Public School Principals Concerning Their Managerial Authority Under Collective Negotiations, Oliver E. Eller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The problem of this study was to determine if collective negotiations had restricted the perceived managerial authority of Tennessee's public school principals within selected demographic variables. Fourteen demographic variables (the independent variables) were selected for the study. Pauline's Principals On-Job Discretion Scale (the dependent variable) developed and validated by Robert A. Pauline was selected as the appropriate instrument for use in this study. The instrument listed ten responsibilities of public school principals which might or might not be registered by the terms and conditions of teachers' negotiated agreements with school boards. The principals marked the instrument as to how they …

A Comparison Of Perceptions Related To School District Consolidation, Grace A. Peapples

Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between perceptions regarding school district reorganization and the role of persons in a school district. Perceptions were solicited from community members, teachers, administrators, and board of education members in five Michigan school districts. The objective of this study was to provide insights that would assist the development of a strategy resulting in cooperative and united efforts toward reorganization. The major issues were the neighborhood school concept, board member status, administrator/teacher concerns, and financial planning and curriculum.

A self-designed instrument sought perceptions on the major issues via eighteen sub variables. These surveys were delivered to superintendents …

Teachers' Opinions Of Affirmative Action And Faculty Seniority In A Court Ordered Desegregated Public School System, Monroe Johnson Jr.

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' opinions of affirmative action and faculty seniority in a court ordered desegregated public school system.

The population investigated consisted of 725 public school teachers. Sixty-eight and three-tenths percent (68.3%) returned surveys. Significant differences of opinion were found to exist between: (a) white and black teachers as a group, (b) white male elementary teachers and black male elementary teachers, (c) white male secondary teachers and black male secondary teachers, (d) black female elementary teachers and white female elementary teachers, (e) black female secondary teachers and white female secondary teachers, (f) black female …

A Study Of Wage Differentials Between Females And Males In Administrative Positions In A Michigan University, Barbara S. Liggett

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the wages of administrators at Western Michigan University to answer the following questions: Are there wage differentials between men and women in administrative positions at Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan; and, if differentials exist, what are possible explanations for such wage differentials?

The research population was 439 non-bargaining unit administrative employees; 241 females and 198 males were included.

The data were gathered from university records, using a computerized system developed by the researcher. In addition to gender and salary, the variables of experience, education, occupation selection (grade) and performance were studied. Descriptive …

Meeting Minutes, Wku Council Of Academic Deans

Council of Academic Deans

Meeting regarding community college, faculty compensation and nontraditional students.

Wmu Board Of Trustees Regular Meeting July 18, 1986, Wmu Board Of Trustees

WMU Board of Trustees Meetings

• Acceptance of the Agenda
• Approval of the Minutes
• Correspondence
• President's Remarks
• Gift Report
• Grant Report
• Personnel Report
• Recommendations re Fall Semester 1986 Tuition Schedule
• Recommendation re General Fund Budget for 1986/87
• Recommendation re Borrowing Resolution (Term-Loan Agreement)
• Recommendation re Computing Facilities Bond Offering
• Recommendation re Appointment of Bond Underwriting Firm
• Recommendation re Tuition Remission
• Recommendation re Authorization to Confer Degrees
• Recommendation re Honorary Degrees
• Board Committee Reports
• Report on Intercollegiate Athletics
• Minority Purchasing Report
• Miller Auditorium
• Public Comments
• Adjournment

Board Of Trustees Minutes 1986-1987, Indiana State University Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees

No abstract provided.

Senate Meeting July 16, 1986, Academic Senate

Academic Senate Minutes

No abstract provided.

1986 July 14 - Staff Senate Minutes, Staff Senate, East Tennessee State University

Staff Senate Agendas and Minutes

No abstract provided.

Meeting Minutes, Wku Council Of Academic Deans

Council of Academic Deans

Meeting regarding faculty compensation, student evaluation of faculty and community college.