Communication Commons^™

The Politics Of Survival At Home: Bargaining Power On Campus, Don B. Morlan

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Drawing on department chair experience, this article argues that communication departments must recognize and improve their political standing within colleges and universities. It contends that departments often generate substantial enrollment and tuition revenue while still lacking disciplinary credibility and bargaining power. The article proposes a curricular model that requires communication majors to complete structured course blocs in other departments rather than relying on loosely distributed electives. The model is justified as broad preparation for applied communication careers and as a way to make other academic units invested in communication program health. By linking curriculum design, student preparation, and campus politics, …

An Evaluation Of Masters Programs In Speech Communication By Region, Deborah A. Roach, Larry L. Barker

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Using peer evaluation as its central method, this article assesses regional perceptions of speech communication master’s programs whose highest degree is the MA or MS. It reviews prior approaches to evaluating academic quality, including objective indicators and reputation based assessments, then explains a regional survey design adapted from earlier doctoral program studies. The results are reported in regional tables that group institutions by rating ranges and identify programs lacking enough information for evaluation. The discussion emphasizes limits in respondent knowledge, uneven program visibility, and the difficulty of using peer ratings when information about master’s programs is not widely shared. The …

Should Community College Instructors Publish?, Judy H. Goldberg, Alvin A. Goldberg

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Written as a position piece on scholarship in two year institutions, this article argues that community college instructors should publish when they have worthwhile ideas to share, but should not be required or expected to publish as a condition of their role. It describes community colleges as teaching and service oriented institutions with open admission policies, diverse student populations, community outreach responsibilities, and heavy instructional loads. The article distinguishes scholarly responsibility from institutional obligation, noting that publication may be personally valuable but often falls outside community college mission, reward structures, and faculty workload expectations. It contributes to communication administration by …

Community College Faculty Should Engage In Research For Publication, James Crocker-Lakness

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Responding to arguments against publication requirements for community college instructors, this article makes a case for research and publication as contributors to instructional quality, institutional reputation, and professional vitality. It defines research broadly as organized creative inquiry that can include historical, critical, analytic, descriptive, or experimental work, and frames publication as regional or national dissemination through books, journals, conferences, or consultation. The article challenges the separation of teaching from research, arguing that community college faculty can generate useful knowledge in pedagogy, applied expertise, and disciplinary problems. It acknowledges costs such as time and administrative support, while emphasizing potential benefits for …

Evaluation Of Research And Creative Work, Robert C. Dick

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Examining promotion, tenure, and salary review standards, this article considers how communication and theatre departments might evaluate research and creative work fairly. It uses university policy language to frame research and creative activity as major criteria alongside teaching and service, then raises questions about the relative value of refereed articles, books, book chapters, accepted manuscripts, book reviews, edited materials, and convention papers. The article also addresses creative activity in theatre and media production, asking how directing, technical work, performance criticism, and reviewed productions should be documented and assessed. It contributes to communication administration by emphasizing the need for clear departmental …

Evaluation Process Of Communication Activities, Philip J. Mcfarland

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Concerned with faculty review standards for communication activities, this article argues that directors of forensics, readers theatre, broadcasting, and related programs should be evaluated as administrators of academic programs rather than as auxiliary personnel. It describes the extensive teaching, coaching, research, production, travel, budgeting, and organizational responsibilities involved in activity direction. The article recommends that evaluators first understand the educational purpose and professional philosophy behind a program, then assess whether program activities advance sound instructional objectives. It also suggests reviewing participation, events, performances, competitive activity, production quality, and director performance using standards related to subject mastery, student sensitivity, presentation, and …

Minutes Of The Aca Business Meeting

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

These minutes document the ACA Annual Business Meeting held on November 10, 1983, in Washington, DC. The minutes address officer and committee reports, regional and national convention programming, departmental data, departmental evaluation, theatre administration, faculty development, legal education, new officers, and recognition of outgoing leadership.

Professionalism In Educational Theatre: Professional Studio Acting Teaching In The University, Donald Biehn

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The essay discusses professional studio acting instruction as a structured approach to theatre education within university settings. It defines studio teaching as sequenced acting training guided by a consistent point of view, then outlines goals related to craft, confidence, enjoyment, and preparation for professional work. The piece considers organizational issues such as curriculum sequence, faculty continuity, teaching philosophy, production choices, and the integration of working professionals. It also addresses personal attitudes toward students, acting craft, professional theatre, and the pressures placed on student performers. By arguing that university theatre programs can combine professional acting methods with broader education, the essay …

The Path To Excellence: Quality Assurance In Higher Education, Bobby R. Patton

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Reviews the book "The Path to Excellence: Quality Assurance in Higher Education," (1983) by Lawrence R. Marcus, Anita O. Leone and Edward D. Goldberg. ASHE-ERTC/Higher Education Research Report.

Evaluating Teaching, Stephen W. King

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Reviews the book "Evaluating Teaching," (1983) by Kenneth O. Doyle, Jr. Published by Lexington Books,

Association For Communication Administration Bulletin, Complete Volume 47

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This is the complete Volume 47 from 1984 for the Association for Communication Administration Bulletin.

Aca News

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This news item summarizes ACA organizational updates for 1984, including presidential succession, selection of a president elect, executive committee elections, and planning for the annual seminar and national convention. It also describes ACA sponsored and co sponsored regional convention programming focused on faculty evaluation, faculty development, speech communication as a liberal art, technology, general education, administrative communication, small college administration, and manuscript activity for the Bulletin.

Minutes Of The Aca Executive Committee

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

These minutes document an ACA Executive Committee meeting held on November 9, 1983, in Washington, DC. The minutes address budget and dues changes, convention planning, committee charges, affiliation discussions, archives, survey policies, doctoral rating study procedures, membership recruitment, and faculty development projects.

Departmental Status In The 1980s, William E. Arnold

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article reports findings from an ACA survey on the status of communication and theatre departments in higher education during the early 1980s. It examines department names, budget conditions, enrollment patterns, faculty demographics, undergraduate curricula, graduate programs, and administrative problems connected to broader economic pressures. The article presents descriptive data on departmental growth, budget changes, major requirements, service course activity, program structure, faculty rank, faculty composition, and graduate student recruitment. It also identifies issues facing departments, including faculty needs, travel support, capital budgets, operations funding, and enrollment changes. By summarizing conditions across responding programs, the article offers a reference point …

One Step Beyond, Ladonna Geddes

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

This article considers how communication education can connect classroom concepts to practical skills, career development, and workplace responsibilities. It argues that communication administrators and faculty should make clearer links between disciplinary concepts and areas such as management, training, evaluation, planning, organizational development, and human resource development. The article encourages departments to review curricula for skill development, consider career planning activities, support faculty participation in nontraditional programs, and reassess professional meetings as sites for networking and applied learning. It frames communication as a discipline with broad relevance to changing employment patterns, adult learners, and organizational needs. The article is especially relevant …

Response To “One Step Beyond”, Donald W. Zacharias

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

A response essay evaluates a prior argument calling for communication departments to connect disciplinary concepts more directly to marketable skills, career development, and workplace applications. It cautions against broad claims that speech communication has neglected practical relevance, noting that many departments already attend to applied areas such as organizational communication. The essay supports critical review of curricula and faculty reward systems, but recommends a broader strategic planning process before departments make major changes. That process includes examining social, economic, and political conditions, assessing departmental and institutional values, and reviewing available human, fiscal, and technical resources. The piece situates curriculum reform …

Professionalism In Educational Theatre, Clyde Bassett

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The essay reviews debates about professionalism in college and university theatre programs, placing contemporary concerns within a longer history of practical theatre training in higher education. It summarizes recurring issues raised in a panel on educational theatre, including administrative support, program objectives, faculty qualifications, facilities, student recruitment, curriculum design, faculty assignments, production practices, and retention standards. The piece distinguishes professionalized training from broader liberal arts or extracurricular approaches while noting the difficulty of balancing rigorous practical preparation with general education. It also addresses whether professional theatre programs should emphasize laboratory training for majors, public performance, or broader institutional outreach. The …

Making The Transition From A Large University To An Established Small College Department, William A. Ternent

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The essay offers guidance for faculty moving from large university settings to established small college communication departments. It contrasts large university assumptions about specialization, research, graduate programs, and abstract inquiry with small college expectations centered on teaching, responsiveness, institutional history, and student interaction. The piece cautions against treating the small college as a career refuge or undeveloped frontier, arguing instead that successful transition requires attention to local needs, curricular growth, cooperative program development, and the ability to solve immediate institutional problems. It also emphasizes the reduced resources and expanded responsibilities often found in small college settings. The essay contributes to …

Making The Transition From A Large University To A New Small College Department, Malthon Anapol Published Posthumously

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The essay reflects on moving from a large university communication program to chairing a newly created mass communication department at a small college. It situates the transition within enrollment pressures, student interest in career oriented curricula, and small colleges’ growing attention to communication as a program area. The piece discusses differences in students, course development, curriculum priorities, equipment needs, support services, faculty relationships, administrative access, and quality of life. It describes the challenges of building a new department with limited resources while developing options in broadcasting, journalism, advertising, and public relations. The essay contributes to communication administration by emphasizing program …

Small Colleges: A New Frontier?, Robert N. Hall

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

The essay considers whether small colleges offer a distinctive setting for communication education within debates about liberal learning, vocational pressure, and declining enrollments. It situates communication within the humanities and argues that liberal arts training develops capacities closely aligned with communication study, including speaking, listening, critical analysis, adaptability, ethical judgment, and continued learning. The piece contrasts job focused education with broader preparation for careers and work, emphasizing that students and advisors often need clearer explanations of how communication connects to employment and public life. It suggests that small college departments may be especially well positioned to link communication, liberal learning, …

Academic Rewards And The Coaching Of Forensics: A Modest Proposal, N. Edd Miller

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Addressing academic reward systems for forensic directors and coaches, this article proposes that coaching forensics should receive recognition not only as teaching but also as research activity. It reviews the difficulty of categorizing forensic coaching within tenure, promotion, and merit systems, especially when compared with creative activity in theatre or media production. The article argues that effective coaching requires critical appraisal of evidence, problem formulation, argument development, organization, interpretation, and presentation, all of which resemble research processes. It recommends limited research credit for active and effective coaching while preserving expectations for traditional scholarship. The article also outlines possible evaluation criteria, …

Interdisciplinary Speech Communication: A Small School Alternative, Betty Jo Hyde Welch

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Set within statewide scrutiny of new undergraduate programs, this article describes the creation of an interdisciplinary speech communication degree at a small university campus. The program was developed under constraints requiring little duplication of existing state programs and reliance on current faculty, facilities, and resources. The article explains how faculty from several disciplines planned a curriculum combining speech, English, computer science, modern language, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology. It outlines a structure built around general education, a communication core, and a student designed collateral emphasis area. The article also reports subsequent program growth and movement toward independent departmental status. It contributes …

Undergraduates As Colleagues: Using Undergraduates As Teaching Assistants In The Basic Course, Wilbur H. Baisinger, Gary L. Peterson, Bonnie Spillman

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Using a small college basic course as a case study, this article describes a model for involving undergraduate teaching assistants in oral communication instruction. The program responds to pressures created by high enrollment, limited full time faculty, no graduate assistants, and institutional expectations for small laboratory sections. It outlines a team taught format in which faculty present lectures and supervise assistants, while selected undergraduates lead laboratory sessions, grade assignments, consult with students, and participate in weekly planning meetings. The article emphasizes careful selection, structured activities, close grading supervision, and regular feedback as safeguards. It contributes to communication administration by presenting …

Faculty In Community Colleges Should Conduct Research For Publication, Carol S. Hopson

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Challenging the idea that community college faculty should be defined only as teachers, this article argues that research and publication are necessary for instructional improvement, professional identity, and institutional credibility. It traces the historical image of junior colleges as teaching institutions, then notes changes in student populations, instructional conditions, faculty credentials, and community college roles. The article identifies different categories of community college faculty and argues that instructors should investigate student needs, teaching materials, workloads, class size, developmental education, and classroom methods rather than relying on university based research. It also rejects myths that research is administratively irrelevant, incompatible with …

Evaluation Of Service: Department Through Professional Organizations, Bobby R. Patton

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Organized around the definition, recognition, and reward of service, this article examines how communication and theatre faculty contributions should be evaluated within departmental, university, professional, and community settings. It reviews service criteria from other academic units, then argues that some activities in speech and theatre are better classified as teaching, research, scholarship, or creative activity rather than service. The article identifies legitimate service work, including administration, program coordination, advising, committee assignments, professional association leadership, editorial work, and community engagement tied to faculty expertise. It also outlines a merit review process and argues that service should be articulated clearly, documented carefully, …

An International Visiting Fellowship Scheme: A United States And Australia Program, Harry Irwin

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin

Centered on communication program development in Australia, this article describes an international visiting fellowship at Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education in Sydney. It situates the program within the growth of applied communication studies in Australian higher education, especially the advanced education sector’s emphasis on vocationally oriented curricula. The article explains how the fellowship brought United States communication scholars to assist with curriculum development, staff development, teaching, research, learning materials, library resources, and professional seminars. It also discusses recruitment, selection, institutional fit, and the eventual suspension of the program because of financial constraints. The article contributes to communication administration by presenting …

0402: Walter Lippman Collection, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Nationally-known journalist and philosopher; papers include photographs, magazine and newspaper articles, and pamphlets, and "Today and Tomorrow", vols. 1-117 (1931-1967).

Media-Sponsored Polls: Opinion Reporters Or Opinion Formers?, Susan M. Mckinney

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Sex Differences, Intimacy, And Attractiveness In Reported Self-Disclosure: Same-Sex Dyads Vs Opposite-Sex Dyads, Edmund Forst Jr.

Masters Theses

This study empirically examined the effects of sex (gender), intimacy, and attractiveness on reported self-disclosure. The results were supportive of the attractiveness, intimacy, and gender of the self-disclosee variables in their relationship to self-disclosure. Results failed to support hypotheses involving the gender of the self-discloser variable.

The independent variables used in the study were: (1) Gender¹ of the self-discloser (male-female), (2) Intimacy (intimate friend, acquaintance, and stranger), (3) Gender² of the self-disclosee (male-female), and physical attractiveness (Attractive or Unattractive). The dependent variable used was the amount of perceived self-disclosure. A 2x3x2x2 analysis of variance used to test each …

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Current Status Of Paid Religious Broadcasting On National Television, Wayne R. Bills

Theses and Dissertations

In examining the use of paid television by various evangelical organizations (the "Electronic Church") as contrasted with its use by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), several important differences were discovered. First, the programs of the electronic church are usually designed much like a normal Sunday service with a "preacher" and "congregation" (the T.V. viewers). The LDS approach has been to communicate religious principles through the use of a story. Their productions are attractive to a large audience because they often feature a well-known television or motion picture celebrity, and are aired during prime-time viewing hours.

The …