President's Message: Past Reflections and Future Directions
What a way to end my term as President of ICA! In just a few weeks, more than 2,600 ICA members will meet for 5 days to participate in the largest ICA conference we have ever sponsored. François Heinderyckx and the ICA staff have done a great job planning this event. The London meeting will break all sorts of records. The array of preconferences is almost twice that of previous meetings, there will be more sessions available than ever before, it is the longest conference program ever produced, attendees will experience the smallest rooms in which to have panels (and hopefully the most patient and understanding conference participants), and we have planned the most ambitious board meeting agenda to date.
The large number of action items on the Board’s agenda this year is a reflection of the hard work of many committees to address the challenges that lie ahead. Changing global business models of publication and education, fewer resources and greater demands for specified outputs contribute to the uncertainty of the academic enterprise. Our midyear board meeting in Seattle energized the board, raised many of these issues, provided productive feedback on works in progress, and now final committee reports and proposals present exciting blueprints for ICA’s future. The results of the board meeting will be presented at business meetings. Our efforts have focused on three major themes.
Internationalization: Reflecting our continuing efforts to promote the internationalization of our association, enhance our global connectivity, and expand ICA's global presence we will receive updates about four upcoming ICA regional conferences taking place in Malaga, Spain; Shanghai, China; Brasília, Brazil; and Brisbane, Australia. The ad hoc committee on internationalization, chaired by Dafna Lemish (Southern Illinois U), has proposed several new initiatives for ‘reinvigorating the “I” in ICA.’ These include: internationalization and publication workshops, opportunities for continuing discussion of the meaning and goals of internationalization, and increased utilization of ICT to connect members. In the spirit of our evolving ideas about what it means to be a truly international organization the committee has recommended a restructuring of regional representation on the Board.
Relatedly, during our award cycle this year we increased the number of non-American members and chairs of the committees and encouraged nominations from across divisions and regions. We have also broadened participation on all our standing and ad hoc committees, mirroring the increased number of countries represented and the percentage of members from outside the United States. We will take time to discuss and assess these efforts in the context of the very thoughtful and powerful agenda the committee has set for the future. They certainly took seriously the tensions and opportunities inherent in the paradoxes of international organizations I referred to in previous newsletters.
The changing publication context: To further ICA’s commitment to sponsor and support the highest quality scholarship and publications in the field of communication and to proactively respond to the changing context of publishing both our standing publication committee (chaired by Frank Esser, U of Zurich) and an ad hoc committee on alternative formats (chaired by Peter Monge, U of Southern California) have developed several new proposals for the board to act upon. The ad hoc committee has developed specific recommendations for more flexible publication formats, adoption of an all-electronic publication portfolio, and an online notification system for ICA scholarly publications. The report also encourages ICA sponsorship of publication activities that will assist our members in publishing in our journals and promote the growth of intellectual communities around and among our journals.
We will also be voting upon the publication committee’s recommendations for JCMC journal editor. I am pleased to announce that last month the board approved the appointment of Radhika Parameswaran (Indiana U) as the incoming editor of CCC. Motions for new publication protocols regarding plagiarism and editorial terms and structures will also be discussed. There is also a recommendation that we sign on to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment, which addresses worldwide problems in the increased use of commercialized rankings and metrics for professional assessment.
Identifying and addressing members’ needs: In my candidate’s statement 2 years ago I wrote, “At a time when there are pressures on our institutions and scholars to do more with less, we need ICA to continue to broaden and deepen our influence and the resources available to our members.” I am very pleased to say that beginning with the Phoenix conference we have increased the amount of travel support we have provided to both graduate students and faculty, an initiative that was reinforced by board action in January. We have also expanded the flexibility for conference scheduling to accommodate various Division goals. We now have proposals for the establishment of a Committee on Gender Equality as well as a standing committee on Sustainability.
Upon reflection, it is clear that together we have accomplished a great deal although we still face many challenges. Our Communication Director, JP Gutierrez, with the cooperation of many ICA members, has enhanced our public presence as we have begun to share our expertise with new and diverse audiences. I want to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the support and good will I received from our Executive Director Michael Haley, the Executive committee, the ICA staff, committee chairs and committee members. Many of you have written to me over the past year responding to my requests for input or to express your opinion about an ICA issue. Thank you. The best thing about being ICA President is the opportunity to meet and work with such joyful, optimistic, smart, and caring people from across the globe. This has been a year clouded by many personal, professional, local, and global losses but I am heartened by the resilience, commitment and dedication of our members. Our future is bright. I look forward to seeing you all in London.