The ICA conference submission site is opening on 1 September 2011 for our conference, to be held in Phoenix, AZ, 24-28 May 2012. This year's theme is "Communication and Community" and over the next several months I will be writing Newsletter updates about some of the exciting events and innovations planned for Phoenix. Thanks to those members of the ICA community who completed our conference survey. Your feedback has been very helpful in planning the conference.

As you look at the Paper Submission Site I want to call your attention to a new program feature that we developed as a result of member feedback. This year most divisions are taking advantage of a new opportunity called The Extended Session. This session may have special submission criteria so be sure to check the description and submission guidelines for all groups in which you are interested.

The Extended Session is a conference slot of 2 1/2 hours that gives each Division and Interest Group the opportunity to go beyond the typical 4- or 5-paper presentation and respondent format. The goal of the extended session is to enable more dialogue and intellectual debate, more time for creative presentations, greater possibilities for members to exchange ideas and expertise in a less constrained manner, and more opportunities to engage the larger community.

The extended session is also a way for each Division and Interest Group to increase participation by having greater freedom in presentational format. It may feature creative combinations of scholarly presentations, town hall meetings, debates, interactive and workshop experiences, and/or illustrative media/art/performances. The sessions are being designed as innovatively as possible in terms of the number and types of presenters, level of interactivity, and range of presentation formats and styles.

At the time of my writing this update I know one Division is planning on having an "incubator extended session," an opportunity for less experienced researchers to pair up with experienced scholars to provide feedback on their research, with the goal of helping progress a paper closer to being ready for publication or conference acceptance. Another Division is putting submitted papers together for a special extended session in which they are bringing in an international panel of experts from outside ICA to discuss the papers and how they fit with current practices in the field. Other ideas that are being considered by planners include having people submit one-page position papers on a particular topic in preparation for a town hall debate, and another is considering having a workshop on a particular method with people submitting papers that use that method.

The possibilities are unlimited and how each planner, Division, and Interest Group will take advantage of this opportunity is different. So be sure to check and see what your Divisions of interest are planning and how you can participate in what hopefully will be a very memorable and valuable conference experience. I look forward to seeing many of you in Phoenix. My next update will be about the many ways we are integrating our conference theme of "Communication and Community" into special events, the Virtual Conference, and theme sessions. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know.