Amy Jordan: ICA Presidential Candidate Statement
ICA is at a critical crossroads today. With more than 4,600 members hailing from over 80 countries, the association is poised to make the field of communication central to pressing social debates. As we look to the future, we must reflect on the place of ICA in the professional lives of our members and, in turn, on the role of ICA and our members' scholarship in a changing world. It is my hope to incorporate those reflections within the realities of ICA.
My vision of ICA is informed by the various positions I have held within the association. While serving as chair (2011-2012) and vice chair (2009-2011) of the Children, Adolescents, and Media Division, chair (2011-2012) and member (2009-2011) of the Publications Committee, chair of the ICA Awards Committee (2003-2004), and member of the Applied Research Award Committee (2001-2003), I have witnessed the important role that presidents play in both initiating and navigating shifts in ICA's priorities. Should I be elected ICA president, I would focus my energy on three main areas: fostering the internationalization of ICA, providing opportunities for professional development, and highlighting the centrality of communication scholarship.
Fostering InternationalizationICA has made great strides in broadening its global presence, and the ad hoc committee on internationalization's 2013 report, titled "Reinvigorating the 'I' in ICA," has offered a blueprint for moving to the next level. My priorities for fostering internationalization are as follows:
Outreach to Scholars in Underrepresented Countries. I will work closely with divisions and interest groups to encourage the use of ICA's travel stipends and conference fee waivers to increase access and participation by scholars from underrepresented countries. I will continue to develop the slate of regional conferences, such as those held recently in Chile and Spain and being planned in Australia and China. ICA's role in funding speakers and providing logistical support to regional conferences is a valuable strategy for encouraging nascent communication research to take root. As well, ICA can provide a platform on its website containing the program and paper abstracts of the regional conferences so that ICA members can become familiar with work being done around the world.
Publishing in ICA Journals. ICA's journals are published in English and carry stylistic and structural expectations that may not be second nature to all members. As co-editor of the Journal of Children and Media (and member of the editorial boards of Human Communication Research and Communication Yearbook), I have seen firsthand the importance of providing guidance and mentorship for scholars. ICA can host more forums like the recent London preconference workshop, which focused on the publishing difficulties often experienced by nonnative English speakers. Such workshops could also be offered at regional conferences and should be recorded and made available to the membership through ICA's website. Additionally, I aim to begin a conversation about whether and how ICA publications might open up to different languages and formats, particularly as digital technologies reshape conventional notions of the "journal article."
Scholarly Exchange. Reinvigorating the "I" in ICA means giving members an opportunity to broaden their research perspective through interaction with communication scholars from other countries. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, I had the opportunity to spend time at Renmin University in Beijing, China, an experience that highlighted for me the value of cross-cultural interaction to expand pedagogy and research. I will investigate opportunities for ICA to participate in formal international exchange programs and will work with ICA members interested in institutional exchanges to see if there are ways for the association to facilitate the process.
Providing Opportunities for Professional Development
ICA should be seen by its members as a home for professional development, and it can play a role in addressing member concerns at all life and career stages. My priorities in this regard include the following:
Professional Issues. Some of our divisions and interest groups host "doctoral consortia" in conjunction with ICA's annual meeting, while others have hosted preconference workshops centered on pedagogical strategies for sharing theory and research in the classroom. As president, I will work closely with divisions and interest groups to introduce and/or nurture endeavors aimed at fostering professional growth within existing conference programming. I will also work toward reducing barriers to participating in the annual conference, such as challenges associated with child care.
Networking. Annual meetings are valuable resources for communication scholars to engage and network with one another, but ICA could be doing more. For example, our association can play a lead role in helping members develop strategies for disseminating their research through online forums and social networking sites. Moreover, while most ICA members follow a traditional path toward university teaching and scholarship, many others occupy positions outside the academy or follow differently structured teaching and research tracks. ICA can play a greater role in helping members envision the plethora of career options available to them, including setting aside space within the annual meeting for panels of non-academic professionals.
Mentoring. An important role of ICA is to bring together scholars from many cultural contexts and career stages to discuss spheres of concern that are broader than any particular research agenda. Many members struggle with finding a work/life balance, particularly during transitional processes. It would be beneficial to have a standing forum in which professionals can discuss relevant strategies for navigating challenging issues, such as job seeking and promotion and tenure. I hope to instate such a forum.
Raising the Visibility of Communication Scholarship
Over the past few years, the association has taken steps toward making its members' research more visible and central to public discourse. Continuing on this path, I will make a concerted effort to broaden awareness of the important work we do through increased recognition within the association and wider dissemination to citizens and stakeholders.
Awards and Prizes. ICA's annual awards program represents a valuable opportunity to highlight the diverse, forward-looking, and important scholarship of our association. Despite the fact that awards committees have many non-U.S. scholars as chairs and members, only a small number of nominees for these awards (and therefore winners) come from outside the United States. I would aim to work closely with division and interest group leadership to solicit nominees who are more broadly representative of ICA's membership. I would also look into charging the Awards Committee with helping to shepherd nominations through the process, so that the work does not fall on already overburdened division chairs or individual ICA members. Most important, I would seek to develop a better understanding of how awards are seen by the membership and would work to break down the barriers to nomination that now exist, including the wording and visibility of the awards.
Translating Research for a Nonacademic Audience. Helping members become comfortable with translating their research - both basic and applied - for a broader public, including the press, is a critical goal for ICA. It is important that such efforts involve non-U.S. and non-English speaking press, so I will draw on with ICA's communication director, ICA members, and ICA journal editors to identify relevant strategies for outreach. Additionally, I will seek to develop a module of in-person and online media training workshops led by ICA members and staff and will make them widely available for members.
In sum, ICA is at a major juncture. Its path forward, I believe, points to greater international collaboration, enhanced opportunities for professional development, and increased exposure for our research. Should I be elected, it will be my honor and privilege to serve an organization that has been at the center of my professional identity for more than two and a half decades.
About Me
I am associate director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, where I also direct the postdoctoral fellowship program and lead the research sector on youth and media. As adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication, I teach courses on media effects, media policy, and children and media. My research, which has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, focuses on the role of media in the development and well-being of children and adolescents. I am the recipient of the National Communication Association's Stanley L. Saxton Applied Research Award (2002) and the International Communication Association's Most Important Applied/Public Policy Research Award (2001).
Currently, I am the coeditor of the Journal of Children and Media. I have co-authored/coedited four books, including Children, Adolescents, and the Media, which has been translated into Chinese and Portuguese. I publish in a wide range of peer-reviewed journals, including Pediatrics, Communication Research, Journal of Family Communication, and Media Psychology. In the spirit of disseminating communication research to inform the broader public discourse, I am frequently quoted in the national and international news media on topics related to youth and media.
If you would like to learn more about me, my bio and CV can be found at: http://www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/staff/Amy-Jordan/.