Western States Communication Association 82nd Annual Convention

In late February, CMC Professor Kathy Kiser-Miller, Assocate Professor David Chimovitz and I attended the Western States Communication Association (WSCA) 82nd Annual Convention.
The WSCA is a large and diverse organization with a stated purpose "to unite people in the Western States who have an academic . . . or professional interest in communication and who want to promote their mutual educational interests". Members in the WSCA come from over 37 states and several countries.

Program planners for the 2011 Convention included the Communication and Instructional Interest Group, Community Theory Interest Group, Environmental Communication Interest Group, Freedom of Speech Interest Group, and the Language and Social Interaction Group. As one would expect, this made for a very inspiring and informative convention. A wide variety of panels, workshops and presentations were offered each day. Topics varied from the practical, such as the Great Ideas for Teaching Speech (G.I.F.T.S) panel which shared valuable instructional tools and activities with attendees, to the purely academic round table discussion forum in which the top four papers in rhetoric and public address were presented. Other sessions focused on critical analyses, pedagogical issues, and the latest research in the field of communication. As part of the G.I.F.T.S. program Associate Professor Chimovitz presented a session on "Teaching Passion in the Speech Course" which was well attended and very well received.

Attending the WSCA 82nd Convention was a wonderful opportunity and each us came away from the Convention energized and eager to apply what we learned. Materials obtained at these sessions are full of great ideas that can be easily adapted for use in CMC classes. We plan to share the lesson plans and activities we gathered at the conference with Communication faculty at the next in service.