Communication faculty and doctoral students will chair, present, and attend a variety of panels and presentations during the 94th Annual Central States Communication Association Conference (CSCA), taking place from April 1– 6, 2025, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The convention’s theme, “Widening the Scope,” encourages scholars and educators to explore new perspectives and interdisciplinary connections within the communication field.

SC&I Faculty and Doctoral Students at CSCA

Associate Professor of Communication Kristina Scharp, who serves as Second Vice President of CSCA, will receive a Top Panel award from the Communication Education Interest Group. Scharp will be a featured participant in the top panel presentation, “Leveling Up Learning: Widening the Scope Through Classroom Gamification,” on Saturday, April 5, at 9:30 a.m. Scharp is chairing the pre-conference session, “Translating What We Know to the Public,” on April 2 at 9:00 a.m., with SC&I sponsoring the pre-conference breakfast.

Additional SC&I faculty and doctoral students will play key roles throughout the conference:

• Associate Professor of Communication Maria Venetis is chair of the Warren Award Committee.
• Doctoral student Haley Nolan-Cody serves as secretary of the Interpersonal and Family Communication Interest Group.
• Doctoral student Heather Davenport will present “Body Positivity, Gender Expression, and ‘Doing it On Purpose’: A Rhetorical Criticism of the 2018 Film Dumplin’” as part of the panel, “Expanding Narratives in Popular Culture: Inclusion, Identity, and Justice.” This session is scheduled for Thursday, April 3, at 9:30 a.m.
• Doctoral students Cimmiaron Alvarez, Heather Davenport, Haley Nolan-Cody will present their research, ““‘I Will Try to Share the More or Less Meaning Behind It’: Using the Theory of Memorable Messages to Examine the Intergenerational Rearticulation of Financial Messages” during the “Widening the Scope of Interpersonal and Family Theory” panel session on Friday, April 5, at 3:00 p.m.

Visit the CSCA convention site for the complete program and full details on all panels and presentations.

A Focus on Broadening Perspectives

The CSCA conference theme, “Widening the Scope,” encourages attendees to explore new ideas and collaborate across disciplines. This includes engaging with different interest groups, learning about new aspects of the communication field, and collaborating with scholars from diverse theoretical or methodological perspectives. The theme also emphasizes the importance of broadening classroom approaches and helping students expand their understanding of communication studies.

About the Central States Communication Association

Founded in 1931, the Central States Communication Association is an academic organization of communication professionals, including college and university professors, students, and K-12 educators. CSCA promotes the communication discipline through educational, scholarly, and professional endeavors. Over the years, the organization has grown to become the largest regional communication association in the United States and the fourth-largest academic communication association in the world.

About SC&I’s Ph.D. Communication Concentration

The Communication concentration within the interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Communication, Information, and Media at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information explores six interconnected research areas: Communication and Technology, Computational Social Science, Health Communication, Interpersonal and Family Communication, Language and Social Interaction, and Organizational Communication. Guided by world-class faculty recognized with national and international awards, doctoral students conduct problem-oriented research on contemporary topics such as social networks, online privacy, children’s media use, health campaigns, medical provider-patient interaction, corporate social responsibility, and organizational change.