SC&I Communication faculty and students will attend the Central States Communication Association Conference (CSCA) in St. Louis, Missouri, from Wednesday, March 29, through Sunday, April 2. The convention’s theme is “Intersections, Transitions, and Silenced Voices.”

During the conference, Associate Professor of Communication Maria Venetis will receive the Warren Mentorship Award during the Hall of Fame and Awards Ceremony. The award recognizes a mid-career scholar who “excels in all aspects of their careers—teaching, research/creativity, service, and engagement—but first and foremost demonstrate excellence as a mentor.”

In the Top Papers in the Interpersonal and Family Communication Interest Group, Associate Professor of Communication Kristina Scharp and doctoral student Cimmiaron Alvarez, along with colleagues from the University of Washington, will be recognized for their award-winning Top Paper, "Examining Gaps and Rearticulations of Requests for Posters Seeking Support Online for Type One Diabetes,” as well as the Dawn O. Braithwaite Award for Qualitative Research Award and Top Inclusive Scholarship Paper, ""I am a binary trans man and I love being pregnant": Making meaning of pregnancy in seahorse dad narratives.” 

Scharp will chair three days of the “Exhibit Hall Featuring Publishers and Technology” as well as present at the CSCA Staff Dinner, CSCA Finance Committee Meeting, and the following panels:

• “Vuja De: Reflections as a Discipline on the 2020s and Beyond”
• “Public Works and Scholar-Activism: The (re)Emergence of the Public Intellectual, Good Citizenship, and Making It Count”
• “Questions Answered: CSCA Next Leaders Network Reception and Informal Mentoring Opportunities”
• “(More) Questions Answered: CSCA Next Leaders Network Reception and Informal Mentoring Opportunities”
• “The Master’s Tools will Never Dismantle the Master’s House: Revisiting and Adapting Existent and Creating New Methodologies for Critical Interpersonal and Family Communication Research and Teaching.”
• “Examining the Promise and Possibilities of Mixed Methods Research in Interpersonal and Family Communication Research”
• “Family Communication as... Theorizing Metaphors for Family Communication”

Alvarez will present at the CSCA 2024 Program Planners and Interpersonal and Family Communication Group Business Meetings. She will chair the “Navigating the Interpersonal and Family Communication Mentor-Mentee Relationship” panel; presenters include Venetis and doctoral student Haley Nolan-Cody.

The conference will feature research paper sessions and discussion panels organized by interest groups and caucuses; Great Ideas For Teaching (GIFT) sessions; regional scholarship showcases organized by the States Advisory Council; an undergraduate honors research conference; Federation Prize recipient presentation; spotlight panels; and more.

According to their website, Central States Communication Association is an academic organization of communication professionals, including college and university professors, students, and K-12 educators. CSCA was founded in 1931 to promote the communication discipline in educational, scholarly, and professional endeavors. 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.

Image credit:  CSCA Conference website