User:Koryr/NCATest

The National Communication Association (NCA) is a not-for-profit learned society of scholars, educators, and professionals for the academic field of communication studies headquarted in Washington, D.C. NCA's mission is "...to advance Communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry."

Though NCA's history begins with an academic separation between English literature and public speaking educators in 1914, the organization has since expanded its focus and scope to include the entire field of communication studies, ultimately rebranding under the more general term in 1997.

Several committees, councils, and an assembly contribute to the governance of NCA. The primary two are the Legislative Assembly, the policy-making body which meets annually, and the Executive Committee, which serves as the chief administrative authority between meetings of the former. A staffed national office in Washington, D.C. assists all these groups with implementing their strategic goals and initiatives.

NCA sponsors an annual convention for communication scholars and practicioners that has met since 1915, several academic journals, and various discipline-focused media publications.

Teachers of Public Speaking & Teachers of Speech (1914-1945)
NCA was founded in November 1914 as the National Association of Academic Teachers of Public Speaking. In late 19th and early 20th century American colleges and universities, the study of elocution and public speaking was primarily the responsibility of English departments and instructors. Many of these educators were members of the Modern Language Association, but by the 1910s several English instructors were already beginning to form organizations more germane to specific research and educational interests, like the National Council of Teachers of English and the Eastern Communication Association.



(History of Speech Communication, 13-28)

Organization
NCA is governed by the Legislative Assembly, which meets during the NCA Annual Convention. Between annual meetings of the Legislative Assembly, the association is governed by the executive committee. In addition, NCA has standing committees and councils: the Convention Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Leadership Development Committee, the Resolutions Committee, the Teaching and Learning Council, the Finance Committee, the Publications Council, the Research Council, and the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Council.

NCA is composed of 49 divisions, which cover various areas of study; seven sections, which address professional settings; and six caucuses, which represent specific demographic or socially defined segments of the NCA membership. It supports two national student organizations: Lambda Pi Eta (LPH) and Sigma Chi Eta (SCH).

Convention
NCA sponsors an annual convention on communication research and teaching. The NCA Annual Convention has been held every year since 1915, except for 1918, when it was cancelled because of the U.S. involvement in World War I. The site of the convention changes every year and is determined five to seven years in advance. The convention site rotates among the western, midwestern, and eastern regions of the United States.

Publications
With its publishing partner, Taylor and Francis, NCA publishes 12 academic journals:


 * Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies
 * Communication and Democracy
 * Communication and Race
 * Communication Education
 * Communication Monographs
 * Communication Teacher
 * Critical Studies in Media Communication
 * Journal of Applied Communication Research
 * Journal of International and Intercultural Communication
 * Quarterly Journal of Speech
 * Review of Communication
 * Text and Performance Quarterly

NCA regularly publishes Communication Currents essays, which summarize recent research published in NCA's journals. In 2020, NCA's quarterly magazine, Spectra, transitioned from a print magazine to an online magazine. Spectra includes summaries of recently published research articles, announcements from the Association, job advertisements, news about members, and news from affiliated organizations. NCA launched Communication Matters: The NCA Podcast in 2020.