Thursday, April 8, 2010

 E. James Baesler is Associate Professor of Communication at Old Dominion University's Department of Communication and Theatre Arts, Norfolk, VA. Dr. Baesler received his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Arizona, Tucson under the direction of Dr. Judee K. Burgoon in 1990, his Master's in Speech Communication from San Jose State University under the direction of Dr. Cal Hylton in 1985, and his Bachelor's in Human Relations and Communication Studies from San Jose State University in 1983. During the past fifteen years Dr. Baesler has developed a programmatic line of research in the area of prayer as a spiritual communication, publishing in journals such as: Journal of Communication and Religion, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Review of Religious Research, and Women and Therapy. A summary of his research through 2003 is available in book form from Edwin Mellen Press: Theoretical Explorations and Empirical Investigations of Communication and Prayer. His most recent publications and conference papers focus on the interdisciplinary study of prayer, spiritual direction and prayer, and the relationship between prayer and health outcomes. His current project involves developing a comprehensive inventory of prayer, and exploring the relationship between prayer and: character strengths and virtues, meditative awareness, listening, personality, and flow. He has also developed and taught a new course related to prayer entitled: Religious/Spiritual Communication and Health.

Information about the book, Theoretical Explorations and Empirical Investigations of Communication and Prayer (Baesler) is available at Edwin Mellen Press. Note: The publisher is offering a special SSCA rate—Click here for ordering information.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Douglas Kelley received his Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of Arizona.  He spent five years at Seattle Pacific University before settling in at the West campus of Arizona State University. Dr. Kelley teaches relationship-based courses such as Forgiveness and Reconciliation, Family Communication, Conflict and Negotiation, Relational Communication, and Inner-City Families.

Professor Kelley studies interpersonal communication processes.  Most of this research has focused on marital communication, including how couples negotiate privacy and relational expectations.  His 1998 study on The Communication of Forgiveness launched a decade's worth of work focusing on various forgiveness processes and culminating with the book Communicating Forgiveness (Waldron & Kelley, 2008, Sage Publishing). A second book, Marriage at Midlife (Waldron & Kelley, 2009, Springer Publishing), focuses on issues related to empty nest marriage, including forgiveness.  Other work has appeared in such outlets as the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Journal of Applied Gerontology, and Communication Quarterly.

Dr. Kelley considers teaching a primary focus of his work at ASU.  As such, he has been nominated for various teaching awards and takes great pride in the creation of a service- learning course in which students work with children and youth in inner-city contexts.  In addition, he puts in numerous hours each week as faculty advisor to the college Young Life club on campus.  He has served on the editorial boards of various journals including, most currently, the Journal of Family Communication.

Doug loves to spend time with his wife, Ann, and sons, Jonathan and Daniel. He enjoys kayaking and swimming, and hiking with his beagle/lab, Allen.

Information about the book, Communicating Forgiveness (Waldron & Kelley), is available at Sage Publishers.

Lawrence R. Frey (PhD, University of Kansas, 1979) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His teaching and research focus on applied communication (communication activism for social justice, communication and community, and health communication), group communication, and research methods (qualitative and quantitative). He is the author or editor of 15 books (the most recent being the Routledge Handbook of Applied Communication Research, coedited with Kenneth N. Cissna), 3 special journal issues, and more than 70 journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries.

Dr. Frey is the recipient of 14 research awards, including the 2000 Gerald M. Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Communication Scholarship from the National Communication Association (NCA). Other awards include the: (a) 2008 Outstanding Edited Scholarly Book Award from NCA’s Applied Communication Division, for Communication Activism (2 Vols., coedited with Kevin M. Carragee); (b) 2007 Edited Scholarly Book Award and 2007 Ernest Bormann Research Award, from NCA’s Applied Communication Division and Group Communication Division, respectively, for Facilitating Group Communication in Context: Innovations and Applications with Natural Groups (2 Vols.); (c) 2004, 2003, and 2000 Ernest Bormann Research Award from NCA’s Group Communication Division, for, respectively, Group Communication in Context: Studies of Bona Fide Groups (2nd ed.), New Directions in Group Communication, and The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research (coedited with Dennis S. Gouran and Marshall Scott Poole); (d) 1999 Special Recognition Award from NCA’s Applied Communication Division for an edited special issue of the Journal of Applied Communication Research on “Communication and Social Justice Research”; (e) 1998 National Jesuit Book Award (Professional Studies Category) and the 1988 Distinguished Book Award from NCA’s Applied Communication Division for The Fragile Community: Living Together With AIDS (coauthored with Mara B. Adelman); and (f) the 1995 Gerald R. Miller Award from NCA’s Interpersonal and Small Group Interaction Division and the 1994 Distinguished Book Award from NCA’s Applied Communication Division for Group Communication in Context: Studies of Natural Groups.

Dr. Frey is a past president of the Central States Communication Association and a recipient of the Outstanding Young Teacher Award from that organization. He also is a recipient of the Master Teacher Award from the Communication and Instruction Interest Group of the Western States Communication Association.

Information about the books Communication activism: Volume 1. Communication for social change [Frey, L. R., & Carragee, K. M. (Eds.)] and Communication activism: Volume 2. Media and performance activism [Frey, L. R., & Carragee, K. M. (Eds.)] are available at Hampton Press.

Is SSCA doing all that it can to support scholarly development after the Theodore Clevenger Undergradaute Honors Conference (TC-UHC)? Are there other ways that SSCA might invest in the development of its graduate students and early-career communication scholars?

Today, we all must make wise choices about how to optimally manage disappearing travel budgets and limited time, but graduate students and early career faculty face particularly difficult choices about how to manage professional participation and convention attendance. And, as they face these choices, as a long-time SSCA supporter who benefitted from my early involvement in SSCA, I would like to make sure that they continue to view SSCA membership and participation as an integral part of their development as communication scholars. 

To this end, during the SSCA convention in Memphis, there will be two Vice-President’s forums where we will begin to gather information about SSCA’s investments in the development of its graduate students and early career faculty and begin to imagine new ways to invest in their futures. I have asked Kathleen Turner (Davidson College) and Chuck Tardy (University of Southern Mississippi) to each lead a forum on “Investing in the Development of SSCA Graduate Students and Early Career Faculty.”  I invite graduate students, early-career faculty, and all who are interested, to stop by one or both of the forums to dialogue and dream about how SSCA might build on its existing investments and create new opportunities for graduate students and early career faculty. Next year, as SSCA president, I will create an ad hoc committee whose purpose will be to develop recommendations about SSCA’s investments in its graduate students and early career faculty. My hope is that SSCA will continue to be known not only as a communication association that advances scholarship, but also as THE association where all communication scholars, from undergraduates to senior scholars, come to develop and grow. Please drop me an email if you have ideas, suggestions, or would like to help with this project: Tom Socha, tsocha@odu.edu.