NATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION Review...unrest swept the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Communication scholars again responded, lending their voices to the protests

W W W . N A T C O M . O R G

BEC AUSE OF THE COVID -19 PANDEMIC , teaching and events have been moved online. As misinformation about the pandemic has flourished, Communication scholars and experts helped counter the circulation of misinformation. When unrest swept the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Communication scholars again responded, lending their voices to the protests and their expertise to analyses of the tensions. At the same time, the 2020 presidential election reminded us all of the importance of ethical and accurate Communication in public life. Throughout this remarkable year, NCA worked to bring virtual events and materials to members and the public that were designed to help audiences meet new challenges and discover innovations. This year’s Year in Review highlights just a few of these efforts.

n In January, NCA launched Communication Matters: The NCA Podcast, which explores the wealth of knowledge Communication scholars bring to research, academia, and society at large.

n In May, NCA launched COMMNotes, a new email blast that features announcements related to the Communication discipline, including conference calls and position announcements.

n In June, a special NCA speaker series featured four virtual seminars that offered faculty and students the opportunity to learn about new directions in Communication research and teaching. The seminars, highlighted below, have been viewed hundreds of times and remain available on NCA’s YouTube channel.

2020YEAR Review

LEARNING THE THREE C’S: BECOMING A COMPETENT CLASSROOM COMMUNICATOR

Scott A. MyersWest Virginia University

“IS THAT HOW THEY SEE ME?”: DISCUSSING MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF MARGINALIZED GROUPS

Richard T. Craig George Mason University

THE RHETORIC OF DEATH IN CENTRAL APPALACHIA FROM MID-19TH CENTURY TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY: A CASE STUDY IN TEACHING AND RESEARCHING RHETORICAL HISTORY

Amy D. Clark University of Virginia’s College at Wise

EXTENDING AND EXPANDING NOTIONS OF ‘FAMILY’ IN THE INTERPERSONAL AND FAMILY COMMUNICATION CLASSROOM

Jimmie Manning University of Nevada, Reno

N A T I O N A L C O M M U N I C A T I O N A S S O C I A T I O N

in

COMMUNICATIONMatters


n NCA’s 2020 public programs were presented virtually and have been released on NCA’s YouTube channel and as special episodes of Communication Matters: The NCA Podcast.

n The spring public program, “Communicating in the Battlegrounds: Politics in the Purple States,” focused on political communication in our elections and the effects it has on public opinion.

n A special fall Public Program series, “Communicating During a Presidential Election Year,” featured three episodes: “The Politics of Health and Healthcare: Communicating about Health in a Presidential Election Year,” “Communicating about the Role of Race and Social Change in Politics,” and “VEEPS 2020: Kamala Harris vs. Mike Pence.”

A CRITICAL/CULTURAL LOOK AT COVID-19 COMMUNICATION

The Online Magazine of the National Communication Association

A CRITICAL/CULTURAL LOOK AT COVID-19 COMMUNICATION

The Online Magazine of the National Communication Association

n In November, NCA relaunched Spectra as an online magazine. This greener version of Spectra merges content that traditionally appeared in the print magazine with content that was contained in NCA’s newsletter. The new magazine includes invited, theme-based features, but also highlights new data, summaries of newly published NCA journal articles, information about NCA events, innovations in teaching and learning, news about NCA members, and more.

n In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NCA’s Teaching and Learning Council collaborated with NCA National Office staff to develop an NCA web page that features scholarship and resources to facilitate the transition to online teaching and learning.

n In response to ongoing concerns about systemic racism in the United States, NCA published an online Anti-Racism Resource Bank that provides materials about racism in America and offers information for allies and people of color in the anti-racism movement.


A D VA N C I N G T H E C O M M U N I C A T I O N D I S C I P L I N E

If you are a part of the Communication discipline, membership in the National Communication Association is an indispensable part of your professional life. NCA is the preeminent scholarly society devoted to the study and teaching of Communication. Members of NCA find community in the more than 60 interest groups that connect members with other scholars who share similar research, professional, or institutional interests. NCA’s website offers extensive teaching and learning resources, data about the discipline, and research and publishing resources aimed at supporting members with their scholarly and pedagogical pursuits. For more than a century, NCA and its thousands of members have made a difference within the Communication discipline, throughout the academy, in our communities, and beyond. Here are a few highlights from 2020.

July 2020

Volume 10, I

ssue 6

C brief-In Jun

e 2020, Th

e Chronicle

of Higher

Education r

eported on

survey data

exploring i

ts readers’

views on re

turning to

campus in

the fall of 2

020 amidst

concerns r

egarding C

OVID-19. S

urvey resul

ts suggest t

hat faculty

are uneasy

about

returning to

in-person

instruction

in the new

academic

year. Of th

e 1,369 Chr

onicle read

ers who re

sponded to

the survey

,

834 indica

ted that the

y were not

comfortab

le returnin

g to campu

s in the fall.

Many resp

ondents ex

pressed co

ncerns

about thei

r institutio

n’s ability to

provide a

safe work e

nvironment

and were

fearful that

a return to

in-person

instruction

would exac

erbate the

spread of t

he virus.

COVID-19

AND HIG

HER EDUC

ATION: TH

OUGHTS

ON RETUR

NING TO C

AMPUS IN

FALL 202

0

www.natco

m.org

Source: “‘M

y Gut Resp

onse is Fea

r and Drea

d’: Though

ts on Retu

rning to Ca

mpus this F

all,” and

“Here’s a L

ist of Colle

ges’ Plans f

or Reopen

ing in the F

all,” The Ch

ronicle of

Higher Edu

cation. The

full

articles ca

n be found

here: http

s://www.chr

onicle.com

/article/My-

Gut-Respon

se-Is-Fear-a

nd/248758

and

https://ww

w.chronicle

.com/articl

e/Here-s-a-

List-of-Coll

eges-/2486

26.

The Chroni

cle is also t

racking coll

ege and un

iversity pla

ns for Fall 2

020 instru

ction as th

e new acad

emic year a

pproaches.

As of July

23, 2020,

Chronicle d

ata indicate

that 50 pe

rcent of th

e 1,250-plu

s institutio

ns included

in its samp

le plan to

reconvene

in-person

in the fall. H

owever, th

is figure is s

ubject to c

hange; the

number o

f institutio

ns planning

to return

to face-to-f

ace instruct

ion has de

creased by

approxima

tely 15 per

cent since e

arly June.

Are You Co

mfortable

Returning

to Work o

n Campus i

n Fall 202

0?

College an

d Universi

ty Plans fo

r Fall 2020

Instructio

n, as of Ju

ly 23, 202

0

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

834

No

313

Not Sure

222

Yes

Note: This

survey was

not scienti

fic, and resp

ondents w

ere anony

mous.

50%

12%

2.9%1%

34%

Planning f

or In-Perso

n

Proposin

g a Hybrid

Model

Planning f

or Online

Consideri

ng a Range

of Scenario

s

Waiting t

o Decide

Note: The

Chronicle is

continuall

y updating

data

regarding

institution

s’ plans fo

r the fall.

September 2020 Volume 10, Issue 8 C brief-In August 2020, SimpsonScarborough released the findings from its Higher Ed and COVID-19: National Student Survey, Pt. III. This survey, conducted in July, explores students’ views about returning to campus in the wake of COVID-19. Findings were based on the responses of 927 incoming college freshmen and 905 returning college sophomores, juniors, and seniors at institutions across the United States.

Data indicate that both incoming freshmen and returning students are uneasy about being on campus in the fall. Forty percent of incoming freshmen reported that they were likely or highly likely not to attend college this fall. A total of 30 percent of returning students reported that they had not made a decision about returning to campus for in-person instruction or would not be returning to campus due to personal choice.

COVID-19 AND HIGHER EDUCATION: UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WEIGH IN

www.natcom.org

Note: Incoming freshmen included in the sample were high school seniors who planned to attend traditional four-year institutions as residential students. Returning students included in the sample were the prior year’s residential freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.

Source: Higher Ed and COVID-19: National Student Survey, Pt. III —The Fragility of Trust, SimpsonScarborough. View the full report here: https://info.simpsonscarborough.com/hubfs/SimpsonScarborough%20National%20Student%20Survey,%20Pt.%20III.pdf.

When asked how they would prefer to take classes in the fall, the majority of incoming freshmen (39 percent) said they would prefer to stay home and take all of their classes online. Returning sophomores, juniors, and seniors favored returning to campus with a hybrid model of instruction (41 percent).

How Likely is it that You Will Not Go to College Next Term Due to COVID-19?

Are You Planning to Return to Campus for In-Person Instruction this Fall?

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Responses from Incoming College Freshmen, in Percent Responses from Returning College Students, in Percent

32%

Highly Unlikely

23%

Unlikely

21%

Likely

19%

Highly Likely

5%Too Soon

to Say

58%

Yes

16%

No, Due to Personal Choice

12%

No, Not Given the

Option

14%

I Don’t Know

Incoming Freshmen and Returning Students’ Preferences for Fall 2020 Instruction, in Percent

50

40

30

20

10

0

Incoming Freshmen Returning Students

I Don’t Know

1% 2%

Return to Campus and Take All

Classes In-Person

17% 17%

Return to Campus but Take All

Classes Online

13%9%

Return to Campus and Take Some Classes

In-Person and Some Classes Online (Hybrid)

30%

41%

Stay at Home and Take All

Classes Online

39%

30%

October 2020 Volume 10, Issue 9

C brief-

Journal citation metrics are often required for annual reports and tenure and promotion dossiers. Rather than relying on

a single “impact factor” metric, NCA provides several different journal citation metrics for its 11 journals. The following

metrics reflect 2019 ratings and rankings.

Citation Metrics1. Journal Impact Factor (JIF; InCites Journal Citation Reports ): The number of citations made in the current year to articles

in the previous two years (in selected journals), divided by the total number of citable articles from the previous two years.

2. CiteScore (CS; Elsevier/Scopus): The number of citations received in the previous four years to articles, reviews, conference

papers, book chapters, and data papers published in the previous four years, divided by the number of publications

published in the previous four years.

3. SNIP (Elsevier/Scopus): SNIP weights citations based on the number of citations in a field. If there are fewer total

citations in a research field, then citations are worth more in that field.

4. SJR (Elsevier/Scopus): This metric does not consider all citations of equal weight; the prestige of the citing journal is

also considered.

2019 JOURNAL CITATION METRICS FOR NCA JOURNALS

www.natcom.org

COMMUNICATION AND

CRITICAL/CULTURAL STUDIESVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015

N A T ION A L C O M M U N I C A T ION A S S O C I A T ION

JOURNAL OF APPLIEDCOMMUNICATION RESEARCHVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


COMMUNICATION EDUCATIONVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATIONVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


COMMUNICATION MONOGRAPHS

Volume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECHVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


COMMUNICATION TEACHERVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


THE REVIEW OF COMMUNICATION



CRITICAL STUDIES IN MEDIA COMMUNICATION



TEXT AND PERFORMANCE QUARTERLYVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


FIRST AMENDMENT STUDIESVolume 1 Number 1 • January 2015


COMMUNICATION AND CRITICAL/CULTURAL STUDIES

■ JIF: 1.058 (#74/92 in Communication) (#14/45 in Cultural Studies)

■ CS: 1.3 (#123/1002 in Cultural Studies)

■ SNIP: 1.78 ■ SJR: 0.455COMMUNICATION EDUCATION

■ JIF: N/A ■ CS: 3.3 (#46/830 in Language and Linguistics)

■ SNIP: 1.715■ SJR: 0.758COMMUNICATION MONOGRAPHS

■ JIF: 3.843 (#9/92 in Communication)

■ CS: 6.0 (#9/830 in Language and Linguistics)

■ SNIP: 3.124■ SJR: 1.979COMMUNICATION TEACHER

■ JIF: N/A■ CS: 0.5 (#246/387 in Communication)

■ SNIP: 0.7■ SJR: 0.302CRITICAL STUDIES IN MEDIA COMMUNICATION


■ CS: 2.0 (#100/387 in Communication)

■ SNIP: 1.49■ SJR: 0.688FIRST AMENDMENT STUDIES

■ JIF: N/A ■ CS: 1.2 (#249/685 in Law)

■ SNIP: 0.374 ■ SJR: 0.16

Sources: https://www2.scopus.com/sources and InCites Journal Citation Reports.

JOURNAL OF APPLIED COMMUNICATION RESEARCH



■ SNIP: 1.122■ SJR: 0.654JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

■ JIF: N/A ■ CS: 1.7 (#85/1002 in Cultural Studies)

■ SNIP: 1.688■ SJR: 0.534QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF SPEECH



■ SNIP: 1.037■ SJR: 0.457THE REVIEW OF COMMUNICATION

■ JIF: N/A ■ CS: 1.1 (#168/387 in Communication)

■ SNIP: 1.545■ SJR: 0.292TEXT AND PERFORMANCE QUARTERLY

■ JIF: N/A ■ CS: 0.7 (#51/823 in Literature & Literary Theory)

■ SNIP: 1.074■ SJR: 0.223

2019–2020 Academic Job Listings in Communication Report

4

Figure 4. Number of Communication Job Postings by Rank or Type of Position, 2019–2020

Figure 5. Advertised Position Ranks by Year, 2018–2020

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0

454

Job Advertisements by Rank or Type of Position

Figures 4 and 5 show that 350 of the 2019–2020 job postings (59 percent) sought individuals for tenured or tenure

track positions, with 250 of those postings specifically seeking an assistant professor. The number of tenured or

tenure track positions advertised decreased by 117 from the previous year. The number of non-tenure track position

advertisements also decreased since 2018–19, accounting for 160 (27 percent) of the 2019–2020 job postings.

Forty-five postings (8 percent) sought individuals for administrative positions (some of these positions are tenure-bearing),

which included advertised department chair positions. During the 2019–2020 academic year, 41 non-academic

positions were posted (7 percent). Figure 5 also compares position ranks over the past two years.

Non-Tenure Track

30%27%

Assistant

46%

42%

Assistant/ Associate

5% 6%

AssociateAssociate/ Full

1%

0% 1%

2%

2%

0%

FullOpen Rank

6%5%

Administrative

6%

6%

8%

Non- Academic

7%

2018–2019

2019–2020

400

300

200

100

0

Tenured or Tenure Track

Non-Tenure Track

Chair/Administration

Non-Academic

45

41

350

160

2019–2020 Academic Job Listings in Communication Report

2

1 See https://www.amacad.org/content/research/dataForumEssay.aspx?i=21673 and Jeffrey A. Groen, “The Impact of Labor Demand on Time to the Doctorate,”

Education Finance and Policy, available at https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/10.1162/EDFP_a_00177. See also Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Harriet Zuckerman,

Jeffrey A. Groen, and Sharon M. Brucker, Educating Scholars: Doctoral Education in the Humanities (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009).

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

Figure 3. Number of Job Postings in Communication, Political Science, History, Philosophy, English, and Sociology,

2015–2016 to 2019–2020 2015–2016

2016–2017 2017–2018 2018–2019

2019–2020

Note(s): Both the Philosophy and Sociology job posting numbers reflect data collected per calendar year rather than academic year. The 2019

Philosophy job posting numbers are an estimate.

Sources: American Historical Association, Modern Language Association, American Philosophical Association, American Political Science Association,

and American Sociological Association.

Note: Because the SED reports data on a calendar year basis, this figure reflects the total number of 2018 graduates in Communication, as reported in the SED,

while positions advertised reflects the total number of advertisements during the 2018–19 academic year. The 2019 SED report has not yet been released, thus,

no data comparing jobs available versus doctorates conferred is available.

Figure 2. Number of Advertisements for Positions in Communication and Communication Doctorates Conferred,

2009 through 2019–2020

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

2010

638

438

2011

650

534

2012

595661

2013

645

740

2014

663

752

2015

667

772

2017–18

622

745

2016–17

672

825

596

2019–20

2018–19

631

808

2009

627

351

Ph.D.s Conferred Position Advertisements

Communication in Comparison

Higher education news media regularly cover the annual rate of job growth (or decline) as reported by individual

disciplines. Despite concerns about relying on job postings as an exclusive measure of academic job markets, higher

education economists and researchers have concluded that such analyses are nonetheless useful and positively correlate

with the “set of variables that plausibly should influence the demand for new Ph.D.s.” 1

Figure 3 compares the number of Communication job postings to the numbers posted by similar disciplines. Not all

disciplines have released current job data. As a result, the data reported reflect what is currently available from the other

learned societies.

Communication

772 825745 808

596

Sociology

734

776 815762 745

English

828

946837

History

538

572529 548

Political Science

967

1,260

1,141

1,2921,184

Philosophy

814739 737 736 791

2019–2020Academic Job Listings in Communication Report

N AT ION A L C OM M U N I C AT ION A S S OC I AT ION

WA S H I N G T O N, D C 2020

n NCA established new Research Cultivation Grants, which facilitate first-time grant-seeking for those without prior grant experience and/or those desiring to build a foundation for future grant pursuits.

n NCA awarded nearly $91,000 in grants that will support member projects and programs throughout 2021.

n NCA shepherded the publication of more than 310 articles in NCA’s 11 scholarly journals.

n NCA released a new video on deception and deception detection as part of the association’s “Concepts in Communication” video series.

n NCA issued monthly C-Briefs to provide scholars with snapshots of relevant data about the Communication discipline.

n NCA released the 2019–2020 Academic Job Listings in Communication Report, which analyzes the position announcements that ran in the online NCA Career Center, COMMNotes, and Spectra.

n Through the 2020 NCA Awards program, the association recognized 33 scholars and teachers in 23 categories for outstanding scholarship, teaching, and professional service.


A C L O S E R L O O K A T C O M M U N I C A T I O N A T T H E C R O S S R O A D S

In 2020, NCA held its first-ever, completely virtual convention. At the NCA 106th Annual Convention, themed “Communication at the Crossroads,” more than 4,000 scholars gathered online to exchange ideas and present research. The Opening Session, “Mental Health at the Crossroads: Intersections in Health and Society,” explored mental health and mental health treatment throughout the nation and examined ways in which mental health intersects with race, gender, sexual orientation, educational attainment, and income. Attendees also heard from Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecturer Thomas K. Nakayama about whiteness as an entrenched system that is shaped by local and national contexts and transverses national borders. And, in the NCA Presidential Address, Kent Ono spoke on the need for “civic activism” both by Communication scholars and by the association itself.

A D V O C A T I N G F O R A C T I O N

In 2020, NCA lent its support to a variety of letters and statements, many of which related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and protests against systemic racism. These are just a few examples.

n In March, NCA National Office staff participated in the National Humanities Alliance’s annual Humanities Advocacy Day, visiting Capitol Hill to advocate for humanities funding.

n In April, NCA National Office staff participated in the Consortium of Social Science Associations in Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day, meeting virtually with Members of Congress and their staff about the many ways social and behavioral science is helping to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

n In April, NCA signed on to a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate from the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and the Democracy Initiative in response to the Asian American community being targeted with hate speech, violence, and vandalism during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

n In June, NCA signed on to a statement from the National Coalition Against Censorship calling on public officials to support the First Amendment rights of journalists and protesters who came under attack during the protests over George Floyd’s murder.

n In September, NCA signed on to a letter to Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) from the American Physiological Society (APS) supporting Representative Johnson’s call for a study to acknowledge and assess systemic racism in academia.

NCA CONTINUES TO PROVIDE SUPPORT TO COMMUNIC AT ION SC HOL ARS as they work on educating, informing, and shaping society in communities throughout the world.

Documents

NATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATION Review...unrest swept the nation in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, Communication scholars again responded, lending their voices to the protests