Updates &
Announcements from
the Organization for
Research on Women and Communication
Michelle A. Holling, California State San Marcos
Greetings fellow fem’s! On
behalf of ORWAC and its Executive Officers, who are Bernadette
Calafell, Ph.D. (VP), Valerie Renegar, Ph.D. (Treasurer), Stacey
Sowards, Ph.D. (Institutional Membership Coordinator), Brenda Allen,
Ph.D. (Webspinner), and Cindy Griffin, Ph.D. (Editor, WSIC),
we appreciate the opportunity to continue publishing in Women’s
Voices. I have a few announcements and calls to share with
members of the Women’s Caucus (WC) and Feminist & Women’s Studies
Division (FWSD) of NCA.
At WSCA 2008, we implemented
the first annual ORWAC Research Development Grant. Two categories
were available—one for graduate students and another for lecturers,
tenure/track faculty—each of which offered $1,000 in support for
research or creative projects that advance understandings about the
intersectionality and complexity defining women’s lives. ORWAC’s
Executive Officers reviewed outstanding applications that reflect
the stellar scholarship underway by new as well as more established
scholars.
Following deliberation on the
submitted applications, two scholars have been awarded the 2008
ORWAC Research Development Grant: Dr. Susan Szmania for her
project “Social Support Networks Among Iraqi Refugee Women Living in
Sweden” and Megan Parker for her project “From the Front Porch to
the Platform: Fannie Lou Hamer and the Rhetoric of the Black Freedom
Movement.” Congratulations! Beginning in February 2009 we will
announce calls for the second cycle of grants.
Over the next couple of
months ORWAC seeks to fill two positions—the Vice President and
WSIC Editor. Self-nominations are encouraged for both positions.
In brief, the Vice President will serve during the 2009-2010 year,
then becoming President for the subsequent two years. A few of the
VP’s duties include: preparing the ORWAC newsletter, serving as
reviewer, taking minutes at the business meeting and attending
pre-conference planning sessions for ORWAC-WSCA. Serving as
Vice-President, and later President, is important to maintaining the
vitality of the organization. As well, there are opportunities to
implement desired or needed initiatives that advance the interests
and mission of ORWAC. I invite members of the WC and/or FWSD of NCA
to consider applying. For additional information of the VP’s duties
interested individuals may contact me, Michelle, at
mholling@csusm.edu and/or we can arrange a time to talk further
at NCA.
Women’s Studies in
Communication is
the premier journal publishing feminist scholarship in the field.
Editorship enables the elected candidate not only to maintain a
tradition of scholarly inquiry about gender, women,
intersectionality and communication, but also to conceive and
publish a special issue of interest. Interested individuals for
WSIC editor are encouraged to submit the following: a letter
outlining her/his philosophy, experience, ability to set-up and work
with a good editorial board, as well as time commitment,
institutional commitment and research experience. Also required are
two letters of recommendation and a letter detailing institutional
support. Applications, in hard copy and electronic format
(preferably pdf), are
due Nov. 10,
2008, and will be
reviewed by the Executive Committee of ORWAC. Please forward
materials to: Dr. Michelle A. Holling, ORWAC President, Dept. of
Communication, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin
Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos, CA 92096-0001. For more information
please contact either Dr. Holling at
mholling@csusm.edu or Dr. Cindy Griffin, WSIC editor, at
wsic@colostate.edu. Formal interviews will be held at NCA, Nov.
21-24, 2008.
Finally, if your membership
is about to expire or you want to become a member so as not to miss
all the latest and greatest feminist scholarship in communication,
contact Valerie Renegar (vrenegar@mail.sdsu.edu)
for a membership form or visit ORWAC’s website to download a form
www.orwac.org.
In closing, I hope to see you
all soon and look forward to more collaborations across
organizations.
Regards,
Michelle A. Holling, ORWAC President
Last Updated 23 October 2008
Contact the Web Spinner