Maryland Communication
Association
“Academic Freedom: Let’s Talk about Higher Ed”
Saturday, October 21, 2023
10 am – 1 pm, Online
39th Annual
Maryland Communication Association Conference
Check out the
2023 Conference Program Here
The 39th Annual Maryland Communication Association (MCA) conference theme “Academic Freedom: Let’s Talk about Higher Ed” examines academic freedom in institutions of higher education. Contemporary attacks on the value of higher education and academic freedom are increasing in the US. Multiple states are considering proposals to eliminate tenure from universities, potentially infringing on faculty teaching and research subjects. At the same time that college students have become the most diverse in US history, some institutions and legislatures fight against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. This conference invites a civil dialogue about freedom in modern higher education. We invite submissions that address the topic of freedom as it relates to education, speech, media, civil and human rights, identity politics and belonging, choice, beliefs, dissent, safety, discrimination, and opportunity. We can continue the conversation at the 109th National Communication Association Annual Conference at the National Harbor in Maryland, November 16-19, 2023, with the theme, “Freedom.”
Dr. Stacy Smulowitz is Executive Director of the Eastern Communication Association, an Assistant Professor and Department Chair at the University of Scranton and former Alumni Director at Wilkes University. Her passion for leading change started in 1995 as she traveled the United States to change the culture of an organization and continues through today as she helps leaders in higher education to make successful planned organizational change so that their institution can become more effective. She is author of The Communication Solution: Leading Successful Change in Higher Education, published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2020.
2023 Keynote Speaker
Dr. Stacy Smulowitz
Call for Presentations Deadline:
August 15, 2023: Faculty and Professionals
September 15, 2023: Students
Individual paper presentations are research-based and explore communication scholarship, theories, & concepts.
Great Ideas for Teaching Students Presentations
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G.I.F.T.S. must be a classroom-tested activity, assignment, project, simulation, or department initiative (such as competitions, festivals, etc.) addressing a communication theory, concept, skill, or learning objective.
Colleagues in any relevant career area are invited to join an interactive professional development panel to support communication students, recent alumni, and emergine professional success in communication careers.
MCA Student
3-Minute Blitz
Three-Minute Thesis is a research communication competition that challenges students to consolidate their research ideas into an interesting three-minute presentation.