The annual Pennsylvania Communication Association (PCA) Conference took place on Friday and Saturday, September 29-30 at Slippery Rock University. This year was the PCA’s 83rd Annual Conference entitled “Sustaining Communities.“本科, 研究生, and faculty in the field of communication were able to submit their work and present it at the conference.
“The Pennsylvania Communication Association promotes teaching, 研究, and service and development in all areas of human communication." (http://pcasite.org/)
The weekend featured panels that brought together several presentations around a common theme and keynote speakers on both nights. Friday night featured student poster presentations, and the conference awards were presented at Saturday’s dinner.
Throughout the whole weekend, Geneva was well-represented by Geneva Associate Professor Joel Ward, PhD and alumni of Geneva’s communication program: 迈克尔·卡尼 ’17, Ryan Eisenhuth, 23岁, 凯尔西·英格戈尔德，18岁, and Mikayla Covington ’16.
Dr. Joel Ward is an Associate Professor in Geneva’s Communication Media & 修辞部门. He is also a member of the PCA Executive Committee, playing a key role in the planning and execution of the conference and management of the PCA. At this year’s conference, he chaired the panel on “Exploring Ethics of Attention in Sustaining Communities,” and he presented his paper titled “Meeting in Person: Teaching Assistantships in 本科 Education.”
迈克尔·卡尼 研究生d with a Communication degree from Geneva in 2017. He is currently finishing his doctoral work at Duquesne University, serving as a 研究生 Research and Teaching Assistant for the Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies. At the PCA conference, he chaired the panel on “Committee Work as Performative Praxis: Sustaining Communities through Professional Decision-Making.” He also presented two of his papers entitled “Learned Ignorance in Interpersonal Communication” and “Structuring Dialogue from Conciliar Theory to Robert’s Rules.”
Ryan Eisenhuth recently 研究生d from Geneva with a communication degree in 2023. He is currently a 研究生 student of communication at Ohio University. At the PCA Conference, he presented his paper on “Memory Dis-Membered: A Call to Re-Member the Forgotten Rhetorical Canon.”
Kelsey Ingold 研究生d from Geneva with a degree in Communication in 2018 and is currently the Assistant Director of Internal Communication at bwin体育大学. She is also a 研究生 student of communication at Duquesne University. Kelsey presented her paper on “Organizational Space: Freedom Versus Restriction” and won the second place 研究生 Paper Award.
When asked about the PCA conference, 凯尔西回答说, “PCA is a great organization to build professional community, 交流思想, and advance scholarship in the field of communication for the betterment of the community. It is exciting to see excitement around the field of communication and to learn about what others are doing. The environment is very welcoming, and it is evident that the students and faculty in attendance are there to learn from and support each other.”
Mikayla Covington was a Geneva 研究生 in 2016 with a degree in Communication. She is currently finishing her doctoral work at Duquesne University and serves as an adjunct professor there. 在会议上, she presented her paper titled, “Fragmented Communities: Navigating Physical and Digital Spaces as Rural Nonprofit Organizations.”
Dr. Joel Ward was very encouraged by Geneva’s representation at the conference saying, “Geneva continues to demonstrate an important presence at the Pennsylvania Communication Association. Both Kelsey and Ryan Eisenhuth took home writing awards from the state 本科 and 研究生 writing competition. 迈克尔·卡尼, 另一个毕业生, was in attendance as well, presenting papers and serving as PCA secretary. We hope to continue supporting this vital organization that provides so many opportunities for our current students and 研究生s who are pursuing 研究生 degrees.”
-Lexi Meese '21, MBA '22
