'Building Bridges'

Sunday, November 14 - Wednesday, November 17, 2010, San Francisco, California

The theme for the National Communication Association's 96th Annual Convention is "Building Bridges." Appropriate for our location in San Francisco, the importance of building bridges relates closely to our discipline, because much of what we teach and study revolves around making connections. E.M. Forster knew the benefits of making connections, as he wrote, "Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, And human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer. Only connect..." However, as Forster well knew, in daily life, we experience tension between the benefits of making connections and the struggle to do so.

The 2010 convention will focus on some of the important connections for our discipline, including:

• Linking our scholarship with professions beyond our disciplinary borders
• Bridging areas of scholarship and teaching
• Connecting our research and pedagogy to community projects
• Maximizing the potential benefits and overcoming the difficulties of new technologies that make connecting with one another easier (and more complicated)

Whether discussing bridges between past and current communication research and pedagogy "four years out" from our 100th anniversary, making connections with other scholars, connecting new ideas for your own research and teaching, or reconnecting with old friends and colleagues, you will enjoy San Francisco. We invite you to submit a paper and build bridges at our 96th Annual Convention.

Lynn H. Turner, Ph.D.
NCA, First Vice President
Marquette University