It seems this semester has become one of the busiest I’ve ever had.
I have been doing a lot of conferences this semester, but I went to my first purely academic conference this past weekend. This is a first for me – and somewhat of a transition from previous years. The other conferences (HubSpot, Adobe, and PRSA) had education elements to them, but these conferences were more industry focused. This past week, I had the chance to attend and oversee a few sessions at the National Communication Association’s annual convention this past weekend in Salt Lake City.
I didn’t present a research paper during the conference. Instead, I was leading the division as Chair of the Public Relations Division. This was a role I have been leading up to for the last few years after I was nominated as Vice Chair Elect in 2015.
You may be asking – Karen, why is leadership important to take on? Well, it teaches you a lot not only about the dynamics of the group you are leading, but also your own approaches to leadership.
From an academic perspective, taking on leadership roles can 1) provide you with some more exposure in the field, 2) help in your tenure package for promotion, and 3) help demonstrate your viewpoint and 4) help in making an impact in the field. Plus, in my current standing as an Associate Professor, to make the jump to become a Full Professor (I have a few more years to work on this!), you have to have taken on some national level leadership roles.
As of Friday, I finished my role as Chair of the National Communication Association’s Public Relations Division. This role, which started off a few years ago when I was named Vice Chair Elect in a vote (and won – which I am still surprised about!). I have to say – while leadership may look intimidating in some aspects, taking on this role has helped me grow both as a professional and person.
What were some of the biggest takeaways?
You learn a lot about what it takes to plan a conference. Props to all conference planners – you all are saints! I only had to program one division last year, and that was a lot of work! Reviewing papers, getting responses from reviewers, planning which sessions go on which days, etc. It made me appreciate all of the behind the scenes work that is done to make conferences the way they are.
This year, I had a few things I had to oversee and make sure everything went well and on schedule. I was able to organize and oversee the business meeting, and then coordinate and host the division social.
A platform to use to mentor the future of the field. What I loved about being in a leadership role was to be able to chat and spend time with some of our members, especially graduate students, at the conference.
Making sure they felt welcomed, appreciated, and know they had a contact in place if they had any questions. I remember as it was yesterday (even though it’s now been a few years!) where I was a graduate student, and there were a few scholars in the field who helped me get more involved in the division.
I had the chance to go and listen in to some of the panel sessions and see what graduate students and my fellow colleagues were up to. It’s inspiring to me to see the field is in good hands. Plus, it was fun for me to chat with some of the graduate students about my social media book. Many admitted to me they got my book and were using it as a guide for their campus visits. I was pleased to see my book was helpful and useful for them!
Fundraising is a lot of work. One of the things I got to do this year was fundraise for our division’s social. Most divisions have a committee to do this – but for NCA – it comes down to the Chair.
However, due to the generosity of some amazing sponsors like SAGE, Public Relations Review, University of Tennessee, and Texas A&M – we were able to have a great social at Gracie’s. If you are in Salt Lake City, make sure to go there! Amazing service and atmosphere! Thank you!
Know your timeline and when you want to do your leadership work. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to be able to have my time as a leader of the division after tenure (which I have recommended to many of my colleagues who are interested in this to consider this as an option). I also think it’s appropriate to explore which division and which association you would like to be involved in. Plus, know your schedule and time commitments for your other activities and see what makes sense for the timeline you have here for your leadership roles. You want to make sure you are able to commit yourself to spending some time to really make an impact for your division during your leadership year.
For me, I am involved in several organizations and associations, and have taken on some smaller leadership roles (ex. Social Media Chair for AEJMC, Executive Committee member for PRSA Entertainment and Sports Section, etc). But – this was the first time where I was a leader of a division.
Summary
It was truly a pleasure to be the Chair of the PRD at NCA. I learned a lot, and I know the division is in good hands with our new 2019 Chair, Aimei Yang. Aimei is a great professor and colleague, and she’s also a professor at USC (Fight On!). I know next year’s event in Baltimore will be amazing with Lisa Chewning as our new Vice Head (she will be programming the conference for the PRD). I’d like to also thank Erich Sommerfeldt for being a great mentor throughout this process – I owe you some bourbon for all of the emails and calls over the past year!
Thank you to the entire PRD for your continued support and allowing me to be your Chair this past year!
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
