National Communication Association

The National Communication Association was founded in 1914 by a small group of members of the National Council of Teachers of English (organized 1910). Their goal was to establish, based on the examples set by regional associations such as the Eastern Public Speaking Conference, a national, independent organization to serve the needs of the public speaking teacher, an organization that would cultivate the development of a vital, academic speech communication discipline. According to Giles W. Gray, a publications editor for the new organization, it was the recalcitrance of the National Council of Teachers of English and the refusal of some of its most influential members and officers to yield at any point . . . that provided the impetus for separation. The new organization's first president, James M. O'Neill, recalled in a 1964 message explaining the rationale for the founding of the NCA that, ... the only academically respectable work in public speaking [at that time] was being done by teachers who were 'on their own,' wholly independent of the English department or any other department.

This first vision of the NCA was called the National Association of the Academic Teachers of Public Speaking and had seventeen charter members. The organization functioned under this name, promoting research and more effective teaching, until its 1945 convention, when the group changed its name to the Speech Association of Americirca In 1969, the name was changed to the Speech Communication Association. Membership grew from 106 in 1915 to 7200 in 1970, but declined to just over 6000 by 1989. Initial gross income was $1300 and reached $950,000 in 1989.

The goals of the organization included promotion of research, publication of scholarly journals in the discipline, assisting regional speech communication associations in their activities, and promoting the inclusion of speech programs in educational systems. In 1934, the Teacher Placement Service was inaugurated in response to the growth of the discipline and the need for a central clearinghouse to fill professional positions. Throughout its history, the organization sponsored and encouraged speech communication events. In 1963, the Committee on International Discussion and Debate was formed. Through this program, the NCA sponsored American debate teams in international competition, and brought foreign debate teams to compete in the United States. In 1973, the NCA sponsored the Bicentennial Youth Debates program, which was initiated by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The NCA has held annual conventions since 1915 (with the exception of 1918) to facilitate the presentation of research and provide a forum for the discussion of relevant issues. Some of these conferences have been held jointly with the American Educational Theatre Association, while other organizations, including the American Forensics Association, have also held joint meetings with the NCA.

The activities of the organization's officers were initially concerned with membership development, solicitation of journal advertising, the promotion of research, and planning an annual convention. By 1961, however, it was decided that the administrative burdens associated with maintaining the organization had grown too large for what had been part-time leadership, so a full-time Executive Secretary position was created. A 1969 revision of the group's constitution restructured the organization, and its governing body became the Legislative Council, comprised of representatives from various constituent groups. While the headquarters of the organization had traveled to the home institution of each Executive Secretary before 1963, with the installation of William Work as Executive Secretary (the organization's first full-time officer), New York City became the designated headquarters. However, after years of contemplating doing so, in 1974 the organization moved its office to the Washington, D. C, area.

The NCA's efforts at recognizing and incorporating the various needs of different member groups within the organization were not always successful. The American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (established in 1933 as the American Speech Correction Association) was formed following dissatisfaction with the NCA's ability to address these members' needs, and the American Educational Theatre Association (established in 1936) was another organization with similar origins. The National Society for the Study of Communication (1949) and the American Forensic Association (1950) also had their start as subgroups of the NCA. Such splintering was the basis for an administrative reorganization in 1952, when a "Committee on Structure" was formed. Its recommendations, realizing the inevitability of diverse needs within the SCA, included strengthening the relationships between the parent organization, regional organizations, and sub-organizations, as well as forming deliberative bodies within the organization to review policies and ensure representation. A new constitution in 1954 incorporated these ideas. The adoption of the 1969 constitution also caused some sub-groups within the organization, such as those interested in religious and business speech issues, to re-organize themselves under new affiliations. Subsequent reorganizations in the 1970s sought to further extend recognition of interest groups within the organization.

Various monographs, periodicals, and other documents have been published by the NCA, including The Quarterly Journal of Speech (founded 1915 as The Quarterly Journal of Public Speaking ), Communication Monographs (founded 1934 as Speech Monographs ), Speech Teacher (founded 1952 in response to the needs of public secondary school teachers), and Communication Education . Spectra is the association's newsletter. In addition, the NCA has also published a Directory of Graduate Programs in Speech, Convention Abstracts, and the Index to Journals in Communication Studies, as well as monographs, research compilations, and additional serials.

From the guide to the National Communication Association records, 1949-2010, (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)