The Vision

The twentieth century worldwide networking of computers became a communication context that spawned new commerce, social organization, professional affiliations, and a plethora of other possibilities. In this early milieu, a small group of innovative communication scholars envisaged a place that would allow those with limited resources but limitless curiosity about human communication to interact. Some of the issues may have been the need for faculty at small schools to build tenure portfolios and the high cost of physical communication conferences.

The American Communication Association (ACA) filled that vision and those needs. More than a decade later, the organization continues as a venue for communicators and communicologists to connect. Unlike traditional organizations, ACA had no strategic plan but it resembled a traditional professional association in many ways, with awards for academicians and senior fellow hierarchies. Somewhere along the way the organization's dynamics lost that structure, and it became, for a time, stagnant.

New leadership and new members envisioned new possibilities, and the Congress of the Americas rapidly brought together membership across two-thirds of ACA's originally defined "Americas" territory. The concept of networking became a more dominant theme and the one now pursued by current leadership.

What ACA will build over the coming months will connect its own members with those of the International Communication Association, Universidad de San Martin de Porres, and Instituto de Tecnologico de Monterey (Ciudad de Mexico). The initial, primary goals of ACA established the seemingly ambitious task of joining all the Americas through the Internet communication technology. That has happened.

So, where does ACA go from now? Perhaps you have noticed that this "Presidential vision" statement is not written in the first person. The ACA vision is not one person's to create. It will evolve only as the entire membership becomes engaged toward new goals. Healthy organizations have short term and long term goals, working through short term (tactics) toward larger, long term ones (strategy).

Short term, ACA has set out to restore and repair its web resources. It seeks to engage the participation of Canadian and LATAM colleagues. It takes small steps toward online publishing, and it prepares for an annual conference in Taos. The strategic goals implicit in these tactical ventures may not seem obvious.

Strategic goal #1: Make ACA an organizationally viable, professional communication association.

• Tactic: Rewrite bylaws to ensure greater participation by general membership through service as board members.
• Tactic: Recruit members through Canadian universities and professional associations.
• Tactic: Recruit new board members to ensure continuity.

Strategic goal #2: Make ACA a financially viable organization.

• Tactic: Include opportunity to make donations at website.
• Tactic: Build ACA online store with logo items.
• Tactic: Research professional association management options.

Strategic goal #3: Build a network of communication resources accessible throughout the Americas.