UA Professor Named President of International Communication Association

UA Professor Named President of International Communication Association

Dr. Jennings Bryant

Dr. Jennings Bryant, holder of the Reagan Chair of Broadcasting in the College of Communication and Information Sciences, became president of the 3,800-member International Communication Association this summer at its 52nd annual conference in Seoul, Korea.

As president-elect during 2001-2002, Bryant served as program chair for the Seoul conference and established this year's theme, Reconciliation Through Communication. Bryant challenged ICA members to build on the idea that communication used effectively and creatively can be the tool to bridge differences and bring reconciliation in a variety of circumstances.

In choosing the theme, Bryant recalled the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, where athletes from both North and South Korea entered the stadium under the same flag. He expressed hope that the reconciliation he witnessed in Sydney signaled continued progress in Korea toward normalization of relationships between North and South Korea.

ICA is an international association for scholars interested in the study of all aspects of human communication, as well as in the teaching of communication.

Bryant also serves as director of UA's Institute for Communication Research. The recipient of the University’s Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award for 1999- 2000, he is author or editor of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters and has delivered more than 200 conference papers.

For more information on the International Communication Association, go to www.icahdq.org.