09/27/2025

2026 CSCA Jack Kay Award Call for Nominations

2026 CSCA Jack Kay Award Call for Nominations

The Central States Communication Association invites nominations for the Jack Kay Award for Community Engagement and Applied Communication Scholarship. This award honors individual communication scholars (dyads and groups/teams are not eligible) who have demonstrated a significant record of applying their work to address social injustice, inequality, intolerance, and prejudice. It celebrates a substantial body of engaged, applied, and/or activist communication scholarship. A generous gift from the Michigan Association of Speech Communication makes this award possible.

Submission Requirements

The following materials must be submitted with the nomination:

• A curriculum vitae.
• A narrative (maximum of three pages) describing how the scholarship (including research and/or teaching) demonstrates community engagement, addresses social justice issues, and explains the impact it has had—or could have—on public policy, social activism, judicial reform, and other avenues of social change.
• A list of published scholarship relevant to the award, along with one or two exemplars to showcase.
• Up to two examples of public scholarship (e.g., reports, white papers, newspaper editorials, and/or videos).

Selection Committee

• Amy Aldridge (Chair), Middle Tennessee State University
• Natalie Pennington (Vice Chair), Colorado State University
• Debbie Dougherty, University of Missouri
• Karla Hunter, South Dakota State University
• Robert S. Littlefield, University of Central Florida

Submission Instructions

**Deadline: December 1, 2025**

Submit as a pdf in one file to Amy Aldridge (amy.aldridge@mtsu.edu). Include “Jack Kay Award” in the subject line. All submissions will receive an email confirmation. Self-nominations are typical. Per association bylaws, nominees must be CSCA members at the time of nomination. The award recipient must attend the Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon and Business Meeting at the 2026 conference in Minneapolis (April 14–19, 2026) to receive the award and accompanying honorarium.

About Dr. Jack Kay

Jack Kay (1951–2015) was a distinguished member of the communication community. He served as president of the Central States Communication Association, Michigan Association of Speech Communication, Nebraska Speech Communication Association, and Delta Sigma Rho/Tau Kappa Alpha. His academic leadership included roles as Provost and Executive Vice President at Eastern Michigan University; Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Interim Chancellor at the University of Michigan-Flint; Associate Provost for Student Services; Interim Dean of the College of Urban, Labor, and Metropolitan Affairs; Interim Dean of the College of Fine Performing and Communication Arts at Wayne State University; and Chair of the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As a communication scholar, Dr. Kay published extensively in argumentation, rhetoric, and political communication. He addressed issues of race, diversity, and the language of oppression, frequently presenting on anti-Semitism and other expressions of hate on the Internet. His publications include the book 'Argumentation: Inquiry and Advocacy,' along with numerous book chapters, journal articles, and newspaper editorials. He was honored with Wayne State University’s Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award for his contributions to doctoral advising.