Dr. Randy Dillon, professor in the Department of Communication at Missouri State University has been selected as a faculty leader for the National Communication Association (NCA) Doctoral Honors Seminar for June 1-5 at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.  The seminar topic is “Communication as Engaged Scholarship.”  This year’s theme refers to the collaborative process that occurs when academic scholars and community practitioners work together, using communication theory and research, to explore, uncover, and answer questions that ultimately provide a community with practical, socially relevant, and meaningful answers with the hope of not only enhancing the interpersonal and organizational lives of the community members, but creating a connection between the academy and the community. Engaged scholarship also facilitates theory building by attending to the complexities associated with communicating, relating, and organizing.

Dr. Dillon will serve as one of 9 faculty leaders in Communication from around the United States specifically invited in the 2009 Doctoral Honors Seminar.  Approximately 36 doctoral students from around the country have also been selected to participate in this year’s seminar.  Students are placed into one of three work groups which will be lead by three faculty leaders.  Working together, the three faculty leaders and the 12 students will discuss and evaluate the submitted papers as well as engage in discussion of the theoretical, methodological, ethical, and practical issues involved in conducting engaged scholarship. “I am honored to be asked to take part in this opportunity to work with talented faculty and doctoral students in the area of engaged communication scholarship,” said Dillon.

According to the National Communication Association website, NCA is the largest national organization dedicated to communication. Researchers, educators, and professionals, work to understand and better all forms of human interaction.