NCA Inside & Out

Judy C. Pearson Endowment for Communication Studies 

Former NCA President Judy Pearson and St. Cloud State University in Minnesota have established the Judy C. Pearson Endowment for Communication Studies. Pearson notes that “St. Cloud State University made a difference in my life” and hopes that the endowment will make a difference in the lives of future St. Cloud students.

Pearson has pledged $1,000,000 to the university for the endowment. The proceeds will directly support student growth and development by funding academic scholarships, grants to support travel to academic conferences, grants to support international education, appearances of guest speakers on campus, and the appointment of visiting professors. In recognition of this historic contribution, the St. Cloud Communication Studies Department will be renamed the Judy C. Pearson Department of Communication Studies.

Pearson graduated with an undergraduate degree in Speech and Theater and a minor in Philosophy from St. Cloud State University in 1968. Pearson earned a Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Public Address and a Ph.D. in Speech Communication from Indiana University in Bloomington. 

Pearson served as President of the Central States Communication Association from 1989 to 1990 and as NCA President from 2002 to 2003. In 2008, Pearson was the recipient of NCA’s Samuel L. Becker Distinguished Service Award.

Interdisciplinary Research Program Participants Visit the Iowa Caucuses 

The Campaigns & Elections Field Research Project is an interdisciplinary program that includes participants from the University of South Florida, the University of Alabama, the University of Kansas, the University of Missouri, Iowa State University, and Emerson College. As part of the program, participating students and faculty members visited Iowa from January 31 through February 4 for the caucuses held on February 3. 

Four Communication scholars, Joshua Scacco, Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida (USF); Ashley Muddiman, Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas (KU); Cynthia Peacock, Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama (UA); and Ben Warner, Associate Professor at the University of Missouri, led students on conducting a joint survey to assess candidate campaign communication around the Iowa caucuses. 

In the three days prior to the caucuses, research teams from USF, KU, and UA made contact with more than 200 prospective caucus-goers and voters in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, and other locations throughout Iowa. They visited events for a variety of candidates, including Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders, Warren, Weld, and Yang. The USF research team observed a caucus in Ames, Iowa, and the KU research team observed a caucus in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Currently, the teams are examining the data to assess voter attitudes related to candidates’ and candidate supporters’ communication styles, participants' thoughts about political incivility, and candidate traits and issues that rally goers raised in describing why they supported a particular candidate.

Scacco, Muddiman, and Peacock spoke with NCA Executive Director Trevor Parry-Giles about the project on the February 27 episode of Communication Matters: The NCA Podcast. Listen to the episode today!