UC Communication Professor Named Second Vice President of National Communication Association

University of Cincinnati professor of communication Ronald L. Jackson II was recently elected second vice president-elect of the National Communication Association (NCA), a position that will automatically ascend to president in 2017. The NCA strives toward advancing and advocating for free and ethical communication in all of its forms in order to improve the standard of human life and relationships. With members who are communication educators, advocates, and practitioners, the association is the largest academic organization in the world dedicated to research, teaching, engagement and policy pertaining to the everyday practice of communication.

The NCA bestows its members with many educational opportunities, including an annual convention, academic journals, career centers, special conferences, state-of-the-art research reports and expert databases related to the communication discipline.

“I’m truly honored to serve the association that I have long called my disciplinary home,” says Jackson, who begins his term effective immediately. “Communication is the lifeblood of humanity. Without it we would have no such thing as culture, media or a society. The NCA’s advocacy for competent, ethical and mindful communications extends to issues such as literacy, social justice, healthcare and institutional effectiveness.”

Jackson currently teaches in McMicken College of Art and Sciences’ communication department, where he explores the social construction of identity, race and masculinity, among other research topics. Last year he won the International Comic-Con Will Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work in the Comic Industry for his co-authored book "Black Comics: Politics and Representations." He has most recently co-authored a book titled “Interpreting Tyler Perry,” which analyzes actor Tyler Perry’s controversial presence in the media and how it represents issues in race, class, gender and sexuality. He is now working on a book regarding the popular TV show Scandal.