Newswise — Washington, DC - The National Communication Association (NCA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Paaige K. Turner, Associate Dean and Professor in the School of Communications at Webster University, as its next Executive Director.

Turner brings a strong understanding of the Communication discipline and considerable administrative experience to the position. Prior to her role at Webster University, Turner worked as an Associate Vice President, Graduate Director, and Associate/Assistant Professor at Saint Louis University (SLU). In NCA, she has served on multiple member committees, on the NCA Legislative Assembly, and as chair of the Organizational Communication Division. She has published more than 30 chapters and articles in the area of organizational communication, and is an Associate Editor for the forthcoming International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication. In 2013, she was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru International Education Administrators Award. Turner also has received numerous teaching awards, including the Outstanding New Teacher Award from the Central States Communication Association and the Faculty Excellence Award from the SLU Student Government Association.

“We believe that Dr. Turner offers a valuable combination of administrative expertise and a wealth of experiences as a teacher-scholar in the Communication discipline, and that she is extremely well-situated to serve as NCA’s next Executive Director,” said NCA President Christina S. Beck.

Turner earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Organizational Communication from Purdue University and her B.S. degree in Rhetoric and Marketing from the University of Oregon.

She will begin her tenure as NCA Executive Director on April 1, 2017, in the association’s National Office in Washington, DC. Director of Academic and Professional Affairs Trevor Parry-Giles is currently serving as NCA Interim Executive Director.

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About the National Communication Association

The National Communication Association (NCA) advances Communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry. NCA serves the scholars, teachers, and practitioners who are its members by enabling and supporting their professional interests in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, NCA promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems.

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