UND communication graduate students recognized for ‘top paper’

Joshua Young and David Potter, graduate students in the University of North Dakota Communication Program, recently were named recipients of The Douglas M. Trank Top Paper Award by the Central States Communication Association (CSCA). Young and Potter\u27s work was selected from hundreds of submissions to the CSCA\u27s Basic Course Interest Group. Young is from Des Moines, Iowa, and Potter is a native of Lincoln, Neb. Their paper, titled Speaking of Public: Comparing the Democratic and Advertising Models of Public Speaking , argues that public speaking courses are shifting from a democratic model to an advertising model . Young and Potter\u27s research tries to demonstrate that instructors can reclaim democracy in public speaking courses by nuancing students\u27 understanding of audience. In do so, instructors will achieve the same benefits of the advertising model and help students understand the need to engage in democracy. The Douglas M. Trank Award id named after a distinguished former University of Iowa communication scholar. Award recipients receive a $50 cash award and a certificate at the CSCA national convention, which, this year, is slated for April 2-6 in Minneapolis. About the CSCA: The CSCA is a professional, academic organization of primary and secondary school teachers, students, college and university professors, and communication professionals. CSCA was found in 1931 to promote the communication discipline in educational, scholarly, and professional endeavors. The association, which consists of the 13 Midwestern states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, is governed by an Executive Committee and is legislated by its constitution and by-laws. CSCA has 22 Interest Groups, Caucuses, and Sections that promote particular communication areas. The association hosts a yearly convention within the 13 states, maintain a website, publishes a newsletter three times yearly, and publishes the journal Communication Studies on a quarterly basis