International Communication Association - Governance

Governance

ICA is governed by a Board of Directors, consisting of:

• the Executive Committee – President, Presidents-Elect and -Elect Select, the three immediate past Presidents – the least recent of whom serves as Finance Chair – and the Executive Director.

• Five Board Members-at-Large, representing five international regions as defined by UNESCO: the Americas; Europe; East Asia; West & South Asia; and Africa-Oceania.

• Two graduate student representatives.

• The chairs of ICA's Divisions and Interest Groups (although Interest Group representatives do not have voting rights).

The officers (except for the Executive Director) are elected by the association's members. The balloting for President and regional Members-at-Large is association-wide; student representatives are elected by ICA's student members, while Division and Interest Group chairs are chosen by the Division/Interest Group members. Terms of office begin and end at the conclusion of each year's annual ICA conference.

The president of ICA serves a one-year term; however, the Executive Committee's makeup of incoming and past presidents means that election as ICA president brings with it a six-year commitment to serve on the Executive Committee. The current (2011–2012) president is Larry Gross (Université de Montréal), and the current President-Elect is Cynthia Stohl (University of California - Santa Barbara). Immediate past presidents include Francois Cooren (2010–2011) and Barbie Zelizer (2009–2010).

ICA maintains a series of standing and awards committees to conduct its business in relation to membership, internationalization, publications, liaison with other agencies, etc., annual awards, and ad hoc task forces. Committee members are appointed by the president.

The association is administered by the six-member staff at ICA's offices in Washington, D.C. The staff is led by the Executive Director, a position held since 2000 by Michael L. Haley.