2017-19 President’s Welcome

Dear KACA members, friends, and family,

Happy New Year!!! I wish you a fantastic year in your academic and personal lives.

Being elected as the 15th President of the Korean American Communication Association (KACA) for 2017-2019, I am honored to work for all KACA members with the exceptionally talented incoming executive officers. My special thanks go to my immediate predecessor, Dr. Seungahn Nah, the 14th President of KACA, and his team of executive officers who wholeheartedly pursued the growth of KACA to the global level. As president, I would like to build on their legacy and establish a stronger foundation to move forward tomorrow. For the next two years, we have three main priorities to achieve. Of course, this agenda will be open to discussion with not only my executive team but any KACA members.

First, in collaboration with the 40th anniversary planning committee co-chaired by Dr. Hye-ryeon Lee at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Dr. Seungahn Nah at the University of Oregon we’d like to thoroughly prepare for the 40th Anniversary Conference of KACA, which will be held in Washington D.C. in August, 2018. KACA was formally established in 1978 by a handful of Korean American communication scholars. As of December 2017, we have close to 600 members. Obviously, the organization has been blessed with sustained growth in quantity as well as quality. For the past 40 years, KACA has been at the center of communication scholarship activities related to Korea, allowing friendships to be created in the academic society among its members and beyond. I hope KACA will take a giant leap forward with this landmark event.

Second, establishing financial stability for KACA will be a top priority. To fulfill this goal, I will further endeavor to recruit institution members with help from the KACA Fundraising Committee. More importantly, I plan to carry out an individual donation drive for the 40th Anniversary celebration and reach out to several organizations to raise funds for the event.

Last, to broaden our networks beyond KACA, I think we need to make an effort to build more bridges to make KACA a global organization. Thus, KACA will continue to collaborate with the Chinese Communication Association (CCA) as well as associations in Korea and other countries. We are planning a kick-off conference for a consortium that will tentatively be called the Asian Communication Association (ACA) during my term. The ACA will be an umbrella association for other groups including but not limited to the KACA, CCA, Japanese, and Indian communication associations and so on.

In a couple of years, KACA will reach an important milestone. With my firm belief in our bright future, I am again grateful for your unceasing support and have a sense of responsibility in serving as President and part of the organization during this significant period. I also believe that the power and energy of this kind of membership organization comes from the size of the membership. Please join or renew, urge your colleagues and graduate students who are interested in intellectual discussion about communication disciplines to become members, and make your voice heard. With your active involvement, there can be no doubt that KACA will be a gateway to your successful career.

I am looking forward to seeing you at upcoming conferences. In the meantime, I’d like to share one of my favorite quotes: “Be well, do good work and keep in touch.”

Sincerely,

Eyun-Jung Ki

President, 2017-2019

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