I. Call to Order & Distribution of Agenda (Terry Robertson, Chair)
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m.  Terry welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending.  He noted that he was very pleased with the quality of the division’s panels this year.  He noted two typographical errors in the agenda (Item II: “2005 minutes” should be “2007”; Item IV., a, ii: “Top papers for 2006” should be “2008”).
II. Approval of 2007 minutes (Lisa Burns, Secretary)
The minutes for the 2007 meeting were approved.
III. Nomination and Election of New Officers (Kevin Coe, Nominating Committee Chair)
Terry called for nominations from the floor for the post of secretary. Danielle Wiese (Grand Valley State University) was nominated.  Kevin thanked the following members of the nominating committee for their service: Sumana Chattopadhyay, Jennifer Lewis, Jennifer Stromer-Galley, and Natalie (Talia) Jomini Stroud.
A. Two candidates were presented for Vice Chair Elect.  The candidates were invited to make a brief statement.  Eric Morris (Missouri State University) noted that he has presented in the division for several years and was eager to serve.  Kate Kenski (University of Arizona) could not attend the meeting, but a statement was read on her behalf in which she noted her primary goal would be to support student members through awards and travel funding.  
B. There was one candidate for secretary: Danielle Wiese (Grand Valley State University)
C. There were ten candidates for Nominating Committee: Jay Childers (University of Kansas), Erica Falk (Johns Hopkins University), Lauren Feldman (American University), Lisa Foster (University of Oklahoma), R. Kelly Garrett (The Ohio State University), Sharon Jarvis (University of Texas at Austin), Richard Katula (Northeastern University), Nick Rangel (University of Houston – Downtown), Rebecca Verser (New Mexico State University), Dannagal Goldthwaite Young (University of Delaware).
Ballots were distributed and collected to be tallied during the meeting.
IV. Reports from PCD Committee Officers:
A.Vice Chair and Program Planner Report (Mary Stuckey, Vice Chair)
Mary provided a handout that summarized the 2008 planning efforts.

• The division was allotted 27 panel slots, plus 3 scholar-to-scholar slots.  This is the same number of slots given to the division for the past three years.  Mary noted the disparity between submissions and number of slots awarded to Political Communication compared to other divisions (see below for more details).
• Submissions: There were 35 panels, 110 papers (60 student papers), and 12 scholar-to-scholar proposals.
• Acceptance rates: 12 panels, 52 papers, 8 scholar-to-scholar (plus top paper panel also presented as scholar-to-scholar) were scheduled.  298 total scholars participated in the division.
• Several division panels were scheduled simultaneously, while there were other times when no division panels were scheduled.  The NCA 1st Vice President (and San Diego program planner) claimed that this happened because Political Communication scholars are very active, and thus it was difficult to schedule our panels because of conflicts in members’ schedules.
• Mary thanked the division’s “wandering scholars”: Rod Hart, Sharon Jarvis, Lynda Lee Kaid, and Judith Trent
• Reviewers: 87 people volunteered, 76 people completed their reviews on time.  Mary thanked the reviewers.  Their names were included on the handout.  Mary also extended a special thank you to those who not only finished their reviews on time but also volunteered to help with the late reviews.  Their names were also featured on the handout. 
• Mary stated that she thought the division was “getting hosed” when it came to the number of slots allotted on the program.  She composed a chart listing the 2008 submissions for each division.  According to the statistics, there are 6 divisions that had fewer submissions but received more slots on the program, thus supporting Mary’s suspicions.   

B. Vice Chair Elect Report (Glenn Hansen, Vice Chair Elect)
Glenn reported on the 2009 program planners meeting, and also noted that he would be attending a 2-hour computer training session on All-Academic. Glenn provided the following information on the 2009 convention:

• The 2009 convention will be held in Chicago.  The theme is “Discourses of Stability and Change.”
• All units have been requested to submit panels on the theme “Five Years Out” in preparation for the 100th NCA convention.  Panels should focus on where we’ve been and where we’re going as a division, looking at the past, present and future of our discipline.  Glenn offered the example of panel featuring senior, junior, and new political communication scholars. 
• Submission dates: All-Academic will open on December 12th.  The deadline for this year’s submissions will be February 11th.
• Reviews: Reviews must be submitted by February 27th (12 working days).  Division planners will send out acceptance or rejection notices between March 16th  – 20th.  The program will be posted online by April 13th. 
• Pre-registration:  Pre-registration opens on May 1st.  Presenters must be pre-registered by September 16th or else they will be removed from the program.  This “drop dead” pre-registration date is later than last year’s date, allowing more time for people to begin their semesters and request travel funding from their schools.      

Glenn passed around a sign-up sheet looking for volunteers to review, chair and respond.
C. Legislative Assembly Report (Terry Robertson, Chair)
Terry and Immediate Past Chair Lance Holbert represented the division at the Legislative Assembly meeting. There were three issues discussed at the meeting:

• NCA’s financial health.  The organization’s financial health is good.  However, the report is based on the fiscal year ending June 30th – no word what impact the recent stock market problems have had on the organization’s investments.  It was noted that 76% of NCA’s revenue comes from member’s dues.  There was some discussion of lowering that amount. 

Most of the meeting focused on discussion of two resolutions.

• Resolution #1: Convention site/hotel discrimination.  The first resolution creates an “escape clause” that would allow NCA to pull out of a contract without penalty if a hotel/vendor is found to be discriminating or involved in a labor dispute.  This resolution was offered in response to the controversy surrounding this year’s convention hotel.  There were debates about the legality of such a clause.  Because the resolution was offered after June 30th, legislative rules call for a two-thirds favorable vote to pass the resolution.  After much discussion, the resolution failed by two votes.  The resolution may be offered again next year, and if submitted before June 30th, it will only require a simple majority to pass.
• Resolution #2: NCA statement on torture and solitary confinement.  The issue was debated for quite a while.  The main question was the appropriateness of NCA making such a statement.  Again, because the resolution was offered after June 30th, a two-thirds vote was needed.  The resolution failed by just a few votes.             

Terry noted that the legislative assembly meeting on Sunday would focus on the challenges facing NCA as they prepare a new strategic plan. Units were asked to gather information on the challenges facing their members/discipline. Terry opened the floor for discussion, asking members how NCA could better serve them. There were no responses from the floor. Terry invited members to contact him with any comments related to this topic.
V. Old Business (Terry Robertson, Chair)
Terry brought up one item of old business related to submissions for the division's awards. He noted that there were a good number of articles and books submitted, but there were no dissertations submitted. He urged members to talk to their graduate students and encourage them to submit their dissertations for next year's award. Someone from the floor suggested that "Spectra" publish an item featuring the submission dates for all of the divisions' dissertation awards. It was also suggested to post the call for submissions on CRTNET (which was done last year).
VI. New Business (Terry Robertson, Chair)
Terry had one item of new business related to the diversity of the division's panels. Terry said that he'd like to see more panels bringing together the work of senior and junior scholars. He noted that most of this year's panels feature groups of people who know each other and have worked together over the years. He suggested that we make an effort to bring new people into the fold. As program planner, Mary pointed out that most senior scholars tend to submit panels while junior faculty submit papers and graduate students tend to end up in the scholar-to-scholar category. This makes it very hard to put together panels that feature both senior and junior scholars. One suggestion is that more senior scholars submit papers. Another suggestion from the floor was to feature the division's book award winner as part of a panel (where senior scholars would respond to the book). Terry finished the discussion by saying that this is a very healthy division, but that we would benefit from more diversity. There was no other new business.
VII. Election Results (Kevin Coe, Nominations Committee Chair)
The following officers were elected:

• Vice Chair-Elect:  Kate Kenski (University of Arizona)
• Secretary: Danielle Wiese (Grand Valley State University)
• Nominations Committee:  Chair – Sharon Jarvis (University of Texas at Austin), Jay Childers (University of Kansas), Lauren Feldman (American University), Rebecca Verser (New Mexico State University), Dannagal Goldthwaite Young (University of Delaware).

VIII. Gronbeck Award Presentation (Judith Trent, Gronbeck Award Chair)
Judith explained the history and purpose of the award and thanked the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research for their support of the award. The members of the selection committee were recognized. This year's winners were Thomas Benson and Brian Snee, editors of The Rhetoric of the New Political Documentary. The award winners could not attend. Judith thanked everyone for their submissions.
Terry announced that the division's book and article awards would be presented at the division's social reception, immediately following the business meeting.

• Book award: Carol Winkler, In the Name of Terrorism: Presidents on Political Violence in the Post WWII Era. 
• Article award: Kevin Coe and David Domke, “Petitioners or Prophets?: Presidential Discourse, God, and the Ascendency of Religious Conservatives.” 

IX. Announcements (Terry Robertson, Chair)
Terry noted that this was probably the fastest business meeting on record. He handed over the role of chair to Mary and thanked her for her work as program planner this year.
Mary called on members to volunteer to serve on the book, article and dissertation award committees. Anyone interested was asked to speak to her after the meeting.
Terry noted that the social would immediately follow the meeting in the same room.
X. Meeting Adjourned
Meeting adjourned at 5:40 pm. 65 people were in attendance.
Respectfully submitted,
Lisa M. Burns
Political Communication Division Secretary