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This essay presents an overview of events affecting the Central States Communication Association since 1981 and an examination of the development of Communication Studies in its first 49 volumes. The Association's decline in the early 7980s and its revival through efforts of its officers, members, and the then Speech Communication Association are traced. The Central States Speech Journal and the developments that resulted in changing its name to Communication Studies are discussed in ten volume segments. A total of 1254 articles were published in the first 49 volumes. Early volumes contained many non-research articles. Later volumes emphasized public address or other critical research. Interpersonal Communication was the focus more often than any other subject or research type in the 1990s.
Loren Reid forecast a bright future for the Central States Speech Association as we approached our 1981 Golden Anniversary Convention in Chicago (Editor's note: Loren Reid's history of the Central States Speech Association through 1981 was reprinted in volume 50, number 1 of Communication Studies. The conference added support to his conclusion. Forty-four programs were presented representing the planning of 11 interest groups and the president elect. Total membership of the Association stood at 1552 and 515 individuals registered for the conference. Gus Friedrich was President, Judith Trent was president-elect, Donovan Ochs was Vice President, and Carl Moore was Executive Secretary. Dennis Gouran was editing the Central States Speech,journal and it was arriving pretty much on time. The Association was in good hands. Financial resources had reached a level that justified Reid's feelings of security and hope for the future.
The Central States Speech Association was going to prosper as Reid predicted, but it was going to face some tough times first. By 1983, James Weaver, Moore's successor as Executive Secretary, reported to the Executive Committee that the Association was in financial trouble. In the following years, it reached a point that there were insufficient funds to publish the journal. Membership dropped to 646 in 1985 and 457 in 1986. The Association was in danger of folding.
In 1986, then President David Zarefsky negotiated a $15,000 loan for the Association from the then Speech Communication Association (now the National Communication Association). Twenty-four individuals, members of both the Speech Communication Association and the Central States...