NCA and Inclusivity

Photo depicting diverse individuals

NCA’s commitment to inclusivity flows from its mission statement in seeking to cultivate an organization in which all members feel valued and respected, as well as enabled and supported to achieve their professional interests in teaching, research, and service. NCA’s framework for inclusivity encompasses all the ways that individuals or groups differ, while also focusing explicitly on historically underrepresented persons/groups in the categories of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, ability, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, and their intersections.

(Approved by the SCA Legislative Council in 1995; revised by Legislative Assembly in 2012; Approved by the Legislative Assembly in 2017, Modified by the Diversity Council and Approved by the Legislative Assembly in 2018)

The National Communication Association defines diversity as a fair and just commitment to equity, access, and inclusion for all persons.

The NCA values the right to free and open communication for all people and groups.

The NCA believes that disenfranchisement of groups in our society threatens and destroys the framework of open and free human communication.

The NCA believes that communication is essential for addressing social strife and challenging barriers to access.

The NCA believes that diversity enriches the academic understanding, analysis and use of human communication, which can be understood only to the extent that ideas from diverse spokespersons and perspectives are heard and valued. The highest quality criticism and research of communication requires an understanding and appreciation of diversity within and across cultures.

The NCA urges communication professionals to study and understand the diversity of U.S. and global cultures in order to more fully include in our teaching and research the range of human communication.

The NCA values diversity, inclusion, and access among our faculties, within our membership, in the workplace, and in the classroom. We support just and fair policies that fairly encourage promote equity. We believe that policies on admissions, financial support of students, leadership development, equitable access, and faculty hiring and retention can be used to advance the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The NCA opposes efforts to eliminate or restrict policies or actions that are designed to foster the goal of diversity.

The The IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Council, formerly the Diversity Council, issued the following statement in June 2020.

Read the Call

This resolution was adopted by the Legislative Assembly in 2019.

Read the Statement

The Anti-Racism Resource Bank was first developed in 2020. The resource bank is not exhaustive and will continue to be updated.

View the Resources

View this Spectra issue — March 2016 Realizing the Promise of Diversity.