The National Communication Association (NCA) awarded communication studies professor Dr. Richard West the Samuel L. Becker Distinguished Service Award on Sept. 29.
“I’m in a cohort of people that I could never have envisioned to be a part of,” said West. “But that said, I also recognize that I’ve had a lot of commitments to this field, both at the regional and the national levels.”
Founded in 1914, the NCA is an organization that advances the discipline of communications by supporting various academics that study the field. According to the association’s website, the Samuel L. Becker Award is bestowed upon those who have made great contributions to the NCA as well as the communications field.
Samuel L. Becker was Dr. Gregory Payne’s professor at the University of Illinois. Payne lauded West as the award’s recipient.
“Sam Becker is someone who is a giant in the field,” Payne, chair of the communication studies department, said. “This award signifies among the NCA constituency, the appreciation for everything Dr. West has done.”
West was a member and the president of the Eastern Communications Association in 2008. After this role, West went on to become a member of the NCA for over 31 years and served as the association’s president in 2012. West joined the Emerson community in 2007 as the interim director of the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies.
“I was overseeing two of the largest and oldest communications associations in the world,” West said. “That was one exciting moment of having the possibility to influence curriculum around the country.”
Since then, he has contributed to Emerson’s communications program through teaching courses and serving as the chair of the communications department from 2008 to 2012. West also founded and was the first director of the college’s Washington D.C. internship program. He co-authored several communications textbooks. One of those textbooks, the eighth edition of Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis & Applications, has been published in eight languages.
“I got into teaching because I wanted to try to make a difference,” West said. “Whether it was small or grand, having an opportunity to connect with students who are going to change the world is awesome.”
This new award was not his first from the NCA. In 2014, he was honored with the Bernard J. Brommel Award for Outstanding Scholarship or Distinguished Service in Family Communication for his study on marginalized families, primarily the implications of being a lesbian mother. Currently, West serves as the NCA’s treasurer, one of three members who oversee a budget of $14 million.
“They wanted to make sure that there is somebody of experience on the committee,” West said. “And so I’m overseeing the finances of an organization that wants to lead, but the reality is I’m just not stopping. I derive a huge amount of satisfaction from trying to have a voice in matters that make a difference.”
West hopes to take on more leadership positions in the communications field.
“I’d like to say I’m going to run for president of the World Communications Associations, so I can just say I’m president of the world, but I think that’s not going to happen,” West said. “But I’ve been asked to run for office for the International Listening Association (ILA).”
The ILA comprises a number of faculty from around the world who are involved with promoting listening practices in jobs, classrooms, relationships, and the family unit. The organization highlights the importance of listening and the appropriate stages of listening—whether one should repeat, rephrase, or emphasize.
The Samuel L. Becker Award will be bestowed to West as part of the NCA’s awards ceremony at the association’s 109th annual convention on Nov. 16th, in National Harbor, Maryland.
