Keynote Speaker
Dr. John H. Saunders is a lecturer at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He earned his Ph.D. in Speech Communication from Penn State, and his master’s and bachelor’s in Communication from Memphis. From his academic pedigree, you may be able to guess that he is a rhetorician, and his teaching and scholarship on the subject reaches back to 2001.
As an editor and author, John published a book in 2016 entitled The Rhetorical Power of Children’s Literature (Lexington Books). He is currently co-editing (with Rick Wilber) the 2nd Edition of the textbook Media Matters (Kendall Hunt) due this spring. He has a book chapter on rhetoric and children’s theater coming out this month, and is in talks to edit a new book on the rhetoric of museum gift shops next year planned for The University of Alabama Press. He has published several journal articles and book chapters on the rhetoric of children’s literature and public memory with several more in progress. He currently serves as the editor of the Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric.
His passion project, however, is a future edited volume entitled How to Start, Organize, and Run an Academic State Association. This is a multi-year project through the National States Advisory Council at NCA and the State Association Interest Group at SSCA to create a comprehensive document covering all primary elements of starting or running a state association. Each chapter is based on the collective wisdom of state association officers gathered through panel presentations at NCA, SSCA, and other forums. The projected completion date is the Fall of 2025 with plans to publish the manual through NCA and at johnhsaunders.com.
His passion for state associations started with a conversation with a colleague about how every state surrounding Alabama had a state association, but Alabama didn't. In 2008, it became his mission to build and grow the Alabama Communication Association. He has done just that. He has served in every officer position and capacity that the ACA offers, except for vice president since he was the inaugural president. In 2015, for his extraordinary service to the ACA, he earned the Service to the State award from NCA’s National States Advisory Council. In 2021, the Alabama Communication Association created the John H. Saunders Service Award to honor those who have strategically worked to help others find and use their voices.
Dr. John H. Saunders is a lecturer at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He earned his Ph.D. in Speech Communication from Penn State, and his master’s and bachelor’s in Communication from Memphis. From his academic pedigree, you may be able to guess that he is a rhetorician, and his teaching and scholarship on the subject reaches back to 2001.
As an editor and author, John published a book in 2016 entitled The Rhetorical Power of Children’s Literature (Lexington Books). He is currently co-editing (with Rick Wilber) the 2nd Edition of the textbook Media Matters (Kendall Hunt) due this spring. He has a book chapter on rhetoric and children’s theater coming out this month, and is in talks to edit a new book on the rhetoric of museum gift shops next year planned for The University of Alabama Press. He has published several journal articles and book chapters on the rhetoric of children’s literature and public memory with several more in progress. He currently serves as the editor of the Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric.
His passion project, however, is a future edited volume entitled How to Start, Organize, and Run an Academic State Association. This is a multi-year project through the National States Advisory Council at NCA and the State Association Interest Group at SSCA to create a comprehensive document covering all primary elements of starting or running a state association. Each chapter is based on the collective wisdom of state association officers gathered through panel presentations at NCA, SSCA, and other forums. The projected completion date is the Fall of 2025 with plans to publish the manual through NCA and at johnhsaunders.com.
His passion for state associations started with a conversation with a colleague about how every state surrounding Alabama had a state association, but Alabama didn't. In 2008, it became his mission to build and grow the Alabama Communication Association. He has done just that. He has served in every officer position and capacity that the ACA offers, except for vice president since he was the inaugural president. In 2015, for his extraordinary service to the ACA, he earned the Service to the State award from NCA’s National States Advisory Council. In 2021, the Alabama Communication Association created the John H. Saunders Service Award to honor those who have strategically worked to help others find and use their voices.