Summary Statement
I have known for many years that my greatest intellectual abilities lie in the areas of synthesis and integration. Thus, it is not too surprising that I have focused a great deal of effort on this aspect of scholarship. I believe my work here has been outstanding, as evidenced by my publications and conference work.

My most significant publication efforts here at ASU have been in the scholarship of integration. The textbook that I co-authored with Dr. Ty Adams on The Internet is a ground-breaking work, the first of its kind in communication. As one of the first textbooks on Internet communication, it has the potential to set the standards for an up-and-coming course in communication departments. As such, it also has the potential to increase the recognition of the communication department at Appalachian State University. It is currently in use around the country, and even around the world (for some reason, it is extremely popular in New Zealand), and has been very well received by students and faculty alike. This book was the result of countless hours of hard work. Since this field is so new, we were going beyond synthesis to the creation of new ways of looking at online communication. In short, while this textbook was primarily a work of integration, it also involved a significant amount of discovery. A copy of this book is available in Dr. Towns' office.

In a continuation of this effort, Dr. Adams and I have teamed up with Dr. Scollard to create a new book with a new publisher, titled Internet Effectively: A Beginner's Guide to the World Wide Web. This will be out in the summer of 2005, and has a significantly greater emphasis on web design, reflecting the trend in higher education. Most of the text is newly written for this book, making it truly a new book and not a second edition.

Two textbooks at this point in my career is a significant achievement. When combined with my other writings, it becomes clear that I have reached the level of outstanding achievemen in the scholarship of integration. In 2003 I co-authored Argument Strategies from Aristotle’s Rhetoric, a book on Aristotle's rhetorical topoi, with Dr. Mark Huglen. While this is a smaller supplemental text, it is still one that required approximately a year's worth of research and writing. In addition to these books, I have also published three articles related to the scholarship of integration. Of these three, the one with the greatest magnitude and significance was "Strategic Tool Selection in Distance Education." It was published in a refereed national journal, and was a cross-disciplinary effort combining communication studies theories with distance education practices in a communication disorders content. "Crossing the Divide through Service (Learning)" was published in a conference proceedings, and while the proceedings were not refereed, the conference submissions were refereed initially. Thus, this work was judged by the conference organizers to be worthy of inclusion at a national conference on the Network Society. "Fractured Fairy Tales" was published in ASU's Teaching and Learning at Appalachian, and thus was non-refereed. However, I am still proud of this piece, as it demonstrated my creativity in the classroom.

In addition to creating traditional print publications, I have spent numerous hours over the past few years putting together a multi-media CD-ROM for use by communication majors in the Foundations of Communication course, and beyond. This CD-ROM, titled Building on Foundations, includes some sections authored by other members of the department as well as chapters from textbooks published by Allyn & Bacon. But integrating all of these components was done solely by myself: layout, design, explanatory text, video editing, Flash interface, and much more. I received three grants in connection with this project. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs provide me with an equipment grant to purchase video equipment and software for a multimedia CD-ROM project. I was awarded a release-time grant from this department in the spring of 2004 to work on the project, and a grant from the Hubbard Center to pay for the production of the CD-ROM. The grant from the Hubbard Center eventually proved to be unnecessary, as I was able to interest a publisher in the project that took over the final production stage.

Besides publications, I have also been active in presenting my efforts in the scholarship of integration at conferences. I have presented several papers synthesizing research and teaching at national and regional conventions. In addition, I have served as a participant, panelist or organizer for workshops on the integration of teaching and research, particularly in the area of service learning. In the spring of 2004 I was one of three people from ASU invited to the North Carolina Campus Compact/Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Faculty Development Institute on service learning. Out of that experience I developed and led a workshop here at ASU, in conjunction with the ACT office and the Hubbard Center, on "Enhancing Service Learning: Syllabi, Assignments, & Reflections." I have been an invited keynote panelist for the NC Campus Compact Service Learning Institute, as well as an invited presenter on the subject of service learning on two occasions at Lenoir-Rhyne College.

I have focused so much attention on the scholarship of integration because I realize the importance of connecting research with teaching. This connection usually takes place through synthesis, which is one of my strengths. In addition, while faculty at ASU are strongly encouraged to emphasize teaching, we are also encouraged to publish. I believe my efforts in this area have allowed me to satisfy these two somewhat contradictory demands.

Activities

• Grants
  • Creative Project Release Time Grant, Department of Communication, ASU, Spring 2004
  • Research/Scholarship/Creative Project Equipment Grant, Research and Sponsored Programs, ASU, Spring 2002
• Textbooks
  • Adams, T., Scollard, S., & Clark, N. (Forthcoming, July 2005). Internet Effectively: A Beginner's Guide to the World Wide Web. Boston: Addison-Wesley.
  • Clark, N., & Huglen, M. (2003). Argument Strategies from Aristotle's Rhetoric. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
  • Adams, T., & Clark, N. (2001). The Internet: Communicating Effectively with Technology. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace.
• Multimedia
  • Building on Foundations [CD-ROM]. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing. (2005).
• Articles
  • (2002). Crossing the Divide through Service (Learning). Proceedings from Shaping the Network Society: Patterns for Participation, Action and Change, 289–290.
  • (2002, Winter). Strategic Tool Selection in Distance Education: General Guidelines and a Case Example. American Association of Behavior and Social Sciences Journal, 1–8. [Refereed, co-authored with Heather Clark]
  • (2000). Fractured Fairy Tales: Slightly Twisted Invention and Arrangement. Teaching and Learning at Appalachian, 5, 24–26.
• Conference Papers
  • The Intersection of Reflection: Critical Rhetoric and Service Learning. Presented at the National Communication Association Convention: Miami Beach, FL Nov. 19–23, 2003.
  • Round Pegs and Square Holes: Publishing Texts for Internet Studies. Presented at the Association of Internet Researchers Convention: Toronto, Ontario, CA Oct. 16–19, 2003.
  • Experience and Action: Service-learning and Persuasion Nuts and Bolts—A Discussion Circles Approach. Presented at the National Communication Association Convention: New Orleans, LA Nov. 21–24, 2002.
  • Crossing the Divide through Service (Learning). Presented at the Shaping the Network Society Symposium, Seattle, WA, May 16-19, 2002. [Refereed]
  • Online BBS's, Persuasion, and Service Learning. Presented at the Campus Compact Service-Learning in Communication Workshop, Minneapolis, MN, March 9–10, 2001.
  • Atlas Shrugged: Community in the Large Department. Presented at the National Communication Association Convention: Seattle, WA, Nov. 9–12, 2000.
  • No One Knows You're Really Nice: Teaching Power and Persona through Listservs. Presented at the Southern States Communication Association Convention, Orleans, LA, March 29–April 2, 2000.
  • The Future of CMC Pedagogy: Courses, Concepts, Texts. Presented at the National Communication Association Convention, Chicago, IL, Nov. 4–7, 1999. [Refereed]
  • Fractured Fairy Tales: Slightly Twisted Invention and Arrangement. Presented at the Speech Communication Association Convention in San Diego, Nov. 23–26, 1996. [Refereed]
• Workshops
  • Led workshop titled “Enhancing Service Learning: Syllabi, Assignments, & Reflections,” Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, Oct 4, 2004.
  • Invited participant at the North Carolina Campus Compact/Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Faculty Development Institute, Charlotte, NC, Feb 4–6, 2004.
  • “Syllabi and Outcomes for Service Learning.” Invited presentation at Service Learning Workshop, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC, Oct 31, 2003.
  • “Service Learning Outcomes in Persuasion.” Invited presentation at Service Learning Workshop, Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC, Mar 21, 2003.
  • Keynote Panelist for the North Carolina Campus Compact Service Learning Institute, Elon College, NC, Feb 12, 2003.
  • Panelist at a workshop titled "Service Learning: Bringing the Classroom and the Community Together." Boone, NC, March 29, 2001.
  • Panelist at a workshop entitled "Connecting Campus and Community: Building ASU Partnerships Through Service-Learning." Boone, NC, Oct 17, 2000.
  • Organized and moderated a roundtable discussion on the "Current State of Computer-Mediated Communication Pedagogy" at the American Communication Association Convention: Reno, NV, Oct 23–25, 1998.

Introduction | Discovery | Integration | Application | Teaching | Service/Other