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The article announces the planned 90th Annual Meeting of the National Communication Association in Chicago, Illinois. The theme encourages participants to consider what the past can tell them about the future as a discipline and what the future can help them treasure and retrieve from the past. Programs that respond to the convention theme are emerging in communication studies. Members are encouraged to submit papers electronically to the appropriate unit or affiliate planners for competitive selection. The complete call for papers for the 2004 convention will be available online by December 15, 2004.

This article discusses the agenda of Martha Solomon Watson, a candidate for second vice president at the National Communication Association (NCA) in 2002. To strengthen the future of the NCA, Watson believes that the organization should: extend opportunities for undergraduates to engage in research and provide encouragement for their efforts; recognize achievements of undergraduates through regional and national research awards; and aggressively pursue funding to provide travel scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students to attend national meetings. Moreover, Watson suggests on ways to serve graduate students. One of these ways is by seeking to expand the existing Doctoral Honors Seminar. The NCA also should explore program formats for national conventions that bring the students into conversation with scholars. In addition, to advance the communication discipline, she believes that the NCA should expand sponsorship of programs like the former Hope Institute for Faculty Development and explore development and/or sponsorship of smaller research based conferences. And to further the strategic planning process, Watson proposes that the NCA should initiate strategic planning meetings with NCA leadership and leadership of regional and affiliate associations to build cooperation.