2026 Tennessee Communication Association Conference

Friday, September 18 – Saturday, September 29, 2026
Volunteer State State Community College
Gallatin, Tennessee

“Progression During Retrogression: When Education Rewinds, Communication Leads”

The theme for the 2026 conference explores the evolving challenges within today’s educational landscape, including shifts in policy, funding, and institutional support. Rather than focusing solely on these constraints, this theme invites participants to consider how communication can serve as a tool for adaptability, innovation, and positive change.

In times of institutional transition, communication plays a vital role not only in sustaining education but in shaping its future. This theme highlights the ways educators and scholars are thoughtfully navigating change, fostering dialogue, and building collaborative pathways forward. It encourages the sharing of strategies that promote resilience, ethical engagement, and meaningful advocacy within our institutions.

By focusing on practical approaches and collective insight, the conference aims to explore how communication can help guide institutions toward more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable directions. In doing so, it emphasizes the power of strategic, ethical, and purposeful communication to support both continuity and progress in higher education

Please submit to a paper, panel, or GIFTS proposal at the link below.
https://forms.gle/bV8qx9nQtyokQBis8
The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, July 24, 2026.
We seek GIFTS proposals that relate to the basic communication course (i.e. Fundamentals of Communication, Public Speaking, Introduction to Communication).

1. All GIFTS ideas must
   • Be original to the presenter
   • Not duplicate any other previously published work, including your own previously published work
   • Have been implemented in the classroom
2. Presenters should bring printed handouts with an explanation of the GIFTS activity to the conference/presentation.
3. The GIFTS idea should be able to be explained in 8 minutes or less.

12th Annual TCA Student Short Film Contest and Showcase

Please enter your students’ films in the Tennessee Communication Association’s Short Film Contest and Showcase. Entries are due by Friday, July 24, 2026. The categories are:
• Commercials and PSAs that are 30 – 60-seconds
• Documentaries that are 10-minutes or less
• Short films that are 10-minutes or less
Submit the YouTube Links and Microsoft Word document with the information below for the 2026 TCA Short Film Contest.

Category
Title of Submission
School
Submitted By
Phone Number
Email
Brief Synopsis
YouTube Link

Submit the information in a Microsoft Word document and email at tennesseecommassociation@gmail.com by Friday, July 24, 2026.

It is free to enter students into Student Film Contest and Showcase.
The top films will be put into a 1.5-hour showcase at the conference on Friday evening.
Judges rate the entries, and the top entries will be in the showcase and the winners will be the top rated per category. All directors of the films chosen to be in the showcase will be given a Selected for Screening certificate.

The director of the winning film in each category will be given a certificate and a cash reward. After the showcase, the audience will vote for their favorite film, and the winner will be given the Audience Favorite certificate and cash award.
If you have questions, please contact Dr. Tracy Nichols by email at nicholst@apsu.edu.

Student Scholarship
TCA prides itself for its support of student scholarship. Please pass this invitation along to your students. Remember there are top student paper awards for undergraduate and graduate students.
Please notate all student submissions as Undergraduate or Graduate student on the cover page.
Please upload student paper(s) here: https://forms.gle/1eUeA8vxJTmAMYYZ6
You will need to sign in with a Google account to upload the student paper(s).

For additional information about the 2026 TCA Conference, please contact:
Dr. Karen Hill, TCA President-Elect, Volunteer State Community College, karen.hill@volstate.edu Dr. Shaq Marsh, TCA Executive Director, Pellissippi State Community College, somarsh@pstcc.edu