Hopefully by now you’ve heard about BEA’s On-Location @ Point Park. Maybe you’re already preparing your research and creative scholarship submissions, since the deadlines are approaching quickly. That’s why I’m devoting this month’s column to BEA On-Location.
When we created the concept of a BEA fall “super-regional” conference a few years ago, we did it with several goals in mind. The primary goal was to increase opportunities for our members to present their scholarly research and showcase creative work. We also hoped that the the conference could be an outreach to faculty and students that are unfamiliar with BEA, or can’t make it to the annual conference in Las Vegas. Since the first super-regional, hosted by the University of South Carolina last fall, was such a tremendous success, we decided to continue with the super-regional format – now dubbed BEA On-Location.
By producing BEA On-Location @ Point Park University in Pittsburgh, we’ll provide additional chances to get feedback on work, collaborate on projects, share research, discuss innovative pedagogy, and learn through a series of hands-on training opportunities. The conference will begin on Thursday, September 21st with a full day of training sessions, followed by an opening reception. Paper presentations, panels and screenings of creative work will take place on September 22nd and 23rd. The deadline for submitting paper and panel proposals is June 15th, while the deadline for creative submissions is July15th.
Please take a little bit of time out of your summer schedule to consider submitting materials to BEA On-Location @ Point Park University. I also encourage you to invite your colleagues that aren’t familiar with BEA, or don’t normally participate in the spring BEA conference to participate in On-Location. We’ve been intentional about keeping costs for participation reasonable – for BEA members and non-members alike.
We appreciate the time an energy Point Park University staff are putting into the conference, and I look forward to seeing many of you at BEA On-Location @ Point Park University in September.
Michael Bruce
President, BEA Board of Directors
Associate Professor, Sports Broadcasting | The University of Alabama
