From the President

The Scholarly Side of STC Houston

by George Slaughter, Information Developer, BMC Software

With all the emphasis on professional development that we have in STC Houston, it might be easy to forget that there is a scholarly side to our chapter. This month's column will focus on the research and publishing work of STC Houstonians.

Publishing, Presenting, and Prospering

STC Houstonians have made names for themselves in STC publications over the years. Just over the past 12 months, our colleagues Linda Oestreich and Ann Jennings have published articles in the monthly Intercom magazine. Linda's article, published in the March 2002 issue, discussed four stages of career development. Ann's article, published in the May 2002 issue, discussed how sentence diagramming can be an effective writing tool and offered tips on how it should be taught.

Paul Mueller, our chapter vice president, has an article in this month's edition of the quarterly Technical communication journal. Ann Jennings and Jeff Staples have book reviews in the journal, and Jocelyn Williams, who serves in many capacities for STC Houston, will soon have a book review published in the journal, as will your chapter president.

Publishing your research is one way to help others master knowledge for success. Presenting your research at the STC Annual Conference is another way. Our chapter will have several speakers at this year's STC Annual Conference, which is set for May 18-21 in Dallas. Our May 13 chapter program meeting will give you the chance to preview some of those presentations.

What Do You Say?

Many new STC members ask how they can get involved in chapter activities. The answer is so simple: write for our publications! Writing for our newsletter, or our web site, or one of our Society publications provides you with opportunities to meet leaders in our profession, develop your writing skills, add to your portfolio, and learn new things that will help you—and your colleagues—master knowledge for success.