Message from the Director:
Dear friends,
Our global community has accomplished a great deal since 2005, including 16 congresses, a new journal, and three book series. But now is the time to move on. After talking at length with my family and friends I have decided it is time to step aside from formally directing the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI) on a day-to-day basis and take on the role of Emeritus Director.
Effective October 1, 2020, Michael Giardina will become Director of the Congress. Michael, Professor of Physical Culture and Qualitative Inquiry in the College of Education at Florida State University, has a long history with ICQI, having been one of the founding associate directors in 2005 and maintaining active engagement with the Congress throughout the last 15 years. He is the author or editor of more than 20 books, many of which deal with qualitative research. He is also co-editor of Qualitative Inquiry (QI), co-editor of Cultural Studies/Critical Methodologies (CSCM), co-editor of International Review for Qualitative Research (IRQR), editor of the Sociology of Sport Journal (SSJ), co-editor of three book series on qualitative research for Routledge (Foundations & Futures in Qualitative Inquiry; Qualitative Research in Sport & Physical Activity; ICQI Series), and, with myself, Yvonna Lincoln, and Gaile Cannella, co-editor of the forthcoming SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research (6th Edition).
James Salvo, lecturer in the College of Education at Wayne State University, will continue to serve as Associate Director of ICQI. He has been an integral part of ICQI since its inception, and will provide executive leadership support in the planning and production of the annual Congress meetings. With Jasmine Ulmer, he co-edits both the Developing Traditions in Qualitative Inquiry book series with Routledge and the forthcoming Routledge Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. He is the co-editor of the New Directions in Theorizing Qualitative Research book series (Myers Education Press) emanating from the Congress and Associate Editor of New Directions for QI, CSCM, and IRQR. He is also the author of Reading Autoethnography: Reflections on Justice & Love (Routledge, 2020) and Writing & Unrecognized Academic Labor: The Rejected Manuscript (Routledge, 2020).
The remainder of the senior leadership of ICQI is composed of the following Assistant Directors:
Tony E. Adams, Bradley University, USA
Kakali Bhattacharya, University of Florida, USA
Durrell Callier, Miami University, USA
Devika Chawla, Ohio University, USA
Marcelo Diversi, Washington State University-Vancouver, USA
Aitor Gómez González University Rovira i Virgili, Spain
Emily Ignacio, University of Washington-Tacoma, USA
D. Soyini Madison, Northwestern University, USA
Claudio Moreira, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, USA
Pamela Zapata-Sepúlveda, University of Tarapacá, Chile
Additionally, Mitch Allen will continue in his role as Ambassador-at-Large for the Congress.
ICQI is held annually on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Founded in 2005, its mission is to facilitate the development of qualitative research methods across a wide variety of academic disciplines. ICQI provides leadership to demonstrate the promise of qualitative inquiry as a form of democratic practice, to show how qualitative inquiry can be used to directly engage pressing social issues at the level of local, state, national and global communities. The Congress sponsors the journal International Review of Qualitative Research (IRQR), three book series, and occasional publications based upon the more than 1,000 papers given at the conference each year. It the largest annual gathering of qualitative scholars in the world.
In closing, I wish to thank the many people who have made the Congress a success over the years. I have been privileged to have the opportunity to provide a nurturing home for qualitative work. I will continue to be involved in Congress behind the scenes, and look forward to seeing you all at the 2021 Congress—let’s get the BBQ started. I wish the very best success for Michael, James, and the ICQI family.
— Norman K. Denzin