Abstract
The role and impact of speech communication professional associations on faculty development and career enhancement was examined. Results of a survey of faculty and administrators provided evidence for (a) a hierarchy of reasons for attending conventions, (b) the role of conventions in looking for jobs and for hiring, (c) the importance of convention papers at each of the national and regional conventions in the tenure and promotion decision‐making process, and (d) the importance of journal articles in each of the national and regional journals for assessing tenure and promotion.