Introduction: Promoting a Sustainable Collective Identity for Technical and Professional Communication

Building from its early history and connection to engineering, computer science, and scientific fields, technical and professional communication (TPC) now addresses a range of industries, organizations, sites, and locations including everything from technology to healthcare to nonprofits. TPC practices are central to facilitating complex communication concerns, with increasingly specialized subject matter, delivered and circulated through sophisticated emerging technologies. These ongoing changes are matched by the field’s long-standing commitment to building flexible and ethical communication knowledge and practices. TPC is both a growing range of career opportunities and a thriving academic field represented by a growing number of degree programs and teacher-scholars across the country. This range of interests and stakeholders is both a strength and a challenge for our field. Some 20 years ago, Johndan Johnson-Eilola and Stuart Selber (2001) cautioned,