Letter from Norman, August 2008
Oct 8th, 2008 | By IWCA Web Editor | Category: Letters from the PresidentI am amazed that I can actually say I wrote this “Letter from Norman” while in Norman because I have been traveling more this summer than I have been in Oklahoma.
Yet travel is getting more difficult for all of us; with peak gas prices, airline delays, and shrinking travel budgets, it is a challenge to plan and finance a trip to a conference.
One reason we chose Las Vegas for our next big IWCA/NCPTW conference is that airfares to that location have typically been reasonable. I do hope that you can find support through your institution in order to attend this event.
I am fortunate to have a healthy travel fund and this allows me to visit writing centers all over the world. Knowing that not everyone has the means to globe-trot, the European Writing Centers Association and the IWCA Summer Institute, for example, both offered several sessions as webcasts, thus providing opportunities for viewers to participate in real time. This feature (whether it is called a webinar, webcast, or teleconference) may need to become a fixture at our meetings and conference sessions. As this technology becomes more available and affordable, I encourage regional leaders to look into including webcasts at your meetings and conferences so that more members are included in your events.
My Nana used to tease me and say “you don’t want to miss a trick, do you?” Maybe that is why I like to travel around and visit with you…thanks for inviting me! Here are a few highlights from some recent trips.
EWCA in Freiburg, Germany
We sat on the runway for over four hours before taking off from JFK for a seven hour flight to Paris.
But once there, I had to stop to eat the best falafel in the world.
We then took a train over to Freiburg, Germany for the European Writing Centers Association conference. The local host, Gerd Brauer, offered amazing hospitality, a writing circus, a boat tour, and conference sessions that were memorable. The whole group of attendees, from all over the world, was eager to learn from each other and the trans-continental exchange was rich.
Summer Institute
In July I crashed the Summer Institute, arriving in Madison just in time for Sunday dinner. The purpose of my visit was to officially recognize Paula Gillespie and Brad Hughes for their six year commitment to the institute. In 2003, Paula and Brad launched their idea and the rest is history: over 300 alums are now spread across the U.S., and in such countries as Japan, South Africa, Qatar, Korea, and Canada. With great pleasure, I represented the IWCA and awarded plaques to Paula and Brad at the opening dinner.
Texas A&M
I had the pleasure of visiting Valerie Balester and her staff at Texas A&M later in July. Their writing center is a super space and they have really got it going on in terms of technology too. Steve Sherwood (from TCU) joined us and we worked on the new IWCA web site. I want to thank the terrific staff at Texas A&M (Howdy!) for their work on the website and I also want to thank Steve, who has been chairing our website revision committee, for his leadership on this project. The committee worked all year to provide us with a wish list of features for our new web site, which.
Coming up this academic year:
NCTE in San Antonio
Our next K-12 representative, Jenn Wells, and our current vice president, Roberta Kjesrud, are co-chairing the all-day writing center workshop at NCTE in San Antonio. They have created a fine team of facilitators and a program packed with sessions for K-12 teachers and those at colleges and universities who want to collaborate with them.
IWCA/NCPTW in Las Vegas
Plans are firming up nicely for the joint conference in Las Vegas. The NCPTW reps have planned a Friday night party (and it is not just for peer tutors!), complete with a DJ and Guitar Hero contest. The conference program itself includes several new and special features, including a plenary that spotlights a few of our most promising young scholars. Our main luncheon keynote speaker is Nancy Grimm and Harvey Kail will close our conference with a plenary. According to the conference planning committee, they received a record number of proposals— so the days will be packed with activity: concurrent sessions, SIGs, poster sessions, and meetings. I want to thank Claire Hughes and the big tent committee for working so hard this past year on the conference planning. I am confident the event will be a very stimulating, diverse, and international experience—and as one committee member said recently: we’ll hope that what happens in Vegas, doesn’t stay in Vegas!
IWCA@CCCC
We have the opportunity to do something new with our traditional Wednesday workshop at CCCC. This year we are an independent program that is not tied to CCCC at all, except that they are offering the space to us for no charge. Natalie Singh-Corcoran and Carol Peterson Haviland are the co-chairs. More information on the proposal process is on the website and announced in this newsletter too. I encourage you to propose a presentation or attend the event, which is now called the IWCA Collaborative @CCCC.
A final note: Congratulations to our very own Al DeCiccio (former writing center director, SI leader, and editor of Writing Center Journal) who is the new (and first) Provost at Southern Vermont College. For a glimpse at the process of moving into that position, read his co-authored article at Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2008/08/12/gross
Well, the triple digits temperatures are waning and the grass is browning – telling me that another school year is well underway . . . See you somewhere down the road!
M.
