Prezi: http://prezi.com/jazpsrf9kxd6/international-writing-centers-association-2011-year-in-review/

Screencast: http://screencast.com/t/q9SI2bwaWy

Professional Development—Since shrinking travel budgets threaten access to professional development events particularly for the most under-resourced, we recognize the need to create quality, highly accessible development resources.  To this end, we are moving forward with web-based initiatives, including writing a new web-based publishing charge for the vacant IWCA Press editorship and planning online talk times featuring hot topics. Led by Valerie Balester, Chris Ervin.

Regional Leaders Institute—Extending the professional development theme, we recognize the need to equip and support regional leaders in offering low-cost local and micro-regional development events.  Convening for the first time in Baltimore as a roundtable focused on swapping ideas, this Institute will implement phase two in Atlanta with a focus there on drafting concrete regional professional development plans. Led by Roberta Kjesrud, Kevin Dvorak, Shareen Grogan.

Research Network—Supporting professionals engaged in designing and publishing quality research, we implemented the first two Research Network Forums at the Louisville Collaborative and Baltimore IWCA/NCPTW.  There’s another planned for the Atlanta Collaborative, and down the line, we hope to add a virtual component to serve between conferences.  Led by Chris Ervin, Shareen Grogan.

Mentor Matching—In a pilot initiative, we are adapting the CWPA cup-of-coffee model by pairing in-crisis writing center professionals with geographically proximal colleagues for ongoing mutual mentoring and collaboration. Led by Karen Rowan, Dan Melzer.

Two-Year Subcommittee—Given that writing centers in two year schools are particularly vulnerable in this economy, we have charged this group with identifying challenges facing two year-schools and with identifying resources and creative approaches to address them. Convened originally as a task force, the Two-Year group was given subcommittee status as a way to recognize the ongoing needs of this important member constituency.  A parallel K-12 Subcommittee is forming.  Two-Year led by Dawn Mendoza, Brandi Blahnik, Clint Gardner, Curtis Burdette, Jill Reglan, Sherri Winans; K-12 led by Andrew Jeter.

Anti-Racism SIG—This year, several of the standing SIGs have moved from talk to action, and because they have, the Board is considering a new caucus structure.  Meanwhile, the Board is currently discussing the new position statement against linguistic intolerance, as drafted by the Anti-Racism SIG.  Led by Frankie Condon.

If you have an interest in working with any of the task forces or have feedback for your IWCA Executive Board, please know we’d be happy to hear from you.  Hope to see you at the Collaborative in Atlanta!

In this letter, I plan to

• Introduce IWCA officers and board,
• Summarize Board Biz, and
• Invite your thoughts and ideas.

If you are anything like I was before I got involved in this enterprise, you may be only vaguely aware of IWCA governance. Who does what? Why? Why should we care? Fair questions! So let me tell you more about Board processes. Although I can’t promise this information will transform your daily writing centered life, I can tell you that the Board very much wants to advance writing centers as an integral teaching and learning enterprise—and we invite your participation in dialogue around this goal.

By way of introduction, on November 21, 2009, at NCTE, we saw the passing of the IWCA gavels (there are two, one for each hand, maybe?). Before I introduce the new officers, let’s acknowledge those stepping into a well-earned break—Clint Gardner (Past President) and Dawn Fels (Secretary). If you see these people in your travels, please thank them for their stellar work—they deserve our enthusiastic appreciation! Continuing in leadership will be Michele Eodice (now Past President, but I call her the Queen Mum), and Harry Denny (Treasurer). As fortunate as we are to rely on their leadership for another two years (yippee!), we also have new officers amongst us (huzzah!), Vice President Nathalie Singh-Corcoran and Secretary Kerri Jordan. And I’ve stepped up from VP to President. If you’ve ever wondered just who represents you on the IWCA Board, visit http://writingcenters.org/governance to find out.

Given this new decade brings some intense challenges for sustaining writing centers, we started our December Board meeting by throwing out our usual agenda. Instead we enjoyed dialogue around two talking points: summarizing past successes and brainstorming priorities for a new decade. Nineteen board members participated in the discussion via virtual classroom. Here are some of our thoughts.

Successes from Decade 2000

Strong regionals: Regional representatives to the Board, including Europe, report strong and growing participation. Although some may feel national conferences are more rigorous, in fact the strong presence of students at regional conferences really fires up the level of engagement and encourages professionals to embrace “unconference” innovations (see the MWCA for more on the unconference philosophy). Particularly challenged by the weak economy, SWCA leaders are planning multi-site mini-regionals, so that professional development remains affordable for both peers and directors.

Student voices: Given students’ generative role in our scholarship, the initiative to plan conjoined IWCA/NCPTW conferences is a previous success we will carry forward into at least the first conference of the new decade, IWCA/NCPTW 2010, Baltimore.

Professional development: The IWCA actively supports professional development in multiple ways, including awarding research grants, acknowledging outstanding scholarship, supporting the Summer Institute, sponsoring the now-yearly IWCA Collaborative at Cs and the now-biennial IWCA conference, and offering materials through the website.

Priorities for Decade 2010

Advocacy strategies: Given threatening economic pressures, many expressed a need for research and models directors can leverage to advocate for programs amongst university, community college, and K-12 campus communities. Some ideas include program assessment using external evaluators, political action strategies, a collection of assessments and results, and an advocacy section on the website.

Expanding the Summer Institute (SI): Two ideas surfaced for expanding the SI: run two tracks, one for new-career and one for mid-career directors, or, use the Institute to equip regional scholars to facilitate Institutes in multiple regions. Doing the latter would make this extended professional development opportunity accessible to more people.

New website server: Although the new website design is highly attractive, functionality has been limited by server difficulties. Migrating to a full-service server is a top priority for the web editorial committee.

Policy on honoring multiliteracies: The IWCA should develop a policy advocating a pedagogy of multiliteracies honoring the linguistic differences of multilingual and multicultural writers. The NCTE Board recently passed a resolution we may be able to endorse.

If by now you are thinking the IWCA is a vibrant organization with impressive accomplishments, I heartily agree. And how wonderful that our Board representatives aren’t content with laurel-resting but instead have a rich vision for moving ahead! Although I’m tempted to say “let’s get to it,” I want to linger in this new-decade envisioning space long enough to allow the membership a voice in shaping our agenda. For a moment, let’s just pause from our doing and reconnect with what this work means to us.

May I set the stage with a seeming non sequitur (I’ll connect, I promise)? Does anyone remember the children’s TV show Romper Room? For those who aren’t of a certain age (and no, I won’t be specific about what that age is), the hostess, Miss Nancy, used to peer through an imaginary mirror into her TV audience, saying: “Romper, bomper, stomper, boo; tell me, Magic Mirror, do: have all my friends had fun at play? I see Suzie, and Sammy, and Antonio, and Kelly….” Even though she never called my name, I was convinced Miss Nancy could see me.

So this is your Board, asking you to imagine we see YOU, because we really do want to know if you’ve had fun at play today. Given new pressures created by challenging times, many of us have more difficulty than ever associating “fun” and “play” with writing center work. Of course frustration has its place in goal-setting. But I’d really like to anchor our envisioning in fun, because I think goals that emerge from play fuel our passion for this work. And I’m convinced that as we sustain ourselves, we also sustain the heart of our pedagogy.

So here’s Miss Roberta asking you: “How have you had fun at play today? In what ways can the IWCA make your work more fun, more playful, more fulfilling, more sustainable?”

So while the tulips try to poke through the fresh sleet here, I am looking not just over the past twenty years, but the past two months, and I want to share what I have learned.

Middle-East-North Africa Writing Centers Conference
In February I visited the United Arab Emirates University and met their peer tutors.  As is the case in many Muslim countries, the school is segregated for classes and even for cafeterias. At UAEU there is a men’s writing center and a women’s writing center and for the occasion of the Middle East-North Africa Writing Centers Association Conference, the men’s center was open to all.

Here is a view of conference participants working on an activity facilitated by Mark Hill, the director of the men’s writing center.  Recently they held a poetry slam there and on the board in the back of the room are photos and bios of all the peer tutors.

I not certain how to say this without sounding naïve, or sounding as if I am erasing the important, real, and valuable differences between our cultures, but I found the students so much like those in the United States.  The peer tutors in this region struggle with their schedules, get recognized on campus as “that guy in the writing center,” and forget their lunch money.  They are interested in making sure students are comfortable and productive, as evidenced by a presentation given by peer tutors from the American University of Sharjah.  Just like the peer tutors outside my office door right now, they like to talk about writing, movies, graduate school plans, and family news.

Jennie Murray, one of the conference co-chairs, asked Saif Ali Ahmed to be my local host and driver.  We shared some good talks together; here is his answer to my question about what he is really excited about academically: “I want figure out how things get built and then build more things.”  He is an engineering major and a peer writing tutor in the men’s writing center.

Saif Ali Ahmed from Dubai with me at the luncheon

Peer tutors from both the men’s and the women’s writing centers at United Arab Emirates University wore yellow sashes to let the conference guests know that they were local hosts.

Following this conference, Cecelia Hawkins, soon to be returning to the U.S. from her time at Texas A & M, Qatar, put a web resource page up: http://tcc.qatar.tamu.edu/1865.aspx

. Take a look and I know you will agree that this is much needed model for our regional web pages; imagine collecting the session handouts, the videos and PowerPoint slides, and the panel talks after your regional conference and creating a kind of conference proceedings online.

Read more about the conference in the UAE Writing Center’s newsletter at http://www.ugr.uaeu.ac.ae/writing_centre/docs/newsletterissue5.pdf .

IWCA Collaborative at CCCCs

In March the CCCCs in San Francisco offered another opportunity for IWCA to meet directors and peer tutors from all over the world.  Thanks to Carol Haviland and Nathalie Singh-Corcoran, co-chairs of this first Collaborative, the day was both fun and stimulating.  The Writing Circus was a highlight – the interaction and noise and creativity of the circus performers got us all thinking about the “three ring” ways our writing centers often operate.

See the Collaborative in action, thanks to Rob Lee, IWCA unofficial official photographer.
Community

Finally, after listening to President Obama’s education speech I was struck by two recommendations: first, Obama wants to reward good teaching.  If that truly happens, I expect that many writing center directors from K-20 should be recognized.  The work we do every day is teaching and some of the best kind: at the point of need, with and not to others, and in the spirit of collaboration.

Second, Obama and I agree that schools (the buildings themselves) are seriously underused and we need to think about how to expand the hours for the community.  The proposed longer school days, longer school years, and more “open door” access for local learners, offers a perfect opportunity for writing centers; seize this day!  Get involved with your local school district somehow and propose an afterhours writing center satellite.  Figure out how to provide mini-modules for local learners who want to write their memoirs or a letter to the landlord.  Work on getting the cross age tutoring going by creating an afterschool program for young writers, like 826 Valencia (http://www.826valencia.org/), drawing from your regional teaching college and inviting students preparing to teach to join you in an internship or service learning experience.

With these tough economic times, we need to show that we have something to offer all the time to all people.  If and when the happy days are here again, we can collect that IOU from the dean and hire a bunch of new people, buy new computers, and throw more hard candy around.  But for now, we need to realize that most relationships are free and can show a great return on investment.

Most of us move toward middle age by letting our belt slip to a next opening…we pretend not to notice how we are no longer letting that buckle slip into the most used and worn in comfortable slot…now we have to pass by it…we have a little extra to take care of…we have to let the belt expand.

So belt-tightening does not often happen on our bodies…but it is certainly happening in our centers.   At recent IWCA and NCTE conferences we noticed many sessions were cancelled as travel funding was yanked at the last minute.   Writing centers are not alone; most colleges and universities have announced system-wide hiring freezes, budget cuts in operating expenses, and a distinct cut in professional development support.

Professional development support is usually the first to get cut in a budget.   Seen as extraneous and easy to dismiss as not vital to the daily operations, professional development is certainly misunderstood and undervalued.  Even if we figure out how to make it clear to our institutions how vital professional development opportunities are for us, we may not gain the necessary financial support to participate.

So…

We’ll need now to be creative in seeking professional development opportunities and start by tapping into our existing resources:

News & Forecast for 2009

• The elections for officer positions: February 2, 2008
• Research awards: deadlines for applications January and July
• Best book and Best article will be decided and announced March 2009 at CCCC in San Francisco
• Future IWCA locations will be decided – send a proposal by February 2, 2009
• Committees will be working on membership, conferences and institutes, and web development
• Summer Institute: Temple University July 2009

Our web site offers more details on all of these news items…please check in often!
www.writingcenters.org

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.

Last year my letter from Norman noted the wild weather patterns we experience in our home towns and inside our institutions. A year later I have to say that wild weather is still with us: the December ice storm here in Oklahoma altered our campus landscape dramatically, downing almost 1,000 trees. The first order of
business was replanting in order to replicate the familiar look of our campus; our trademark ovals looked too bare and no longer resembled the historic photos that evoked nostalgia for alums. One thing I asked myself: why do we cling to pictures of how things used to be in order to preserve what we perceive as the way things always looked to us? Why don’t unexpected natural disasters that wipe out the past invite us to re-envision the future?

In the same way, why don’t major shifts within our institutions invite innovation? We often lose opportunities when we scramble to simply return to the way things have always been done. When there is a personnel shake up, a bad budget year, a move to a new location, writing centers often take shelter. What would happen if we poked our heads out and said, hey, this could push us to try something different, something new, something we did not plan for.

The small town of Greensburg, Kansas is a good example.

On the night of May 4, 2007, 95% of our homes and businesses were destroyed by a massive EF5 tornado that was nearly 2 miles wide. Although this storm was devastating to our community, we
are presented with an incredible opportunity to show the world our strength and to create a new future
for those who will live here. We strongly believe that we will be back, better than ever, and will be a model for rural America.

Greensburg’s community recovery goals include a “green” agenda for each new project and the building of a Business Incubator to provide entrepreneurs a place to collaborate and generate ideas and support.
Writing centers might begin by converting problems to opportunities. We viewed the inundation of students
in the first year orientation course, who were required to visit us, as a problem. Now, we prepare for that time in the semester when we know they will come in. What once frustrated us – “my teacher made me come
here” or “just sign my paper that I was here” – provided a new challenge to understanding what students
could not possibly know in advance. With few high school writing centers in Oklahoma, most of our first year students had no way of knowing what to expect. In one of our staff education meetings, we talked about what it is like to know how something works, a cafeteria, an iPod, a poem. We uncovered how uninterested, even resistant or down-right scared, we might be to encounter a place and a pedagogy – or site and method (Boquet) – that we have yet to experience in our learning histories. Now our consultants realize they are insiders who already know the schema and are better positioned to help orient these students by telling them how learning might work for them in this environment. This is not inauthentic authority over less experienced students – it is mentoring and leadership at its best. We join in a common effort to help each other learn.

In the coming year I hope to see many of you at conferences. I have had the privilege of attending several regional conferences in my role as vice president and now as president of IWCA, and some photos from my visits are included in this newsletter. Please know too that you are always welcome to visit Norman!