[Excerpted from the full article by Nicolette Hylan-King]
At the end December, Jon Olson will conclude his 23-year career as a champion of peer tutoring in writing at Penn State. As associate professor of writing in the Department of English and scholar in residence for writing and communication in Penn State Learning, Olson has mentored generations of peer tutors in writing and shaped the theory and practice that guides Penn State’s writing centers.
Olson’s contributions to the fields of writing program administration and peer tutoring in writing have been recognized with several prestigious appointments and awards. He served as president of the International Writing Centers Association from 2003-05. He received the NCPTW’s Ron Maxwell Award for Distinguished Leadership in Promoting the Collaborative Learning Practices of Peer Tutors in Writing (2008) and the International Writing Center Association’s Muriel Harris Outstanding Service Award (2020).