AWAC Election Results

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Congratulations to all of our new AWAC board members!

Dear AWAC Members:

The AWAC Executive Committee is very pleased to announce the results of the 2022 AWAC Election.

AWAC welcomes these individuals to the AWAC Executive Board in the following roles:

  • Incoming Chair: Justin Rademaekers, Associate Professor of English, West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Justin has been serving as AWAC secretary for the past three years.
  • Secretary: Karen Moroski-Rigney, Associate Director of the Writing Center, Michigan State University. Karen is new to AWAC leadership, and we welcome her to the AWAC Executive Committee. She will serve a three-year term.
  • Treasurer: Laurie Britt-Smith, Director of the Center for Writing, College of Holy Cross. Laurie will serve a second three-year term as AWAC treasurer.
  • Communication Committee Chair: Chrystal Fodrey, Director of the Writing Program at Moravian University. Chrystal has served on the AWAC Communication Committee since 2020 and will serve a two-year term as Chair.
  • WAC Graduate Organization Chair: Barbara Green, Assistant Chair of Composition and Writing Across the Curriculum at Purdue University Global. Barbara is new to the AWAC Executive Board and will serve a one-year term.

We look forward to working with all of our new AWAC board members. The new terms begin July 1, 2022. Congratulations to all!

Sincerely,
The AWAC Executive Committee
Ann Blakeslee, Chair
Doug Hesse, Incoming Chair
Stacey Sheriff, Outgoing Chair
Justin Rademaekers, Secretary
Laurie Britt-Smith, Treasurer
Sherri Craig, Member-at-large
Paula Rosinski, Member-at-larger

Congratulations to the WAC Clearinghouse!

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Support for Ukraine

Statement of Support for Ukraine

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On behalf of our respective editorial boards, we share the news that the WAC Clearinghouse and the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum have issued the following statement of support for Ukraine.

The WAC Clearinghouse Editorial Board and the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (AWAC) Executive Board stand with the board of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) in expressing solidarity with our colleagues who are affected by the Russian government’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, which we recognize as a violation of international laws, an attack on human rights, and a threat to civilized society. We also stand in solidarity with our colleagues at institutions of higher education in Russia whose rights and freedom have been threatened by their government for speaking out against this unjust war.

The boards of the WAC Clearinghouse and AWAC also join EATAW in pledging our help and support to our Ukrainian colleagues who are directly impacted by this unprovoked violence. This may include virtual consulting and class visits, scholarly resources, and support for the development and publication of anthologies as work is undertaken to rebuild and strengthen educational programs and institutions. Together, we express our strong collective desire for an end to this conflict and the preservation of Ukraine’s independence.

We encourage other professional organizations in writing studies to join us in extending support for our colleagues in Ukraine and Russia and seeking a peaceful resolution to this conflict.

Mike Palmquist, Publisher, The WAC Clearinghouse
Professor of English
Colorado State University
mike.palmquist@colostate.edu

Ann Blakeslee, Chair, Association for Writing Across the Curriculum – on behalf of the AWAC Executive Board
Professor of English
Eastern Michigan University
ablakesle@emich.edu

Website launched for the Exemplary WAC Program Awards

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A new website has been launched for the Exemplary WAC Program Awards!

Purpose and Overview of Awards

Three Exemplary WAC Program awards will be issued each award cycle, corresponding with the years dedicated to program building as specified below. This structure affirms that excellence occurs at all levels and honoring this excellence at different stages is important to advance writing across the curriculum at individual institutions as well as more generally as a field. Accordingly, the Exemplary WAC Program Awards series recognizes the extraordinary achievements of WAC directors and/or administrative teams to establish, maintain, and sustain programs that foster and facilitate exemplary engagement with writing across the curriculum at their institution, as well as institutional commitments to support these achievements. Such recognition can help programs build their reputations within their institutions, maintain and enhance their funding, and create momentum for writing across the curriculum. Award-winning programs will be recognized at IWAC, profiled on the WAC Clearinghouse and AWAC websites, and invited to host an AWAC workshop during the upcoming academic year. In this way, the Awards series also aims to support fledgling and future programs by identifying models and establishing a new venue for mentorship. The Awards series is sponsored by the WAC Clearinghouse and the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.

Awards

Award for Exemplary Emerging WAC Program (1-5 years)

Award for Exemplary Established WAC Program (6-10 years)

Award for Exemplary Enduring WAC Program (11+ years)

Access more information at the website here:

https://wac.colostate.edu/community/awards/programs/

The official call for nominations is expected within the next few days.

2021 Election Results

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Congratulations to the following new members of the AWAC Executive Board:

Incoming Chair, Executive Committee
Doug Hesse, University of Denver
(chairs rotate through 1-year terms as Incoming, Current, and Outgoing chair)

Members-at-Large (2-year term)
Sherri Craig, Westchester University
Paula Rosinski, Elon University

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Chair (2-year term)
Co-Chairs Swan Kim | LaKeisha McClary (Confirmed)

International Collaborations Committee Chair (2-year term)
Co-Chairs Chris Anson | Federico Navarro (Confirmed)

Mentoring Committee Chair (2-year term)
Co-Chairs Amy Cicchino | Lindsay Clark (Confirmed)

Research and Publications Committee Chair (2-year term)
Co-Chairs Heather Falconer |Chris Basgier (Confirmed)

WAC Graduate Organization AWAC Committee Chair (1-year term)
Mandy Olejnik, Miami University of Ohio (Confirmed)

WAC Summer Institute Committee Chair (2-year term)
Alisa Russell, Wake Forest University (Confirmed)

Partnerships Committee Chair (2-year term)
Brad Jacobsen, University of Texas El Paso (Confirmed)

Note: Board Members assume their roles on July 1, 2021.

Ballot Question #1: Approved.
The following italicized text shall be added to bylaw 5.03 Terms:
4. Chairs of standing committees shall serve two-year terms. The WAC-GO AWAC Committee chair is an exception; this chair shall serve a one-year term.

Announcing AWAC Writing Groups!

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During this time of continued social distancing, campus closures, and remote instruction, you may be feeling disconnected from your professional communities. To help build community support for our members, the AWAC Research and Publications Committee is proud to announce a new initiative to match interested members together into writing groups! Writing groups typically take one of three forms, but of course group members can decide how they want their groups to run (e.g., synchronous versus asynchronous).

  • Concurrent Writing Group (Low time commitment, low interaction, little structure): Participants meet weekly and write at the same time. Participants might check in on their progress at the beginning and/or end of the session.
  • Accountability Writing Group (Low time commitment, high interaction, moderate structure): Participants meet weekly to discuss progress on last week’s goals, set goals for the upcoming week, and share.
  • Peer Response Group (Moderate time commitment, high interaction, moderate structure): Participants meet weekly to give feedback on developing drafts. Response Groups can choose for all members to share a bit of writing (about two pages) every week or focus on one member’s longer draft each week.

Writing groups are open to current AWAC members. Please visit the AWAC membership page to become a member.

If you are already a member and are interested in participating in a writing group, please fill out this registration survey by Sunday, August 30th. We will respond to participants with their group contact information and additional resources by Tuesday, September 8th. If you have any questions, please contact Chris Basgier, Interim Co-Chair of the AWAC Research and Publications Committee, at chris.basgier@auburn.edu.

Call for Mentors & Mentees: WAC-GO Cross-Institutional Mentoring Project

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The Writing Across the Curriculum Graduate Organization (WAC-GO) is pleased to call for mentors and mentees to participate in the 2020-21 Cross-Institutional Mentoring Project.

Because many graduate students interested in WAC do not have access to mentoring relationships or WAC coursework at their institutions, the Cross-Institutional Mentoring Project pairs graduate students interested in WAC/WID work with faculty mentors at a different institution.

Participants in the program define and develop their reciprocal mentoring relationship by setting their own goals, expectations, and activities over the academic year. Participants are encouraged to commit no more than 6 hours per semester on the mentoring project. This Best Practices guide details more ideas and expectations for mentors and mentees in the program. 

To become a mentor or mentee: Complete this brief, 8-minute survey (https://forms.gle/XbKm4Nfvs5zoHMWRA) by August 24, 2020. 

We will only use these survey results to best match mentors and mentees based on shared interests and goals. 

Email wacgo10@gmail.com with any questions you may have. We look forward to making connections across institutions!

2020 WACSI Has Been Postponed to August 1-4, 2021

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Those registered for the 2020 WACSI will receive first priority for what is now the 2021 WACSI.

2020 AWAC Annual Open Business Meeting via Zoom

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All are welcome to attend the 2020 AWAC Annual Open Business Meeting, which will take place via Zoom on Tuesday, June 9, 3:30-5:00 pm EDT.

At this meeting, the Executive Board will present the annual report and committees will lead small group discussions to share activities, ask for feedback, and gather ideas.

AWAC members will be emailed a Zoom link; non-AWAC members are welcome and may register here to receive the Zoom link.

Seeking nominations for AWAC/WAC Clearinghouse Awards

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The Association for Writing Across the Curriculum and the WAC Clearinghouse are seeking nominations for awards that recognize contributions to the WAC community through scholarship and achievements. 

Awardees will be recognized at the 2021 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference (IWAC). Winners will receive an engraved plaque; winners will also be listed on the AWAC website and receive a letter for their promotion and/or tenure files.

Nomination deadline: March 1, 2021. Self-nominations are welcomed and encouraged.

Originally, these awards were planned to be given at the 2020 IWAC Conference. As the conference was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new deadline was set. Nominations collected during 2019 will remain included.

Questions may be directed to Mike Palmquist (mike.palmquist@colostate.edu) and Michelle Cox (michelle.cox@cornell.edu).

See below for award criteria and nomination information for each award.

Publication Awards

These awards recognize significant contributions to WAC scholarship. All nominated publications must have been published in 2018, 2019, or 2020. To make a nomination, email a brief letter with the following information to the award committee chair: bibliographic information for the work being nominated; a brief (250 word) rationale for your nomination; if handy, the email address(es) of the author(s) of the work being nominated; if handy, a PDF of or link to an open-access version of the work being nominated. If the work is a non-open-access book, the award committee chair will contact the publisher for copies. 

Award Description Award Committee Chair
Best WAC Monograph This award recognizes the best authored book (including books by multiple authors) that makes an exceptional contribution to WAC scholarship, including (but not limited to) WAC programming, administration, pedagogy, and impact.  Susan Wolff Murphy
susan.murphy@tamucc.edu 
Best WAC Edited Collection This award recognizes the best edited collection that makes an exceptional contribution to WAC scholarship, including (but not limited to) WAC programming, administration, pedagogy, and impact.  David Russell
drrussel@iastate.edu 
Best WAC Dissertation This award recognizes the best dissertation that makes an exceptional contribution to WAC scholarship, including (but not limited to) WAC programming, administration, pedagogy, and impact. The dissertation must have been accepted by a degree-granting institution and the writer of the dissertation must have received the degree during 2018, 2019, or 2020. Joan Mullin
jmulli40@uncc.edu  
Best WAC Article or Chapter Focused on Research This award recognizes a research-based article or chapter that makes an exceptional contribution to WAC. Nominated work should primarily offer the methodology and results of a research study, even if the findings have programmatic, theoretical, or pragmatic implications. Mya Poe
m.poe@northeastern.edu
Best WAC Article or Chapter Focused on Pedagogy, Theory, or Practice This award recognizes the best article or chapter that makes an exceptional contribution to WAC scholarship in the areas of pedagogy, theory or practice. Nominated work should primarily offer us theoretical ways of approaching WAC work, discussions of program design and operation, or insights regarding pedagogy, even if this work is based in research. Heather Falconer
heather.falconer@curry.edu

Achievement Awards

These awards recognize significant contributions of scholars who have made significant contributions to the field of WAC through scholarship, service, or innovative program administration. To make a nomination, email a brief letter with the following information to the award committee chair: the name of the nominee; a brief (250 word) rationale for your nomination; if handy, the email address of the nominee.

Award Description Award committee chair
Early Career Contributions to the Field This award recognizes early career scholars (i.e. graduate students and scholars in the first nine years of their academic career) who have made significant contributions to the field of WAC through scholarship, service, and/or innovative program administration.  Bill Macauley, Jr.
wmacauleyjr@unr.edu
Distinguished Fellow This award recognizes distinguished scholars (i.e. scholars in field for 10 years plus) who have made significant contributions to the field of WAC through scholarship, service, or innovative program administration.   Brian Hendrickson
bhendrickson@rwu.edu 
Diversity and Inclusion This award recognizes scholars (i.e. graduate students, early career, and distinguished) who have promoted diversity and inclusion in the field of WAC through scholarship, service, or innovative program administration.   Maureen Ann Mathison
maureen.mathison@utah.edu