It’s Time to Make Your Plans to Attend the IWCA Writing Center Summer Institute
Imagine five days of stimulating discussions with writing center colleagues from the U.S. and abroad, changing hearts and minds about matters of teaching and learning, sharing insights and practices about technology and assessment, and discovering new approaches to help your tutors better understand and help second-language writers. Imagine all this taking place this summer at a lovely resort in the lush, green mountains of western Pennsylvania.
If you’ve been thinking about attending a Writing Center Summer Institute, start making plans for this summer! Plans for the Summer Institute are well under way and it’s shaping up to be a feast for writing center minds and souls. Registration is open! Scholarships are available, and you can apply now.
The IWCA Summer Institute is ideal for current or would-be writing center directors and assistants, writing program administrators, tutors, writing teachers (high school or college), curriculum developers, graduate students, and academic leaders both in the U.S. and abroad. Institute leaders offer presentations and roundtable discussions on a variety of topics and issues. Because of the low participant-to-leader ratio and limited enrollment, there are many opportunities to talk one-on-one with leaders and other participants throughout the week.
Leaders for the 2012 Writing Center Summer Institute:
· Tammy Conard-Salvo, Purdue University
· Brian Fallon, Fashion Institute of Technology
· Nancy Grimm, Michigan Technological University
· Melissa Ianetta, University of Delaware
· Jennifer Wells, Florida State University, formerly Mercy High School
· Ben Rafoth, SI co-chair, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
· Nathalie Singh-Corcoran, SI co-chair, West Virginia University
The 2012 Summer Institute will be held July 29-August 3, 2012 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, located about one hour?s drive southeast of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the beautiful Laurel Mountain region. Air travel is to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). For more information, including registration, please visit http://iwcasummerinstitute.com/ or contact the institute co-chairs: Ben Rafoth (brafoth@iup.edu) and Nathalie Singh-Corcoran (Nathalie.Singh-Corcoran@mail.wvu.edu).
http://iwcasummerinstitute.com/
Space is limited. Scholarships are available. Visit our website!
ECWCA is pleased to announce that it will offer a select number of travel awards for the 2012 conference in Indianapolis. The awards will be given to presenters at the 2012 ECWCA Conference who are from institutions in the region that have not previously presented at the conference or have not presented in the last 3 years.
Please let us know if your institution is new to the ECWCA conference or has not attended the conference in the last 3 years.
Travel awards scholarships cover only registration fees and are limited in number.
To apply please send the following to Trixie Smith
(smit1254@msu.edu):
• Name
• Institution
• Email address
• Presentation title
DEADLINE: March 1, 2012
Each year the East Central Writing Center Association acknowledges the outstanding service provided by tutor/consultants throughout the region. Designed to celebrate the contributions of undergraduate-student, graduate- student, and staff writing center tutors, these awards serve not only to publicly acknowledge deserving tutor/consultants, but also to support and sustain the important work of writing centers for campuses and larger communities for another generation. Two awards, one in each category explained below, are presented each year.
Outstanding Tutor of the Year Award: This award recognizes innovative approaches to tutoring/consulting, the quality of work with writers, and the articulation of a tutoring/consulting philosophy. While any member of the writing center staff who tutors may be nominated for the Outstanding Tutor of the Year award, it is generally given to those who hold tutoring positions.
Tutor Leadership Award: This award recognizes the leadership contributions of undergraduate-student, graduate-student, and staff writing center tutors, including but not limited to administrative work, development of new programs, writing center training innovations, presentation of writing center work in academic and non-academic forums, work with special populations, and creativity. While any tutor may be nominated for the Tutor Leadership Award, it is generally given to tutors who hold positions of leadership in their writing centers: for instance, assistants to the director, assistant directors, and graduate students are the most likely candidates for this award.
Awards: $200 Cash Award and Award Certificate
Guidelines for nominations and award criteria is available here [pdf].
The nominating person should attach the forms in an email to Trixie Smith, Awards Committee Chair (smit1254@msu.edu)
Deadline: February 29, 2012
This year’s ECWCA conference, with the theme “It’s the End of the World As We Know It: Negotiating Change in a Writing Center Context,” will be held on the campus of IUPUI in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 30–31, 2012. Interested in presenting or attending? Check out the conference website.
The East Central Writing Centers Association is pleased to accept applications for two student editorial positions for our newsletter, ECWCA. This is an exciting opportunity for students within our organization to gain valuable professional experience working as Associate and Assistant Editors. See our call for applications. The application deadline is February 19, 2012, with positions starting following the 2012 conference in Indianapolis and continuing through the 2013 conference. Contact Anthony Garrison for further details.
The ECWCA Board is pleased to accept applications from institutions within the ECWCA region to host the 2013 or a future conference. Please send applications or any questions about hosting the conference or the application process to Jackie Grutsch McKinney at jrmckinney@bsu. We encourage you to review the Conference Planning Guide, which contains detailed information about hosting ECWCA Conferences, and read our Comments from Previous Chairs document which includes testimonials about the benefits of hosting.
