The Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre (RGASC) at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) invites applications for a teaching-stream position as a Writing Specialist. We seek an enthusiastic and innovative instructor to coordinate academic writing programming across the curriculum and to teach academic writing. The appointment will be at the rank of Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream and will begin on July 1, 2017.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in Composition / Writing Studies or a related field by the time of appointment or shortly thereafter. Evidence of experience and excellence in teaching academic writing in a university or postsecondary setting is necessary. Excellence in teaching can be demonstrated through teaching accomplishments (e.g., awards, recognition, curriculum development, pedagogical publications, presentations at conferences), strong endorsements by referees of high international stature reflecting on both excellent teaching and their commitment to pedagogical enquiry and teaching innovation, and the teaching dossier submitted as part of the application. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

We seek candidates who have a record of excellent teaching, demonstrate the intellectual curiosity to pursue novel and innovative teaching and learning methods, and are interested in establishing a long-term career at the RGASC. Responsibilities of the Writing Specialist include:

• Coordinating the Writing Development Initiative Program (a WAC/WID program that provides support for projects that integrate writing instruction in core courses across the curriculum);

• Participating in faculty-wide initiatives that incorporate undergraduate writing instruction and assessment;
• Investigating, implementing, and evaluating innovative pedagogical practices for the teaching of academic writing;
• Assessing programs and projects aimed at improving students’ writing and communication skills;
• Advising faculty members on strategies for integrating academic writing instruction into their courses;
• Training Teaching Assistants in writing pedagogy;
• Supervising writing instructors at the RGASC;
• Teaching academic writing in a variety of settings;
• Conducting face-to-face and online appointments with students in a Writing Centre context;
• Developing curricular resources on academic writing instruction.

The RGASC is a hub for academic skills development on the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. The RGASC works collaboratively with faculty and teaching assistants to help deliver the best possible environment for learning in classes, labs, and tutorials. The RGASC also provides academic support for students through a variety of programming channels, including one-on-one appointments, co-curricular courses, workshops, and peer-facilitated study groups. For more information about the RGASC, please visit its website at http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc/.

All qualified candidates are invited to apply online by clicking on the link below. Applications must include a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and teaching dossier (including a statement of teaching philosophy, teaching evaluations, sample course syllabi, and relevant teaching materials). If you have any questions about this position, please contact Tyler Evans-Tokaryk via email at academicskills.utm@utoronto.ca. All application materials must be submitted online. Submission guidelines can be found at: http://uoft.me/how-to-apply/. We recommend combining attached documents into one or two files in PDF/MS Word format.

Applicants should arrange to have three letters of reference sent directly by the referee by email to academicskills.utm@utoronto.ca by the closing date. Letters of reference should be addressed to Professor Tyler Evans-Tokaryk, Director of the RGASC. Please ensure the candidate name and “Writing Specialist RGASC Search” are included in the subject line and that the letters are on letterhead and signed. Review of applications will begin after the closing date of November 30, 2016.

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applicants from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Aarhus BSS Graduate School now offers a number of PhD scholarships within, among other fields, Business Communication with expected start February 1^st 2017.

The open call will be available from September 15^th 2016 to October 17^th 2016, at this website, where you also can read more about Aarhus BSS Graduate School and find the application guide.

When you apply you automatically also apply for a full scholarship covering your salary and the tuition fee for the duration of the three-year PhD study.

The PhD programme in Business Communication is looking for high quality PhD project proposals within the general fields of:

• corporate communication
• management communication
• strategic communication
• organizational communication
• marketing communication
• HR communication
• branding
• PR communication
• financial communication
• crisis communication
• change communication
• stakeholder communication
• CSR communication
• organizational knowledge communication
• – and related areas.

For further information about this programme, please contact the PhD programme.

 Aarhus University is a modern, academically diverse and research-intensive university with a strong commitment to high-quality research and education and the development of society nationally and globally. The university offers an inspiring research and teaching environment to its 42,500 students and 11,500 employees, and has an annual budget of EUR 860 million. Over the course of the past decade, the university has consolidated its position in the top 100 on the most influential rankings of universities world-wide. Learn more at www.au.dk/en.

 

The Department of Writing & Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah invites applications for the position of Assistant Professor with a specialization in culturally diverse rhetorics and/or literacies (African American, Asian, Asian American, Chicana/o and/or Latina/o, Indigenous, or Pacific Islander rhetorics). Secondary expertise in digital rhetorics/composition, environmental humanities, medical humanities, professional/technical communication, or WPA are particularly welcome. The position start date is July 1, 2017. PhD must be awarded prior to the start date. The successful candidate will demonstrate an ability to conduct and publish high-quality scholarship in rhetoric, composition and/or literacy studies. They will also teach a range of courses in Writing & Rhetoric Studies, including cultural rhetorics, lower- and upper-division undergraduate, and graduate courses. Regular teaching responsibility is two courses per semester.

The successful candidate will join a department with a growing undergraduate major and a longstanding interdisciplinary graduate program (MA and PhD). The Department is responsible for undergraduate writing instruction, cross-curricular writing initiatives, and the University Writing Center. http://writing.utah.edu/ Located in Salt Lake City, the U of U is situated in a diverse and growing urban region.

Deadline: November 1, 2016. At this stage, please supply a cover letter, CV and 3 references. Select candidates will be asked to provide additional materials. We will conduct Skype interviews in December/January. Submit initial application materials at:

http://utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/56875

The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and educator. Minorities, women persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Veterans preference. Reasonable accommodations provided. For additional information : http://www.regulations.utah.edu/humanResources/5-106.html.

 

A request from WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship

In recent years, an increasing number of writing centers have moved into learning centers (or Student Success Centers or Academic Skills Centers, or various other names), but how are they faring? This complex question needs to be explored from numerous perspectives and by numerous voices. Given this new configuration for many writing centers, there needs to be more information about how?and how well?these writing centers are working. We at WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship want to spark a conversation about how these changes affect the work we do, so we are soliciting your responses for future publication.

For inclusion in a future issue, WLN is soliciting short responses from writing center professionals and working tutors that explore the good and the bad of learning centers. If your center is part of a larger student service, what wisdom, insights, solutions can you pass along to others? What have you learned from this transition, and are there specific actions or conditions that could prove to be problematic?

Consider your audience as other writing center directors who are wondering how to fit in or improve their writing center and want to learn from colleagues who have clarified problems and found solutions. This will be a collaborative effort to generate a conversation by including as many voices as we have space to fit into WLN.

We are asking writers to focus on some keywords and potential questions that come up often in discussions about learning centers.

IDENTITY

• How does a writing center maintain its identity within a learning center?
• Are there specific power conflicts or situations that affect writing centers in learning centers more than writing centers not consolidated into larger student services.

PHILOSOPHY/MISSION/CULTURE

• In what ways are the philosophies/missions/cultures of learning centers different from those of writing centers?
• How can these similarities and differences be potentially constructive or destructive?
• If there are administrative plans to move a writing center into a learning center and the writing center administrator prefers to avoid that move, are there successful arguments for the center to stay where it is?

OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS

• What operational advantages and disadvantages come with being part of a  learning center?
• What resources (space, expertise, budget, administrative support, institutional ethos) might be gained, lost, or shared through such an arrangement?
• What staffing concerns, such as status, need to be identified? Why?
• How can the writing center fit into the hierarchy of a learning center that is advantageous to the writing center?
• What are conditions to avoid because they are disadvantageous?

When you write a response, we encourage you to focus on concrete solutions and strategies. While data from studies or surveys aren’t needed, share with colleagues what works, not what might work. Why? Under what conditions? What larger framework can you put this in?

Because each institutional context is different, the specifics of one center aren’t transferable to others; avoid narratives for the sake of narrative and think more broadly about applicability outside your own center.

Please send your 1500-word responses to the WLN editors by October 31, 2016:

Kim Ballard: kim.ballard@wmich.edu

Lee Ann Glowzenski: laglowzenski@gmail.com

Muriel Harris: harrism@purdue.edu

Please note that 1500 words is an absolute upper limit, with the Works Cited included in that word count, in MLA, 8th ed. format.

If you envision this response as potentially leading to an article for WLN later on, please let us know. Also, please indicate whether you would be interested in being interviewed for our blog, Connecting Writing Centers Across Borders,  or providing a tour of your space for blog readers.

 

On April 6th and 7th, 2017, the University of Giessen will be hosting the 4th Symposium on Supporting L2 Writing in Higher Education; registration for the symposium is now open. You can register by visiting the symposium website, where you will also find travel and accommodation information and the call for papers.

The deadline for submissions is November 1st, 2016.

Confirmed keynote speakers: Professor Paul Kei Matsuda and Dr Melanie Brinkschulte.

If you have any questions, please contact the conference organizers.