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.

The Centre for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at the University of Waterloo is currently advertising for the position of Communications Associate. The role is responsible for managing and contributing to nominations for high-profile external teaching awards and for assisting with various CTE writing and communication tasks and projects. The deadline for applications is Friday, September 2, and the targeted start date is Monday, October 3. Further details about the position and the application process are available here.

The Graduate Writing Lab (GWL) at Yale Center for Teaching and Learning invites applications for a full time position of an Assistant Director.

 General Purpose:  Reporting to the Director, Assistant Director will help plan and administer programs and services in support of writing, research, and communication for graduate and professional students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty. Duties will include teaching workshops, consulting graduate students, hiring and mentoring writing consultants and fellows, and coordinating writing groups and dissertation boot camps, as well as promoting the programs of the GWL and conducting assessments of the programs and their effectiveness, analyzing data and preparing reports and summaries on program usage.

 Education and Experience:  Advanced degree (PhD preferred) in Linguistics, TESOL, Rhetoric, Composition, English or related discipline; 3 years of experience teaching writing courses and/or writing centre consulting.

 Application: For more information and immediate consideration, please apply online at www.yale.edu/jobs – the STARS req. ID for this position is 39048BR.