Category: CarolinasWPA News

2021 Carolinas WPA Meeting in the Middle Call for Proposals and Participants

Carolinas Writing Program Administrators is delighted to announced that our 15th Annual Meeting in the Middle will take place from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 2021. Please see the CFP below for more information. You can register by completing this Google Form. Registration is free; however, we encourage all attendees to support Carolinas WPA by renewing their membership to the organization ($20/year for full-time TT faculty and $10/year for other faculty and students). Follow this link to renew your membership. Visit the Carolinas WPA homepage to learn more about the organization.

Teaching, Writing, and Administrating in the time of Corona: Building and Maintaining Community in Remote Spaces

It is an obvious understatement to say that this past year has been tremendously difficult–heartbreaking, overwhelming, unpredictable, seemingly unending–and we’ve all been affected in different ways by events local and (inter)national alike. Trying to figure out how we can forge ahead as writing teachers, scholars, and administrators–if not maintain or reduce our expectations for what we’ve been able to achieve in the midst of everything that’s happened–might well seem like yet another insurmountable obstacle.

To work through these dilemmas, Carolinas WPA invites you to a virtual session of our annual Meeting in the Middle conference for a day of coming together to share resources and ideas, to strategize collaboratively, and to socialize with treasured friends, old and new alike. We want to learn: how have we worked and fought to sustain ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities throughout it all? How might we continue to do so?

Participants are not obligated to attend with any particular ideas or questions in mind to address, but we want to provide plenty of opportunity to work through some helpful and important issues that impact each of us, both in general and in this particular moment.

If you would like to have some time dedicated to presenting information about a project you’ve been working on or to discussing a particular question/issue you’d like feedback on, we can make sure that happens! Alternatively, if you just want to log in to say hello to friends you might not have had the chance to see or talk to for a year, that would be absolutely great, too!

Registration is completely free — we’ll send the Zoom info to registered participants as we get closer to the date of the event. Also, while registration is free, this could be an excellent opportunity for you to join or renew your membership in Carolinas WPA to help support the organization. Click here to renew your membership!

Questions about the event can be sent to brockkm2@mailbox.sc.edu.

Kevin Brock

President, Carolinas Writing Program Administrators

A message from Carolinas WPA President Paula Patch re: Wildacres 2020

Dear Carolinas WPA Members and Friends:

After some discussion, Collie, Kevin, and I have decided that it is best to go ahead and make a decision about Wildacres. We think that waiting until later is simply putting off the inevitable: The uncertainty of the virus makes it impossible to hold a face-to-face conference in September. We have decided to cancel Wildacres for 2020.

Even if we were able to gather, we fear that the demands on our members in the “next normal” of the fall semester, the instability of funding, and the very real danger for some of us to be in close quarters with others would make the retreat feel like too much of an obligation—or too much an occasion to feel real FOMO—for our members.

We will be in touch later in the summer about options for gathering virtually in the summer or fall—not so much to replace Wildacres, the magic of which is its in-person, off-grid, retreat nature—but to support one another as we make and implement tough decisions about our programs and communities.

Take good care—we’ll see each other as soon as it is possible!

Paula

Carolinas WPA Meeting in the Middle 2018 CFP

Call for Proposals

Carolinas Writing Program Administrators

Meeting in the Middle

Friday, February 16, 2018

10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

(optional Thursday and Friday evening events)

UNC-Charlotte Center City Building
320 E. 9th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

Theme: 2020 Vision: Building Connections and Coalitions across Campuses

Proposal deadline: Friday, February 2, 2018

Carolinas Writing Program Administrators is accepting proposals for its Twelfth Annual Spring Conference, Meeting in the Middle.

Connections, collaborations, coalitions. Effecting change—whether in working conditions or website resources—requires sustained and supported efforts of groups of people who share common goals, values, and vision. It helps if they also share disciplinary identity and language. In their chapter in the recently published collection Surviving Sexism in Academia: Strategies for Feminist Leadership, compositionists Jennifer Heinert and Cassandra Phillips describe the characteristics of effective coalitions: “A coalition has common goals, works purposely toward them, and shares credit and responsibility for the work. Creating a coalition begins with identifying, including, and supporting colleagues who share values, concerns, and goals. On the surface, this may seem like an easy task, but it involves establishing regular communication and developing trust over time” (“From Feminized to Feminist Labor”).

This year’s Meeting in the Middle is designed to give writing program administrators and faculty time and space to find the people who share their values, concerns, and goals. Acknowledging that the work in front of us, whether teaching, research, or activism, is more than one individual person, program, or school often has time or resources to tackle well, we encourage you to find partners to share the load. We are, as has been said, better together.

We invite proposals for brief presentations that might address the following:

 

  • Successful coalitions. Already have partners? What kinds of things have you accomplished as a team? And what can others learn from your experience?
  • Help wanted. Have a research, curricular, or programmatic project that could use a few more heads or hands? Describe the project and the ways others can help.

 

You are entirely welcome to attend the Meeting in the Middle without presenting, but those who declare what they are working on in advance will be listed on the formal agenda, which may help with self-advocating for travel funding.

Your proposals also help us plan appropriate interest groups and design workshop activities around your goals.

We welcome creative interpretation of the theme and goals. This forum is appropriate for work that would benefit from feedback and focused workshop time. Carolinas WPA welcomes individual and team projects at any stage of development and from people working in any teaching or administrative positions related to writing in the Carolinas.

 

Conference Format

A featured talk on strategies for cross-institutional collaboration led by Carolinas WPA member Jessie Moore will be followed by small breakout interest groups and writing activities. Those presenting should prepare for 15-20 minutes per person to discuss their work-in-progress and seek feedback from those with shared interests.

 

Proposals

Each proposal should be 250 – 500 words including the following:

  • Names and contact information (email, phone, home institution) for each person associated with your proposal
  • A presentation title
  • A description of the pertinent topic
  • Your specific goals for presenting at MinM

Submit it via email to Collie Fulford (cfulfor1@nccu.edu) and Paula Patch (ppatch@elon.edu) by 12:00 midnight Friday, February 2, 2018, using the subject line “MinM Proposal yourlastname.”

Questions or Comments? – Contact Paula Patch at ppatch@elon.edu.

 

Registration

The registration price of $40.00 includes lunch and the opportunity to bring a guest for free. Carpooling encouraged. Recommended: Add $6.00 per car to prepay parking.

  • The registration deadline is Friday, February 9, 2018.
  • When you “Bring a Friend for Free,” you must register your friend when you register yourself.

Registration opens soon on the Carolinas WPA website.

 

Parking

UNC-Charlotte Center City charges Carolinas WPA $6 for each event parking pass. Passholders have access to a lot very close to the conference building. If you prepay for a parking pass, we will email guidelines for printing your pass the week of the conference. If you choose not to prepay, you will need to find an alternate parking location.

 

Hotels

Map of hotels near the conference

Call for Nominations: Executive Board At-Large Representatives from NC and SC

Nominations open until October 31.

 

The Executive Board invites nominations for two positions: At-Large South Carolina Representative and At-Large North Carolina Representative.

 

The Carolinas WPA serves as an affiliate of the Council of Writing Program Administrators. All Executive Board members should be members of both the Council of Writing Program Administrators and the Carolinas WPA (or be willing to obtain such membership upon election to the board). The board welcomes people of any professional rank who are involved in higher education writing pedagogy.

 

Nomination Process

Review the open positions below. You may nominate yourself or someone else with their permission. Those nominated will be asked to submit a brief biographical statement before being included on the ballot. Those elected are expected to attend our “Meeting in the Middle” (the meeting we have each February at UNC Charlotte).

 

This nomination form requires the nominee’s name, status at their institution (assistant professor, doctoral student, etc.), their institutional affiliation, the position for which you are nominating them, and a brief recommendation.

 

Once the deadline for nominations has expired (October 31), the board will develop a ballot to be sent via the CarolinasWPA listserv where all who are subscribed to the CarolinasWPA list will have an opportunity to vote on the candidates nominated for each position. Once the voting has ended and the votes have been verified, the Executive Board will announce the new board members and their respective positions.

 

Online voting ballots will be available approximately November 15 with voting ending on December 12.

 

Open Positions

1) At-Large Position: South Carolina Representative

2) At-Large Position: North Carolina Representative

 

These representatives will each serve a term of two years in this role: January 1, 2018–January 1, 2020.

 

At-Large positions on the board serve multiple purposes. One is to ensure representation from both states (NC/SC). Another is to conduct out-reach within the representative state to recruit other members from NC/SC including community college faculty. At-Large positions help to organize both the Meeting in the Middle and the Annual Fall Retreat. At-Large positions are responsible for managing or otherwise putting together panels for conferences like SAMLA, TYCA, NCETA and/or NCEI. They may contribute in other ways as initiatives arise.

 

Thank you,

 

Collie

Registration now open for Carolinas WPA’s 2017 Fall Conference at Wildacres

Registration is now open for the 2017 Fall Conference of the Carolinas Writing Program Administrators. More information on the conference is available below and in the conference’s call for proposals. Please visit this page to register.

Photo of the view from the Wildacres Retreat Center
The view from the Wildacres Retreat Center

14th Annual Fall Carolinas Writing Program Administrators Conference

Communities and Contact Zones: Doing Justice

September 18-20, 2017 | Wildacres Retreat, Little Switzerland, NC (Directions) | $200 (includes 2 nights lodging and 5 meals)

  • Proposal deadline: Friday, August 25, 2017
  • Registration deadline: Monday, September 11, 2017

Carolinas WPA 2017 Wildacres Retreat Call for Proposals

Call for Proposals

14th Annual Fall Carolinas Writing Program Administrators Conference

Communities and Contact Zones: Doing Justice

September 18-20, 2017 | Wildacres Retreat, Little Switzerland, NC (Directions) | $200 (includes 2 nights lodging and 5 meals)

  • Proposal deadline: Friday, August 25, 2017
  • Registration deadline: Monday, September 11, 2017

Carolinas Writing Program Administrators is accepting proposals on the theme of “Communities and Contact Zones: Doing Justice” for its Fourteenth Annual Fall Conference.

Twenty-six years after Mary Louise Pratt published “The Arts of the Contact Zone,” our profession continues to grapple with ways to call out colonialism in our classrooms and universities.  We seek ways to invite heterogeneity of expression and perspectives, and we strive to work with conflict and discomfort in ever-contested learning spaces. Our conference site itself is a contact zone in which the white supremacist history of the property contrasts with its present mission to serve as an inclusive, anti-discriminatory site for dialog across differences. The dialectic between community and difference that Pratt calls attention to comes into play in nearly every aspect of our work in the Carolinas as we attempt to do justice to our best ideas, do justice with our students and colleagues, and do justice in often conflicted institutional contexts.

What are you working on in your classrooms, your programs, or your research?  What challenges are you experiencing in your communities, in your justice work?  What successes have you had in working with or across differences? How do we do justice to the ideas, like Pratt’s, that invigorate our work?  As teachers, as program leaders, as community members, as researchers, how do we do justice with each other? How might the community of Carolinas WPA further your work toward those ends?

 

Keynote and Workshops: “Contemplating Race: Mindfulness as Antiracist Pedagogy.” Emma Howes and Christian Smith from Coastal Carolina University will facilitate workshops on using contemplative practices in the classroom to enact antiracist pedagogy. They will discuss some of the theoretical background for this work, providing exercises that cultivate mindfulness to build critical literacy skills in spaces where differing discourses meet. They will also address the ways we, as instructors and administrators, may benefit from our own development of contemplative work. In this way, participants will be asked to consider the value in creating slow reading and writing practices to facilitate agents to more carefully consider their initial encounters with text. This encourages deep engagement with literacy practices for navigating multiple, often clashing, discourses, and helps build empathy through the work of deep, rhetorical listening. Contemplative practices may thus allow students of writing to move from affectively-driven reactions to reflective responses.

 

Conference Schedule and Format. The conference begins at 5:00 pm on Monday, September 18, and concludes at 10:00 am on Wednesday, September 20. A keynote talk on Monday evening will be followed by a full day Tuesday of workshops, small breakout interest groups, and activities on the beautiful mountaintop of Wildacres Retreat, with a closing session Wednesday morning. All meals are provided.

The conference format encourages engagement of participants from a broad variety of institutions and programs.

Those presenting should prepare for 15-20 minutes to discuss their work and seek feedback from those with shared interests. Those leading retreat activities or mini-workshops should prepare for 45-60 minutes focused on lively participant involvement.

Wildacres Retreat is a low-tech setting conducive to relaxing, collaborating, and learning with friends and colleagues across the Carolinas.

 

Proposals. You are entirely welcome to attend this conference without presenting, but those whose proposals are accepted will be listed on the formal agenda, which may help with obtaining travel funding. Proposals also help us plan appropriate interest groups and design activities around members’ goals.

We welcome creative interpretation of the theme. This forum is especially appropriate for work that would benefit from feedback and focused workshop time. Carolinas WPA welcomes individual and team presentations at any stage of development and from people working in any teaching or administrative positions related to writing in the Carolinas.

You may submit a proposal for one of two types of activity:

  • Individual or team presentation to be placed into 1-hr discussion groups with other presenters. Plan for approximately 20 minutes per person including discussion time.
  • Retreat activity: Solo or co-lead anything from yoga or an Appalachian plant identification walk to a mini-workshop related to the conference theme. Plan to have 45- to 60-minutes. We welcome creative use of Wildacres’ indoor and outdoor common spaces.

Be prepared to work without AV equipment. (Internet is very limited and we may not have access to projectors.) Each proposal should be 250 – 500 words including:

  • Names and contact information (email, phone, home institution) for each person associated with your proposal
  • Type of activity (individual or team presentation 15-20 minutes per person; retreat activity or mini-workshop of 45-60 minutes)
  • A title and brief description of what you will share
  • Your specific goals for presenting
  • Questions for attendees that will help you elicit feedback relevant to your goals.

Submit your proposal via email to Collie Fulford (collie.fulford@gmail.com) and Paula Patch (ppatch@elon.edu) by 11:59PM Monday August 25, 2017, using the subject line “CarWPA Proposal yourlastname.”

 

Registration and Cost. The registration fee of $200 includes 2 nights’ lodging and 5 meals at Wildacres, as well as all conference materials. Conferencegoers must register by Monday, September 11, 2017. No refunds after Friday, September 8. The registration link will be opening soon on our conference page.

Questions or Comments? – Contact Collie Fulford at collie.fulford@gmail.com.

Call for Nominations: President-Elect, Secretary, and Executive Board At-Large Members

The Executive Board invites nominations for four positions: President Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, At-Large South Carolina Representative, and At-Large North Carolina Representative.

 

The Carolinas WPA serves as an affiliate of the Council of Writing Program Administrators. All Executive Board members should be members of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (or be willing to obtain such membership upon election to the board).

 

Nomination Process

To nominate someone or yourself, please review the open positions below. You may nominate someone with their permission for any of the positions listed below. You may, of course, nominate yourself for one of the available positions. Please note that those nominated will be asked to submit a brief biographical statement before being included on the ballot. Those newly elected are expected to attend our “Meeting in the Middle” (the meeting we have each February at UNC Charlotte).

 

Please send an email indicating clearly the person’s name, status at their institution (Assistant Professor, Doctoral Student, etc.), their affiliation, and the position for which you are nominating. The nominating person should include a very brief paragraph as to why this person might be a good fit for the board/position and for the organization.

 

Once the deadline for nominations has expired, the board will develop a ballot to be sent via the CarolinasWPA Listserv where all who are subscribed to the CarolinasWPA list will have an opportunity to vote on the candidates nominated for each position. Once the voting has ended and the votes have been verified, the Executive Board will announce the new board members and their respective positions.

 

Please send all nominations to Tracy Ann Morse morset@ecu.edu no later than Monday, November 28, 2016.

 

* Online voting ballots will be available approximately December 5 with voting ending on December 12.

 

Open Positions

1) President-Elect

This person will serve a term of two years in this role: January 1, 2017–January 1, 2019.

 

The President-Elect has two distinct roles. First, the President-Elect is responsible for collaborating with the President and Board to organize the Meeting in the Middle (working with the host institution, developing the theme, inviting speaker/s, food, program, etc.) Second, the President-elect works directly with the President to help provide or otherwise submit panels to SAMLA and other related conferences (such as TYCA, NCETA, and/or NCEI). The President-Elect also helps in other capacities like contributing to the Annual Fall Retreat each year and organizing our annual Conference on College Composition and Communication recruitment event. This person is expected to move into the President role upon completing a term as President-Elect.

 

2) Secretary

This person will serve a term of three years in this role: January 1, 2017–January 1, 2020.

 

The Secretary is responsible for taking detailed minutes of each board meeting and sending them to the board for review. The secretary is also responsible for our constitution, and helping the board and president follow proper protocol for any elections or motions made during board meetings. (The Secretary should be familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order, keep detailed notes, and maintain records of all meetings.)

 

3) At-Large Position: South Carolina Representative

This person will serve a term of two years in this role: January 1, 2017–January 1, 2019.

 

At-Large positions on the board serve multiple purposes. One is to ensure representation from both states (NC/SC). Another is to conduct out-reach within the representative state to recruit other members from NC/SC and community colleges. At-Large positions help to organize both the Meeting in the Middle and the Annual Fall Retreat. At-Large positions are directly responsible for managing or otherwise putting together panels for conferences like SAMLA, TYCA, NCETA and/or NCEI. They may contribute in other ways as initiatives arise.

 

4) At-Large Position: North Carolina Representative

This person will serve a term of two years in this role: January 1, 2017–January 1, 2019.

 

At-Large positions on the board serve multiple purposes. One is to ensure representation from both states (NC/SC). Another is to conduct out-reach within the representative state to recruit other members from NC/SC and community colleges. At-Large positions help to organize both the Meeting in the Middle and the Annual Fall Retreat. At-Large positions are responsible for managing or otherwise putting together panels for conferences like SAMLA, TYCA, NCETA and/or NCEI. They may contribute in other ways as initiatives arise.

Call for Expression of Interest: Co-Web/List Manager and Treasurer

The Executive Board invites expressions of interests for two appointed positions: Co-Web/List Manager and Treasurer.

 

The Carolinas WPA serves as an affiliate of the Council of Writing Program Administrators. All Executive Board members should be members of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (or be willing to obtain such membership upon appointment to the board).

 

Expression of Interest Process

To express interest, please review the open positions below. Those newly appointed by the Executive Board are expected to attend our “Meeting in the Middle” (the meeting we have each February at UNC Charlotte).

 

Please send an email indicating your name, status at your institution (Assistant Professor, Doctoral Student, etc.), and the position for which you are expressing interest. In addition, include a very brief paragraph as to why you might be a good fit for the position and for the organization.

 

Once the deadline for expression of interest has expired, the board will the Executive Board will deliberate over the candidates and appoint individuals to the open positions.

 

Please send all expressions of interest to Tracy Ann Morse morset@ecu.edu no later than Monday, November 28, 2016.

 

Open Positions

1) Co-Web/List Manager

This person will serve a term of four years in this role: January 1, 2017–January 1, 2021.

 

The Web and List Manager shall be appointed by vote of the Executive Board for a four-year, renewable term. The first year of the term will be collaborative with our current Web/List Manager. The Web and List Manager shall maintain the organization’s web and social media presences and the organization’s discussion lists. The Web and List Manager is entitled to participate in all activities of the Executive Board.

 

2) Treasurer

This person will serve a term of four years in this role: January 1, 2017–January 1, 2021.

 

The Treasurer shall be appointed by vote of the Executive Board for a four-year, renewable term. The Treasurer shall maintain bank accounts and records of monies of organization and report at each board meeting on the financial status and the condition of the organization. The Treasurer is entitled to participate in all activities of the Executive Board.

Wildacres 2016 – September 12-14

As you are planning and scheduling your Fall calendars, please mark September 12-14 for our 13th annual Fall Conference/Retreat.

 

We will once again be congregating at Wildacres starting with check-in from 4-5:30pm on Monday, September 12 and ending around 10am on Wednesday September 14.

 

More details will be forthcoming including a call for round table topics. Our theme will be “Taking Action in the Carolinas” and I hope to have some time set aside for reports from schools/programs/individuals regarding current relevant situations in our states.

 

Stay tuned,

Tracy Ann Morse

President, Carolinas WPA