Carolinas Writing Program Administrators

Board Member Profile: Nancy Barendse

Nancy Barendse

Education

PhD., University of South Carolina

M.A., Clemson University

B.A., Auburn University

Dr. Nancy Barendse currently serves as Treasurer for CarolinasWPA. She is a Professor of English at Charleston Southern University. Nancy’s goal for CarolinasWPA is that the organization will continue to involve members such as herself, who teach at small schools that either lack or have underdeveloped writing programs within the English Department.

“I have found it invaluable to be able to talk with and learn from people who speak my language, people who share my view on writing,” says Nancy of CarolinasWPA.

Nancy’s research interests include digital and multi-modal rhetoric. She is also involved with the National Council of Teachers of English, Assembly for Literature for Adolescents, and Council of Writing Program Administrators. Nancy has had articles and reviews appear in the Journal of Teaching Writing, The SECOL Review and the Concise Dictionary of Literary Biography.

Board Member Profile: Rachel Spear

Rachel Spear

Education

Ph.D., Louisiana State University

Ed.S., Louisiana State University

M.A., Louisiana State University

B.A., Millsaps College

Dr. Rachel N. Spear serves as an At-Large CarolinasWPA board member in South Carolina. Rachel describes CarolinasWPA as the “ideal organization for collaboration, connection, and community.” Her goal as one of the South Carolina representatives is to increase the presence and participation of SC writing faculty and administrators in the organization. She also wishes to strengthen the ease of communicating and working with others with like interests.

Rachel’s research interests include writing pedagogy and writing studies, with a focus that relies on interdisciplinary studies to investigate women’s life-writing post-trauma and the transformative benefit of writing one’s story. Her recent publications and conference presentations include “Let Me Tell You a Story’: On Teaching Trauma Narratives, Writing, and Healing” in Pedagogy; “Can’t We JUST Write!?: The Risks and Rewards of Using Mindfulness and Expressive Writing in Revision Workshops” at CCCC; and “Changing Rape Culture through Curriculum and Collaboration” at NeMLA.

In addition to her research and work with CarolinasWPA, Rachel is an Associate Professor of English and Coordinator of the Composition Program at Francis Marion University. She also serves as the Women’s and Gender Studies Caucus Board Representative for the Northeast Modern Language Association.

Board Member Profile: Collie Fulford

Collie Fulford

Education

Ph.D., 2009, University of Massachusetts – Amherst

M.A., 2005, University of Massachusetts – Amherst

B.A., 2002, Keene State College

Collie Fulford is the President-Elect for CarolinasWPA. She is an Assistant Professor of English composition and rhetoric in the Department of Language and Literature at North Carolina Central University where she directs First-Year Writing and chairs the writing concentration committee.

Collie is interested in increasing minority engagement in CarolinasWPA and diversifying the institutions that are involved in the organization. She feels that writing programs operate in highly complex organizations and are thus often sites of crisis and conflict. Collie believes this situational reality also means, however, that they can be sites of great creativity and collaboration.

“CarolinasWPA provides occasions for members to broach the most challenging aspects of teaching and program administration while tapping into our collective creativity, humor, and wisdom,” says Collie.

Her current research addresses minority education and writing program development. She also studies the rhetoric of higher education. Her recent articles in IJSoTL, WPA, and Composition Studies pertain to writing program administration issues.

Board Member Profile: Chris Warnick

Chris Warnick

Education

Ph.D., 2006, English, with a concentration in Composition, Literacy, Pedagogy, and Rhetoric, University of Pittsburgh

M.A., 1999, English, University of Pittsburgh

B.A., 1991, English, Ohio State University

Dr. Chris Warnick currently serves on the CarolinasWPA board as an At-Large South Carolina Representative. Chris’s goal for the organization is to actively uphold the legacy of mentorship and support established by previous CarolinasWPA members. His personal objective within the group is to introduce and engage more of his colleagues in South Carolina.

In addition to his work with CarolinasWPA, Chris serves as an Associate Professor of English and First-Year Writing Coordinator at the College of Charleston. He is also the Submissions Editor of the journal Literacy in Composition Studies.

Chris’s research interests largely involve student academic literacy. He has collaborated with other members of CarolinasWPA to analyze the writing and revision practices of undergraduate mathematics students. He is currently conducting a longitudinal study that analyzes how the College of Charleston’s First-Year Experience program impacts students’ general education coursework, their work in their majors, and their extracurricular experiences.

Board Member Profile: Paula Patch

Paula Patch

B.A., 1997, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

M.A., 2000, Eastern New Mexico University

Paula Patch currently serves as one of the At-Large North Carolina board members for CarolinasWPA, an organization that she describes as a family. It is her goal not only to foster this type of academic environment within CarolinasWPA, but also to provide the structure and leadership that will further this outcome. On a larger scale, Patch’s vision for the organization includes bringing in outside colleagues to the group’s conferences – such as Wildacres and Meeting in the Middle – to spread CWPA’s message. To Paula, this means that board members must be agents for change in the discipline and in their local situations. Specifically, Paula aspires for the organization to increase the number of members who represent community colleges, smaller universities, and HBCUs.

“In a word, advocacy is the vision and goal,” says Paula.

In addition to serving on the CarolinasWPA board, Paula is a Senior Lecturer in English at Elon University, where she coordinates the first-year writing program. In this role, Paula focuses on information literacy, particularly looking at how strong library-writing program partnerships can affect first-year students’ information literacy behaviors and attitudes. She also studies the role of non-tenure track faculty in academic departments and programs. Paula is interested in two specific questions: What are the experiences, situations, and perceptions of permanent non-tenure track faculty? And, how do permanent non-tenure faculty lines trouble the idea of tiered or tracked faculty positions?

Paula is currently working with a colleague on an internal grant-funded project to revamp the grammar proficiency test and preparation for students matriculating into Elon’s School of Education. She also conducts local research on a non-credit writing enrichment seminar for high school juniors in Alamance County.

Board Member Profile: Patrick Bahls

Patrick Bahls

Education

B.S., 1998, University of Denver

M.S., 2000, Vanderbilt University

Ph.D., 2002, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Patrick Bahls currently serves as Secretary for CarolinasWPA. It is Patrick’s goal to spread the organization’s involvement, actively engaging the faculty and staff of more institutions, particularly those at two-year colleges. He envisions CarolinasWPA collaborating more with leaders of writing programs with WAC/WID components that involve faculty from across the disciplines in leadership roles.

Patrick’s research interests are how composition and rhetoric focus on writing in the disciplines (with emphasis on STEM disciplines), writing across the curriculum, writing to learn, and writing program development.

In addition to his involvement with CarolinasWPA, Patrick is an Associate Professor of Mathematics and the Honors Program Director at the University of North Carolina – Asheville. Patrick ‘s book, Student Writing in the Quantitative Disciplines: A Guide for College Faculty, offers a pedagogy of writing within mathematics disciplines.

Call for Nominations: Executive Board At-Large Members

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 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 30, 2015.

* Online voting ballots will be available approximately December 7 with voting ending on December 18.

Open Positions

1) At-Large Position: South Carolina Representative

This person will serve a term of two years in this role: January 1, 2016–January 1, 2018.

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.

2) At-Large Position: North Carolina Representative

This person will serve a term of two years in this role: January 1, 2016–January 1, 2018.

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.

Board Member Profile: Anthony Atkins

Anthony Atkins

Education

Ph.D., Ball State University
M.A., East Carolina University
B.A., East Carolina University

As immediate past-president, Dr. Tony Atkins is an active member within CarolinasWPA. His vision for the organization is that it will ideally continue to grow and support WPAs in the Carolinas, seeking to endorse the national goals and mission of the Council of Writing Program Administrators. “We seek to build community among those who teach writing from a myriad of perspectives,” says Atkins.

Tony’s current research interests include Technologies of Composing, Rhetorical Theory, Composition Theory, Writing Program Administration, Professional Writing, Document Design, and most recently the Rhetoric of Search Engine Optimization.

Beyond CarolinasWPA, Tony is currently an associate professor of English at University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he focuses on first-year writing, WPA, and the field of rhetoric and composition. Tony has also published on the effects of social media on business communications.

Carolinas WPA Highlighted on Inside Higher Ed

by Jordan Stanley

Last month, the Carolinas WPA conference was featured in an article written by Jon Warner for Inside Higher Ed. Not only is the feature on the website a testament to Carolinas WPA’s growing impact on higher education discussions, but Warner’s commentary on his own keynote address also speaks to the meaningful value of the conference.

Warner’s address was entitled “Who Are We? What Do We Do? How Do We Do It?: The Laborers and Labor of the Composition Classroom.” This includes the three themes he uses to encapsulate his experience at the conference. Beyond his academic takeaways, Warner’s deepest impression was that of professional uplift, provided to him through relating to the 35 other writing administrators on matters of “overworked and underpaid” contingency.

In his article, Warner describes the bounty of lessons that he drew from his peers. Warner writes that the first institutionalized problem is who writing program administrators are. As represented at the conference, many – if not a majority of – first-year writing faculty are women, and because of this, those courses are under sourced and consigned as what Warner calls “women’s work.”

These courses are further devalued, then, because what writing program administrators teach is unknown to colleagues outside of the discipline. Warner writes that although communication skills are claimed to be valued, institutions can view composition classes as a “logistical” precursor rather than an academic building block. This relegated importance consequently determines how writing program administrators work: overcompensating and self-sacrificing, despite lacking resources, to best serve their students.

Warner’s full article “Overworked and Underpaid: The Labor and Laborers of the Writing Classroom” may be read here, on the Inside Higher Ed website.

Jordan Stanley is a junior at Elon University with majors in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and Creative Writing, as well as a minor in Communications. She also works for the Elon Writing Center and as a Writing Fellow.

Call for Proposals: Defining, Locating, and Addressing Bullying in the WPA Workplace

Editors:

Dr. Cristyn L. Elder, University of New Mexico

Dr. Bethany Davila, University of New Mexico

Given the prevalence of workplace bullying and the often unique and/or vulnerable position of WPAs (e.g., untenured WPAs; WPAs who have high campus visibility but lack the power to make hiring/firing/budget decisions; WPAs in literature departments, etc.), it is important to dedicate resources to defining behaviors and patterns of bullying and offer specific strategies for agentive responses. Much of WPA literature has addressed issues of power associated with WPA work (e.g., Dew and Horning; George; Mountford; Pauliny; Strickland and Gunner; Schell; White). However, workplace bullying has not yet received focused attention in WPA scholarship. In The Promise and Perils of Writing Program Administration (2008), Skeffington, Borrowman, and Enos begin the collection by listing the questions they did not ask in “a Web survey of WPAs” (p. 8), including, as the authors note, the most important, yet implicit, question—“are you okay?”— a question to which “many junior faculty with administrative duties cannot respond positively on either a personal or professional level” (p. 9). Despite the acknowledgment of the challenges WPAs face, including either being bullied or seeing others bullied, there has yet to be a collection that focuses on defining, locating, and addressing bullying in the WPA workplace—including perspectives from (non/un)tenured WPAs, WPAs from underrepresented social groups, WPAs for whom English is not their native language, and WPAs responding to the bullying of others (e.g., students, staff, faculty, etc.). This, we believe, is an oversight that leaves workplace bullying largely unnamed and undertheorized, forcing WPAs into the vulnerable position of having to seek out resources and advice on their own or to read between the lines of what has been published.

Leah Hollis, Ed.D, (2012) estimates the incidence of workplace bullying in higher education to be approximately 62% (p. 36). In contrast to the lack of direct attention it has received within WPA scholarship, workplace bullying has been a topic of increasing importance in higher education, with articles ranging from reporting on incidents of bullying (DeFrancesco, 2015; Wilson, 2010) to describing anti-‐bullying policies (Flaherty, 2014).

Additionally, according to other scholarship on workplace bullying, “there is growing evidence suggesting that minority status could be a contributing factor to receiving differential treatment in the workplace” (Lewis, Giga, and Hoel, 2010, p. 271). As such, the issue of workplace bullying is an issue of social justice, as minority and disenfranchised WPAs may be silenced or excluded through these practices. For the above reasons, the editors of this collection invite chapter proposals for theoretical essays, empirical research, narratives, practice-‐oriented papers, book reviews, action research and reflective essays. Proposals are welcome on (but not limited to) the following topics:

Definitions of Bullying in the WPA Workplace:

What is workplace bullying/harassment in the WPA workplace? How is it operationalized?
What is cyberbullying in the WPA workplace? How is it operationalized?
What are the various ways bullying is experienced by teachers? administrators? graduate students? undergraduate students? international students? international faculty? multilingual writers? non-‐traditional students? women? men? people of color? members of the LGBTQ community? others?
How is workplace bullying/harassment identified and measured?
What are the risk factors for bullying and/or harassment?
What are the costs of bullying?

Locations of Bullying:

How is bullying/harassment experienced or perpetrated by stakeholders within first-‐year composition programs? writing centers? WAC programs? undergraduate programs? graduate programs? departments? committees? professional organizations? on the job market? in different cultural settings?
How does workplace bullying/harassment overlap with working conditions, issues of a living wage, health and safety, discrimination?

Effectiveness of Bullying Interventions and Programs:

What are best practices for addressing workplace bullies?
What are best practices for addressing those who have been bullied?
How do we cope with/respond to workplace ill-‐treatment of ourselves? of others?
What are prevention and intervention issues related to bullying and harassment?
How do we promote, build, and maintain healthy workplaces for all?
How do we build bullying prevention into our WPA preparation programs?
What environmental and cultural changes might help to reduce bullying and harassment?
What programmatic and/or policy changes might help to reduce bullying and harassment?
How might we further advance our understanding of preventing and managing workplace bullying and harassment?

Proposals should be sent as an email attachment to both editors and should include a title, name(s) of author(s), and a 500-word statement of topic, argument, method, and description of chapter organization and development. Chapters will be approximately 1520 pages in length.

Prospective contributors may send proposals or queries to the editors at celder@unm.edu and bdavila@unm.edu.

Proposals due: October 26, 2015

Conditional acceptances: December 15, 2015

Manuscripts due: April 15, 2016