I have been involved in developing writing programs in one form or another my entire career. To me, being a writing program administrator affords endless opportunities to influence how writing is taught and practiced. Writing programs also have the potential to affect how writing and writing instruction are seen–and valued–by others. All WPAs know that there is never enough time or resources to do everything one might aspire to do (if only writing programs could run on passion and grit) but I aspire, at a minimum, to develop programs that are informed by current research and theory and that respect the differing experiences program participants bring to our shared enterprise. Most important, I expect both the participants and the programs I am responsible for to grow and change, as I have been changed, at least a little, by every program I’ve ever been a part of .
TCU
Director, Institute for Critical and Creative Expression (ICCE) (2009-present)
An initiative of AddRan College, with the support of endowment funds, the ICCE supports TCU students, faculty, and the community in the effective use of multiple modes of communication: words, images, sound, and movement.The ICCE also supports innovation in critical and creative expression. Director responsibilities include facilitating programming through the New Media Writing Studio, grant-writing, organizing visits by distinguished speakers, collaborating with related TCU programs such as Creative Crossroads and FrogFolio and offering community-oriented workshops and services.
Director, New Media Writing Studio (2006-2010)
The New Media Writing Studio, funded by a TCU Vision in Action grant from 2006-2007, currently operates within the ICCE, an initiative of AddRan College of Liberal Arts. The NMWS provides support for the teaching and production of new media such as websites, audio essays, videos, and multimedia compositions by students and faculty across the university. During my time as director, I organized an annual week-long summer faculty workshop; managed a staff of instructors and students who created support materials, provided instruction, worked in the lab; and oversaw the development of a website and other resources for use by students and faculty.
Director of Composition (2000-2006; interim director–spring 2009; fall 2010)
As Director, I designed and implemented a common syllabus for new instructors of first-year writing (ENGL 10803) and support for instructors designing their own syllabus for our second-year (ENGL 20803) required writing course focused on argument. I also created program outcomes and initiated a teaching portfolio requirement. Professional development initiatives included a week-long pre-semester workshop for new graduate instructors, bi-weekly staff meetings that met alternately with faculty-led mentor groups, and . workshops offered by experienced graduate instructors. Additionally, I developed print and web-based program materials for teachers and students. Director duties also included chairing the Composition Committee, responsible for revising program policies, approving textbooks, vetting course proposals, and selecting teaching award winners based on collaborative review of teaching portfolios.I also met with students to discuss classroom concerns, grade appeals, academic dishonesty.
Florida State University
Director, Reading/Writing Center (1994-2000)
As director, I recruited, trained, and supervised an average of 20 graduate-student tutors each semester who provided individualized reading and writing instruction to students from a wide range of academic levels and disciplines. Tutor training included a graduate- level course on writing center theory and practice, “Teaching English as a Guided Study: Teaching for Multiple Literacies,” which I designed and taught each summer. Additional workshops included, for example, “Teaching Grammar in Context,” “Working with Multilingual Writers,” “Making the Most of Student Conferences,” and “Teaching Students Who Learn Differently” (e.g. working with Learning Disabled Writers.”) To keep tutors abreast of policies and provide pedagogical support, I created a Teacher’s Guide to the Reading/Writing Center. In addition, I provided curriculum and training for teaching a first-year writing course for under-prepared students and instituted a writing placement test (English Department Essay Placement Test or EDEPT) to reduce inaccuracies of placement via standardized test scores. During my tenure, I developed online tutoring services and wrote grants totaling $12,858.00 for computer equipment. Instituting regular student evaluations of Reading/Writing Center tutors enabled continuous improvement.
Director, Computer-Supported Writing Classrooms (1994-2000)
In this position I supervised two computer classrooms operating Daedalus Integrated Writing Environment (DIWE), a LAN suite of tools that enabled drafting, responding, discussion boards, and chat aimed at supporting the writing process. Duties included mentoring a graduate assistant, training teachers, developing curricula, creating a teacher’s guide, offering workshops on teaching writing in a technology-rich environment, and arranging technical support.
Carrie Leverenz 