CALL FOR 2010 WPA RESEARCH GRANT PROPOSALS

The Research Grants Committee of the Council of Writing Program
Administrators invites proposals for research projects that investigate
issues and practices in writing program administration. Maximum awards of
$2000 may be given; average awards are $1000. Applicants must be current WPA
members; all current WPA members are eligible to apply.   

Deadline for Proposals: January 1, 2010

Please organize your proposal as follows:

1.  A cover page that gives the names of all investigators (please don't
identify yourself or your institution in the rest of the proposal), the
proposal/project title, mailing addresses, email addresses and phone
numbers. 

2.  A project overview of no more than two pages single-spaced in which you:

.         explain the problem or question your research project will attempt
to investigate or solve 

.         briefly outline the methodology you plan to use to approach the
problem 

.         describe how the project will address the problem or question you
have identified 

.         give a timetable detailing how the project will proceed 

.         connect the project to previously published research and
scholarship 

.         describe your expertise in this area 

.         describe how the results will be shared professionally (See
"Expectations of Reward Recipients" below)

3.  A realistic, detailed budget on a separate page. For grants over $1000,
in-kind budget items or alternative budget sources need to be included in
the budget. State also if you will accept partial funding. 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

You may find the following criteria useful in preparing your proposal. The
WPA Grants Committee will use these criteria to conduct blind reviews of all
proposals. 

1. Relevance: The project is relevant to the work of writing program
administrators, it applies to contexts outside of the immediate
institutional context of origin, and writing program administrators will
benefit from the outcomes of this project.

2. Contribution: The project not only is related to prior scholarship and
research but also makes an original contribution. 

3. Proposer's Past Scholarship/Expertise: Through prior research and
expertise, the proposer is well-prepared to undertake this project.

4. Methods: The methodology is clear, workable, and appropriate to this
project.

5. Feasibility: The proposer can reasonably complete the project in the
proposed time frame.

6. Cost Effectiveness: The budget expenditures are reasonable and the
project's outcomes justify the project's expenses.

Restrictions: 

.         Ordinarily, you will not receive funding for released time for the
grantee or others; for purely local initiatives or projects with little
relevance to other settings; for outside consultants or evaluators; for the
production of non-researched materials; for dissertation research; travel to
present your research at WPA or any other conference.  (Funding for travel
to conferences for research purposes may be considered) or for supplements
to existing grants, unless it is clear that the WPA grant provides an
opportunity to extend the project in new directions. 

.         WPA does not generally fund institutional overhead. If grants are
approved that require institutional overhead, WPA will allow no more than
10% of funding to institutional overhead. 

.         You may not submit more than one proposal per year. The Committee
will give first consideration for awards to those who have not received an
award for three years.

.         Former WPA Board members should wait a year after their term has
expired to apply for a grant.

EXPECTATIONS OF REWARD RECIPIENTS

1. Grantees are expected to submit articles resulting from the research to
WPA Journal for first consideration. 

2. Grantees are expected to produce a brochure presenting research results
at the annual CCCC's WPA breakfast in the year during which the award is
granted. Applicants should budget approximately $200 for production of the
brochure in their application. 

3. Grantees are expected to submit a final written report of their research
outcomes to the Chair of the Research Grants Committee by June 15 of the
year after they receive the award. Ordinarily, reports will be 5-7 pages in
length. In some circumstances, grantees may need more space, in which case a
report of up to 10 pages is acceptable. These reports should outline
specific plans for submitting an article reporting the results to the WPA
Journal as well as other plans for dissemination. 

Questions about proposals can be directed to 

Barbara L'Eplattenier bleplatt AT ualr.edu

The preferred method for proposal submission is a Microsoft Word attachment
to an e-mail sent to Barbara L'Eplattenier bleplatt AT ualr.edu

If applicants need to send paper copies, please send four copies of the
proposal to the address below. E-mails and paper copies must be received no
later than January 1, 2010.

Barbara L'Eplattenier
Department of Rhetoric and Writing
2801 S. University Ave
Little Rock AR 72204-1099

Winners will be announced at the 2010 WPA breakfast at the Conference on
College Composition and Communication.

**7th annual IWCA Summer Institute for Writing Center Directors and Professionals**

Sunday, July 12 - Friday, July 18, 2009
Temple University

Philadelphia, PA

(virtual tours of Temple and Philly)<http://www.temple.edu/undergrad/admissions_flash/>

Join co-chairs Lori Salem (Temple University) and Brad Hughes (University of
Wisconsin-Madison), plus seven outstanding leaders (to be announced soon), plus
a great group of Temple writing-center professionals and students, plus 55
wonderful participants from around the US and the world for in-depth and
critical discussions of these kinds of topics--

*       writing center philosophies, missions, theories, and literature
*       leadership in an academic culture
*       diversity and writing centers
*       tutor education
*       planning, growing, developing, and re-imagining a writing center
*       assessment
*       research and publishing
*       collaborating across our campuses and beyond
*       writing fellows
*       writing center politics and administration (or developing your inner
Pollyanna and Machiavelli!)
*       technology and writing centers
*       working with multilingual writers
*       facilities and space
*       WAC, WID, and writing centers
*       communicating with faculty and administrators
*       writing center support for graduate-level writers
*       community writing centers
*       funding, budgeting, fundraising, endowments
*       research with tutor alumni
*       writing center workshops
*       and issues, questions, knowledge and experience that participants bring


Past institutes have been wonderfully enriched by international participants, as
well as by participants from two-year colleges and secondary schools.

Philadelphia is a terrific place to visit in the summer, and not just because of
the Phillies and the cheesesteaks.  We'll be meeting on Temple's campus, a leafy
oasis in the north part of the city, and in Center City, within easy walking
distance of brew pubs, restaurants, bookstores, funky boutiques, and coffee
shops.  Philadelphia's historical sites (the Liberty Bell, Christ Church) are
well worth the trip, as are the city's arts institutions, especially the newly
expanded Art Museum (complete with Rocky Stairs), the Institute of Contemporary
Art, the Mutter Museum (google it!).  Philly is a terrific and welcoming place
for families if you're considering bringing yours, with a major zoo, aquarium,
science museum, history museum, as well as not one but two rivers and the
largest urban park in the country.

Anticipated registration fee: $800 (includes an opening dinner and four
lunches.)

Two sites are available for lodging:  On-campus private dorm rooms at $38/night;
or downtown hotel at approximately $145/night. (On-campus lodging for families
is also available at a slightly higher rate.)

Six scholarships will be available to defray the registration fee.  Stayed tuned
for more details about how to apply.


Registration opens Friday, February 27, 2009.  Participation will be limited to
the first 55 registrants.



Please Note: The institute often fills to capacity two to four months in
advance, so if participating in the 2009 institute is a priority for you, be
sure to register early.  Registration for the 2009 Summer Institute will open on
February 27th.


We'll have more details about leaders, lodging, registration, scholarships, and
transportation options in coming weeks.


Questions about the summer 09 institute?  Please contact us at:


Lori Salem at lori.salem@temple.edu<mailto:lori.salem@temple.edu or
215-204-0709.  Lori is this year's co-chair and local host.  She is the Director
of Temple University Writing Center and Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate
Studies

or

Brad Hughes at bthughes@wisc.edu<mailto:bthughes@wisc.edu or 608-263-3823. 
Brad is this year's co-chair.  He is the Director of the Writing Center and the
Director of Writing Across the Curriculum at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison.

Thanks for your interest!

--Lori and Brad
 

Across the Disciplines is pleased to announce the publication of a special issue on “Writing Technologies and Writing Across the Curriculum: Current Lessons and Future Trends” ( http://wac.colostate.edu/atd/technologies/index.cfm), guest edited by Karen Lunsford.  This special issue of ATD explores how and why WAC/WID initiatives incorporate writing technologies, take advantage of emergent forms of writing instruction, and adapt to evolving disciplinary and cultural norms for writing.
 
The table of contents for this special issue includes:
 
Introduction: Writing Technologies and WAC
        Karen J. Lunsford
 
Seduction or Productivity: Repurposing the Promise of Technology
        William Klein & Suellynn Duffey
 
Programs that Work(ed): Revisiting the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago, and George Mason University Programs after 20 Years
        Morgan T. Reitmeyer
 
Online Tutoring: A Symbiotic Relationship with Writing Across the Curriculum Initiatives
        Judy Arzt, Kristine E. Barnett, & Jessyka Scoppetta
 
Developing and Assessing an Online Research Writing Course
         Christopher W. Dean
 
Students' Strengths and Weaknesses in Evaluating Technical Arguments as Revealed through Implementing Calibrated Peer Review in a Bioengineering Laboratory
        Tracy Volz & Ann Saterbak
 
Writing in the Disciplines versus Corporate Workplaces: On the Importance of Conflicting Disciplinary Discourses in the Open Source Movement and the Value of Intellectual Property
        Brian D. Ballentine
 
Writing in the Disciplines, Technology, and Disciplinary Grounding
        Carolyn Sterling-Deer
 
Intersectional Computer-Supported Collaboration in Business Writing: Learning through Challenged Performance
        Dirk Remley
 
Not Just Words Any More: Multimodal Communication Across the Curriculum
        Lillian Bridwell-Bowles, Karen E. Powell, & Tiffany Walter
 

Dr. Michael Pemberton            
Professor, Department of Writing and Linguistics
Editor, Across the Disciplines
Georgia Southern University              
 

Composing a Community
A History of Writing Across the Curriculum

Writing across the curriculum is experiencing a renaissance in institutions across the country. People starting or restarting WAC programs will want to read Composing a Community: A History of Writing Across the Curriculum.

Composing a Community is not only a history of early WAC programs but also of how the people developing those programs were in touch with one another, exchanging ideas and information, forming first a network and then a community. Composing a Community captures the stories of pioneers like Elaine Maimon, Toby Fulwiler, and others, giving readers first-hand accounts from those who were present at the creation of this new movement. David Russell’s introduction sets this emergent narrative into relief.

Susan H. McLeod and Margot Iris Soven, themselves pioneers in WAC history, have assembled some of its most eloquent voices in this collection: Charles Bazerman, John C. Bean, Toby Fulwiler, Anne Herrington, Carol Holder, Peshe C. Kuriloff, Linda Peterson, David R. Russell, Christopher Thaiss, Barbara E. Walvoord, and Sam Watson. Their style is personal, lively, and informal as the authors succeed in putting their personal memories in the larger context of WAC studies.