WPAing in a Pandemic and Beyond
284 pages, 6 x 9
Paperback
Release Date:01 Apr 2025
ISBN:9781646426980
Hardcover
Release Date:01 Apr 2025
ISBN:9781646426973
WPAing in a Pandemic and Beyond
Revision, Innovation, and Advocacy
Edited by Todd Ruecker and Sheila Carter-Tod
Utah State University Press
Writing program administrators have a long history of advocating for their students, fellow faculty, and programs. This advocacy includes defending their work against other entities that seek to dictate the work, challenging institutional policies that define student success in a narrow way or create untenable conditions for writing faculty workloads, and making antiracism a central part of writing programs. The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly created a variety of additional challenges for those working in education at all levels. WPAs suddenly had to navigate new public health mandates alongside student and instructor fears as well as pressures by administrations and publics to teach in person.
The chapters in this collection include a variety of voices who have been involved in writing program administration in recent years to reflect on the work done in this moment of crisis. Through both short vignettes and longer chapters, this book explores the complicated interactions between WPA work and navigating times of crisis to provide insights for moving forward. Authors explore a variety of topics including professional development, curricular change, advocating in the face of intransigent administrations and others, caring for students, and taking time for self-care. Pointing to specific actions for continued advocacy, WPAing in a Pandemic and Beyond will be of great interest to WPAs and writing studies scholars.
The chapters in this collection include a variety of voices who have been involved in writing program administration in recent years to reflect on the work done in this moment of crisis. Through both short vignettes and longer chapters, this book explores the complicated interactions between WPA work and navigating times of crisis to provide insights for moving forward. Authors explore a variety of topics including professional development, curricular change, advocating in the face of intransigent administrations and others, caring for students, and taking time for self-care. Pointing to specific actions for continued advocacy, WPAing in a Pandemic and Beyond will be of great interest to WPAs and writing studies scholars.
‘The exigence for this collection couldn’t be clearer. It reminds readers that while COVID was undeniably difficult, it also presents opportunities for us to restructure our writing programs toward equity.’
—Leigh Gruwell, Auburn University
‘A pleasure to read. A valuable contribution to WPA scholarship and practice and, importantly, to those thinking about how to best support students in this post-pandemic moment.’
—Stacey Waite, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Todd Ruecker is associate professor of English and director of the University Composition Program at Colorado State University. His work regularly crosses disciplinary boundaries, and he has published articles in respected composition, education, and applied linguistics journals, including TESOL Quarterly, College Composition and Communication, and the Journal of Educational Policy. He has served as an editor of the Journal of Second Language Writing and has published a monograph and several edited collections.
Sheila Carter-Tod is the executive director of the University Writing Program and professor in the Department of English and Literary Arts at the University of Denver. She has published in College Composition and Communication, Enculturation, Composition Studies, and others, as well as numerous chapters in books and edited collections. She serves or has served on the editorial boards for CCC, CWPA Journal, Composition Studies, and the Journal of Writing Assessment.
Sheila Carter-Tod is the executive director of the University Writing Program and professor in the Department of English and Literary Arts at the University of Denver. She has published in College Composition and Communication, Enculturation, Composition Studies, and others, as well as numerous chapters in books and edited collections. She serves or has served on the editorial boards for CCC, CWPA Journal, Composition Studies, and the Journal of Writing Assessment.
