NEWCA Conference 2008 | Apr 12-13,2008 | Northeast Writing Centers Association

NEWCA Conference 2008
April 12-13, 2008
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

Schedule for Sunday April 13th
8:30-10:00	Breakfast Reception
9:00-10:00	SIG Group Meetings
10:00-11:00	SIG Group Meetings

Keynote
Speakers:

Anne Ellen Geller, Michel Eodice, Frankie Condon, Meg Carroll, and Elizabeth Boquet

Anne Ellen Geller, Michele Eodice, Frankie Condon, Meg Carroll, and Elizabeth Boquet, the celebrated authors of The Everyday Writing Center: A Community of Practice, will collaborate to kick start the twenty-fourth meeting of the NEWCA conference.

Individually, these scholars, harkening from St. John’s University, the University of Oklahoma, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Rhode Island College, and Fairfield University, have each displayed ongoing commitment to writing center scholarship and the wider writing center community, as well as ongoing support of NEWCA. Together, they have written a book that pushes us to think more deeply about the unique situation of the writing center, using the metaphor of the trickster to explore the fluidity of writing centers, the compelling contradictions of the spaces writing centers occupy both figuratively and literally, and the opportunities for using the dynamic nature of writing center work to enhance the possibilities of writing centers as multidisciplinary centers for learning and community.

Conference Theme:

CTRL/ALT/DEL

Ctrl/Alt/Del is a combination of computer keystrokes used to restart an operating system. As such, the term “Control-Alt-Delete” evokes not only the influence of technology but also themes of regeneration and persistence—recurring themes for writing center administrators, peer tutors, and student writers.

This term speaks to the dynamic nature of writing center work and raises questions about how much the writing center is a controlling force or opens space for alternative discourses, how vulnerable writing centers are to deletion while also flexible enough to accommodate change and the many forms of rebooting/restarting, how technologies inform writing center work with differing amounts of visibility and influence, and how collaborative learning, talking, and writing continue to center and empower writing center work.

NEWCA is using Ctrl/Alt/Del and its distinct components control, alternative, and delete as rhetorical frames for examining writing center research and practices. Sessions will investigate such questions as:

<Ctrl>	What types of control do writers have over their academic writing? How do material, technological, or institutional forces control the work of writing centers? To what extent is the writing center is a controlling force, a force that normalizes student discourse and writing?
<Alt>	How are alternative and normalized discourses negotiated through writing tutorials? What alternative tutor or administrator practices enhance the work of writing centers?
<Del>	What must be deleted—put aside—in order to rewrite, revise, re-center? How vulnerable are writing centers or writing center missions to deletion?
<Ctrl/Alt/Del>	How do writing centers restart their missions to foster even more effective collaborations?

Conference Schedule

Saturday, April 12

The Book Exhibit will be open from 11:00 to 5:30.

8:30-9:00		Registration
9:00-10:45		Opening Remarks and Keynote
11:00-12:15		Concurrent Sessions 1
12:30-1:30		Lunch, Awards, Elections of NEWCA Steering Committee Members
1:45-3:00		Concurrent Sessions 2
3:15-4:30		Concurrent Sessions 3
4:00-5:30		Coffee and Pastry Reception and NEWCA Steering Committee Meeting

Sunday, April 13

8:30-10:00		Breakfast Reception
9:00-10:00		SIG Meetings
10:00-11:00		SIG Meetings

Special Interest Groups (SIGS)

For this year’s conference, NEWCA is offering a variety of Special Interest Groups (SIGS). These SIGS would meet during the conference to discuss common interests and further strengthen the NEWCA community. These will include:

WAC, WID, and the WC	So You’re Thinking about Grad School
WC Research Network	Tutors Network
Publicizing the WC	WC Administrative Issues
ESL Writers and the WC	WC Assessment
Anti-Racism and the WC	Technology in the WC

Let us know which SIGs you would be interested in, by including your preferences on the registration form.

Scholarships:	Scholarship applications are no longer being accepted. Winners will be notified shortly and recipients recognized at the conference.
Registration:	Pre-Registration for NEWCA now closed Onsite registration open on Saturday: 8:30 to 10:45 at Billings Hall 11:00 to 4:00 at 308 Layfayette Hall
Conference Venue:	University of Vermont Burlington, VT Getting to University of Vermont Campus Map and Parking (right click to download)
Hotels & Restaurants:	Our Conference Hotels are the Sheraton Burlington and the Best Western WindJammer Inn. Hotels information and NEWCA Rates Restaurant information
NEWCA Blog:	Join NEWCA members in discussions of writing center pedagogy and practice at our new blog: http://newca.wordpress.com
Questions:	Dr. Michelle Cox, Conference Chair Phone: (508) 531-2183 email:

Consider Joining the NEWCA Steering Committee!

We are looking for individuals interested in serving on NEWCA’s Steering Committee, as we have at least four positions open. The committee meets at the end of the NEWCA conference, once in June, and once in January to plan the annual conference. It’s a fun committee and a great way to get to know others in the local writing center community. See below for a list of current steering committee members; please feel free to contact any of them if you have any questions. If you are interested in running, please email Michelle Cox, Conference Chair, a brief bio for inclusion in the ballot that NEWCA members will receive during the conference.

NEWCA Steering Committee 2007-2008

Name	Affiliation	Email
Michelle Cox Chair	Bridgewater State College, MA
Kate Tirabassi Vice Chair	Keene State College, NH
Leslie Van Wagner Ex Officio, Treasurer	Rivier College, NH
Michelle Deal Records Historian	University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Kathryn Nielsen Dube IWCA Representative	Merrimack College, MA
Pat Morelli Chair of Proposal Reading Committee; Representative for Connecticut	University of Hartford, CT
Jennifer Jefferson Representative for Massachusetts	Endicott College, MA
Gillian Jordan Representative for Maine	University of Maine, Augusta, ME
Harry Denny Representative for New York	St. John’s University, NY
Collie Fulford Representative for New Hampshire	Keene State College, NH
Sue Dinitz Representative for Vermont	UVM
Stephanie Carter Representative for Rhode Island	Bryant University
Carey Smitherman	Worcester State College, MA
Christina Ortmeier-Hooper	University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Anna Rita Napoleone	University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
John Hall	Boston University, MA
Susan Derosa	Eastern Connecticut State University, CT
Kevin Lamkins	Capital Community College, CT
Laura Greenfield	Mt. Holyoke College, MA

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