Elon University acknowledges that writing runs through all disciplines. The search for a director of writing across the curriculum signifies the institution’s commitment to developing writing, according to Peter Felten, director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and chair of the selection committee. This director will work to implement a writing program in every curriculum.
The university’s writing-focused initiative demonstrates the need to graduate effective communicators, according to Lynne Bisko, nonprint librarian and member of the selection committee.
“The WAC director also will bring distinct experience and knowledge, including national leadership experience in writing,” Felten said. “We’ve had a strong writing across the curriculum director for a number of years at Elon, but that role has just been a fraction of that faculty member’s time.”
Tim Peeples, associate provost for faculty affairs and professor of English, served as the director of writing across the curriculum and said he recognizes the benefits of hiring an individual specifically for the position.
“The people we are trying to recruit into the position are very experienced, so they will come with a wealthy of experience that I did not have,” Peeples said.
Designating director of writing across the curriculum as an individual position will provide the director with more time and more resources geared toward enhancing writing, according to Felten.
Hiring an individual specifically dedicated to strengthening a writing program will also expand the breadth and depth of student learning and develop alongside the writing-focused Quality Enhancement Plan, which is part of the university’s reaccreditation process, Felten said.
The QEP concerns transforming the teaching and learning of writing across all disciplines.
“In some ways, when we wrote the QEP we grabbed onto the proposal (for a WAC director) and ran on the coattails of that proposal,” said Paula Patch, professor of English and co-author of the selected QEP.
Patch said she expects the director to set goals for student writing and work with all the departments to meet those goals using the tools already available.
“The QEP made the position particularly appealing to a number of candidates because it’s a statement of the institution’s commitment to writing in the long haul,” Felten said. “The timing is good.”
The search committee has received a number of applicants since beginning the hiring process in November. The two final candidates will interview on campus this week.
The application called for candidates with experienced leadership in the teaching and learning of writing and who have led a writing program on a campus or multiple campuses to advance scholarship related to writing.
“There were differences, and people on the committee saw different things in different applications, but we came to a consensus about the strongest candidate,” Felten said.
The selection committee consists of faculty from various departments.
“I feel it is an important position on campus, and I believe that the library should and will play a large role in the QEP, and I felt it was important to be involved in selecting this person,” Bisko said.
Although Michael Carignan, associate professor of history, said he believes the history department has a clear writing program, the director of writing across the curriculum can provide more opportunities to evaluate writing goals.
“It is intended to guide faculty who want to develop how they teach their writing instruction,” Carignan said. “It is available for every discipline.”