. . .and Speaking

[Christine Cozzens <FAIRVIEW@worldnet.att.net>]

Kevin,

Thanks for your interest!  We have just set up a sister program called 
"The Speaking Center," in which peer tutors--trained in techniques that 
are parallel to those that we use in the Writing Center--will help 
students with all kinds of oral presentations--from recitations, to oral 
reports, to speeches, etc.  They have video and audio equipment in their 
office to help with the tutoring.  

Thanks to SACS, our accrediting agency (which occasionally has good 
ideas!) and interest from our faculty, students at Agnes Scott are being 
asked to some kind of oral presentation in almost every course they 
take.  Because speaking and writing are often linked, and because we 
think the writing center approach is a great way for students to learn, 
we decided to set up the Speaking Center as a joint venture.  We have 
help from our Theatre Department in training the tutors and other 
aspects.  The dean wanted to call us the Communications Center, but I 
thought that sounded like a switchboard, so I came up with the Center 
for Writing and Speaking, not wanting to lose the prominence of Writing 
in the title. Right now we are two centers: I direct the writing center 
and the whole program, and a colleague who teaches public speaking runs 
the Speaking Center.  When I come off sabbatical in Janaury I hope to 
overlap the training programs of the two centers much more; I think both 
groups will benefit from hearing more about each other's work.  

This expansion was all part of a big infusion of money and confidence 
from the dean following my argument that especially in a small liberal 
arts college, backing the writing center was the way to strengthen 
Writing Across the Curriculum.  

More than you wanted to know, but thanks for asking!

Christine Cozzens
Center for Writing and Speaking
Agnes Scott College