Re: Professionalism -Reply

[Kelly Lowe <lowekf@muc.edu>]

I would like to Echo some of Jeanne's thoughts.  I've always thought
of "professional," at least in a crude way, as something that you had
to go to school for.  For instance, although there are very few
programs that offer a degree specifically in program administration,
I was able to carve one out during my doctoral program with little
difficulty.  And while there are folks with specialized degree
programs in areas that I could probably claim some minimal amount of
mastery (Technical writing and ESL come to mind), I wouldn't claim to
be a professional in their fields.

One way to look at the professionalization question is to look at the
academic preparation of new members of the field, and the requirements
that various institutions are asking newly hired writing center
directors to have.  In WPA circles, there is a clear demarcation of
first and second generation administrators -- those from literature
who were press-ganged into running a program (and kinda liked it),
vs. those who specifically trained not only for rhet/comp, but for
administration (a relativly recent phenomina, I think).

Anyway, those are some tired thoughts on a tired Monday.

Cheers;

Kelly Lowe
Director of Writing Programs
Mount Union College
Alliance, OH 44601
330/823.3153
lowekf@muc.edu
"In a world ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile." --Hunter
Thompson