Re: assistant WC directors

[chrish@unix.tamu.edu (Christopher Holcomb)]

Dear Rob,

        At Texas A&M (@ 40,000 students), we have two assistant directors
(which, bacause of bureaucratic reasons, are officially known as assistants
to the Coordinator of the Writing Center [that's me]). Both are graduate
students, and although there are no special degree requirements (we have
had MA candadites fill the position), they must have experience working in
the center as a consultant and have taken the graduate course we offer in
WC Theory and Administration.

        The assistants' salaries come from departmental funds (as do all of
the consultants'), and they typically work 20 hrs. per week. The assistants
are responsible for the daily operation of our WC (e.g., overseeing record
keeping, consultant projects, e-mail querries, etc.), and they assist me in
both training and policy decisions.

        One thing we do that works very well: the two positions are filled
in a staggered fashion. That is, for every semester, one of the assistants
is a veteran and the other is a rookie. THis fall, for instance, one of our
assists. held that position in the spring of '98; the other is brand new.
In the spring of '99, the formerly new assist will continue in that
position and an entirely new one will be added. This process helps
continuity.

Hope this helps some,

Chris Holcomb