Re: Writing Centers and National Writing Project Sites

["Janet A. Swenson" <jswenson@pilot.msu.edu>]

How a relationship between the NWP and a Writing Center has influenced
funding, staffing, projects, events, etc....

The Writing Center at Michigan State University is the home of the Red
Cedar Writing Project (a site of the NWP) and the National Writing Projects
of Michigan (other state NWP sites are located in Eastern Michigan
University, Ferris State University, Northern Michigan University, Saginaw
Valley State University and Western Michigan University).

Participation in the NWP brings with it a modest grant ($25,000 in 99-00)
to support a 4-5 week summer institute for K-university writing teachers,
continuity events to keep summer institute teachers involved in the
project/Writing Center over time, and professional development
opportunities that the teachers from the summer institutes conduct for
other teachers.  In addition, the NWP offers RFPs for sites to participate
in specific national research initiatives (Red Cedar WP and Saginaw Valley
are both part of Project Outreach, funded by DeWitt Wallace to study the
composition-focused professional development needs of teachers in
low-income school districts and to provide leadership opportunities for
composition teachers who are under-represented in such positions;
Crossroads WP at Ferris and Third Coast WP at Western Michigan participate
in Rural Voices; Country Schools, also a DeWitt Wallace funded project
aimed at studying the particular challenges writing teachers in rural
districts face).

Participation in the NWP has broadened the "community" that is part of our
Writing Center.  On any given day, in additional to the undergraduate and
graduate students and faculty who are involved in the Writing Center, we
also have K-12 teachers and their students here (for instance, in the
summer the Center hosts Greenrock--a high school writers retreat and
GEMS--Greenrock Elementary and Middle School Writers Retreat).
Participation in national NWP research projects has connected Michigan
teachers who identify the MSU Writing Center as their "professional home"
to those in other states through site visits, e-mail, listservs and
conferences.

NWPs philosophy is very consistent with the guiding principles of a
landgrant university, and I'd say participation in the NWP has had a
profound influence on the our internal and external funding and on the
projects in which we're engaged.

Janet Swenson



Janet Swenson, Ph.D.
Acting Director
The Writing Center
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1033
Ph: 517-432-3610
Fax: 517-432-3828
E-mail: jswenson@pilot.msu.edu