Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association Home

Grant Applications Deadline Final Reminder: August 15, 202

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:24:51 GMT

Dear RMWCA Colleagues,

We are writing to with a final reminder to submit an application for a research or travel grant from the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association (RMWCA).

The application deadline is today, August 15, 2025. All members of RMWCA are eligible to apply for the grants.

To learn more, and to apply for the grants or seed money, go to https://rmwca.org/Travel-&-Research-Grants. You will need to log in to your RMWCA account to access the page.

If you have any questions, please write to RMWCA President Heather Graham at heather.graham@slcc.edu

Center Moves Issue 4 Available NOW

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 18:49:38 GMT

The Center Moves Editors are thrilled to inform you that issue 4 of Center Moves: A Peer-Reviewed Archive of Tutor Training Materials is live!

This is our first wildcard issue, in which authors could submit training lesson plans on any topic. We got some terrific submissions:

Bonnie Devet, Mary Carr, Morgan Kelly, and Bianca Cedillo Perez prepare consultants to build analogies for writing center consulting, drawing on traditional rhetorical concepts to learn––from themselves and each other––what the work of consulting means.
Elizabeth Gagné creates timely scaffolding for tutors to understand how and why tutoring is different from AI, and how tutors can engage their own intelligence alongside artificial intelligence to support writers.
Carolyne M. King and Megan Boeshart Burelle develop a set of three scaffolded lessons that support tutors’ and writers’ rhetorical reading, helping them develop more nuanced ways of understanding source use across the disciplines.
Michelle Marvin generates a workshop for tutors to develop more professional and personal tutor notes, helping them navigate and understand the genre and how they can communicate writing center values.
CharLee Toth and Michael Ennis produce a cross-training usable in writing centers and tutoring centers, helping tutors understand, apply, and adapt concepts from cognitive psychology to support and deepen their practice.

Please check their work out!

Also, if you are interested in submitting to issue 5, which invites materials that train tutors to work with writers and writing from across disciplines and to check in with writers through the session, the deadline has been extended until tomorrow. If you are interested and reach out ASAP, we might be able to hold the reviews a couple extra days for you!

Full details and the submission link can be found at the Center Moves homepage.

Sincerely,

The Center Moves Editorial Board:

Erin Zimmerman
Melody Denny
Erik Echols
Juli Parrish
Olivia Tracy

Call for Submissions: Center Moves issue 5: A Peer-Reviewed Archive of Tutor Training Materials.

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 19:48:08 GMT

Dear RMWCA Administrators and Tutors,

We are announcing that the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association is inviting submissions for the fifth issue of Center Moves: A Peer-Reviewed Archive of Tutor Training Materials.

This archive houses peer-reviewed lesson plans and materials that administrators and tutors can use and modify for training in their centers.

Each issue will center on different consulting topics so that we end up with widespread coverage of content relevant for all writing and learning centers. For the fifth issue, we invite submissions on the following two themes:

1. Training tutors to work with writers and writing from across disciplines

Submissions for this theme must be designed to prepare tutors to work with writers writing in unfamiliar or discipline-specific genres. Proposals might discuss the following:

how to train tutors to consult on particular genres

how to learn writing or rhetorical strategies that might transfer across genres or disciplines

how to gain insight about genre or disciplinary conventions from the writers or other resources in a session

how to build confidence speaking with writers about unfamiliar content or genres

2. Training tutors to check in with writers through the session

Submissions for this theme must be designed to prepare tutors to assess writers’ understanding and determine whether strategies are working. Proposals might discuss the following:

how to help tutors know when and how to take time in consultations to check in on writers’ comprehension

how to be attentive to writers’ verbal and nonverbal cues

how to determine whether to change the plan for the session based on what the writer finds helpful.

Training tutors to find methods that extend beyond generic strategies when working with neurodivergent writers or in online (synchronous or asynchronous) consultations might also be discussed.

Proposals are due July 15, 2025. All submissions will undergo a peer-review process before being accepted for publication. The issue will be published in January 2026.

For more information about Center Moves and the proposal submission process, please see the RMWCA website.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Best regards,

Erin Zimmerman

Managing Editor, Center Moves

RMWCA Board Election Results

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:40:53 GMT

Thanks to everyone who participated and voted in our recent board elections. We want to congratulate the following people and welcome them to our board. We look forward to working with them!

Secretary - Alanna Bitzel (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)

Treasurer - Clint Gardner (Salt Lake Community College)

Outreach Coordinator - Matt Whitaker (Utah State University)

Tutor Representative - Felicia Wilson Prevo (Salt Lake Community College

State Representative: New Mexico - Amanda May (New Mexico Highlands University)

State Representative: Utah - Tyler Gardner (Brigham Young University)

State Representative: Wyoming - Francesca King (University of Wyoming)

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Call for Board Candidates

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:06:57 GMT

If you are interested in a leadership position or would like to nominate someone else for a leadership position with the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association, please complete this nomination form by Friday, May 9 at 11:59pm MT.

Several positions are available, and terms will begin in June 2025:
Secretary: 2-year term
Tutor Representative: 1-year term
Outreach Coordinator: 2-year term
Web Editor/Online Communications: 3-year term
Arizona State Representative: 2-year term
Colorado State Representative: 2-year term
Montana State Representative: 2-year term
New Mexico State Representative: 2-year term
Utah State Representative: 2-year term
Wyoming State Representative: 2-year term

The duties for each position may be found at https://rmwca.wildapricot.org/Bylaws.

You may declare your candidacy by completing the nomination form before Friday, May 9 at 11:59pm MDT.

All nominees will be contacted after the nomination period ends to confirm their candidacy. All candidates must be either current institutional or individual members of the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association (RMWCA). You may join the RMWCA at https://www.rmwca.org.

Event Announcement: RMWCA Chat and Chew: Navigating Uncertainty

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:04:21 GMT

RMWCA Chat and Chew: Navigating Uncertainty

Join the RMWCA for a Chat and Chew focused on Navigating Uncertainty. This event will be on Wednesday, May 7, from 11:00am-12:00pm MDT, on Zoom.

As we move toward summer and the next academic year, many administrators and tutors will be navigating various levels and degrees of uncertainty in individual, writing center, and institutional contexts.

Join your colleagues in conversation to share strategies and approaches to navigating uncertainties, and consider how we can build further support systems for administrators and tutors.

Please email Outreach Coordinator Olivia Tracy at olivia.tracy@du.edu with any questions.

Thanks for a great TutorCon!

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 21:33:55 GMT

We wanted to take a moment and thank you all for being part of RMWCA TutorCon 2025 last week.

Attendees (203 of them!) from 2 countries and 36 states hopped onto Discord for 26 presentations, workshops, and roundtables from 60 great presenters. We also collected 36 very photogenic pics of all our favorite furry friends and family, shared some great memes and heard a wonderful keynote from Talisha Haltiwanger Morrison, PhD (whose publication, Tutors Matter, Too: Supporting Writing Tutors through Racial Justice inspired this year’s theme: Tutors Too.)

The Discord server will remain open if you want to pop back in at a later time and revisit the cute pet pics, connect with others, or even keep the conversations going. The videos in the gallery will expire in just two weeks, but the other posts will remain (unless the presenter removes them.)

We would very much love your feedback about your experience today! Please fill out this short survey:https://forms.gle/eZzBck3QUQbyruTQ6

Thank you again for being part of this year’s conference. We hope to see you all again soon.

Travel/Research Grant and Seed Money Upcoming Deadline

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:15:12 GMT

RMWCA Members, don't forget about the upcoming deadline for applications for research or travel grants or seed money from Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association (RMWCA).

A key goal of RMWCA is "to facilitate community and professional development among RMWCA members," and one of the ways we do that is by offering the twice-yearly opportunity for members to apply for research or travel grants. Grant amounts depend on out total available funding during each grant cycle but generally range from $200 to $400.

Travel grants may be used to offset costs for attending writing center conferences; we ask you to provide a travel budget for a specific conference and to describe your purpose and role in attending that conference.

Research grants may be used to offset costs for a specific writing center-related research project you are undertaking; the application form is the same as for travel grants and similarly asks you to provide a budget for your research, describe the project, and explain how potential funding will support your work.

All members of RMWCA are eligible to apply for the grants. The selection committee will consist of the RMWCA Executive Board, and there are two deadlines for the grants: January 15 and September 1 of each year. Applications will be evaluated and funds will be dispersed based on the following criteria:

RMWCA membership
Financial need
Representation of an underrepresented demographic
Not having received funding within the previous year
Quality of application
Benefit for general membership (outcomes, inclusion, etc.)

To apply for the grants or seed money go to https://rmwca.wildapricot.org/Travel-&-Research-Grants. You will need to log in to your RMWCA account to access the page.

The next deadline is January 15, 2025.

If you have any questions, please write to us a tutorcon.rmwca@gmail.com.

Chat and Chew: TutorCon Q&A

Sat, 07 Dec 2024 00:06:12 GMT

Chat and Chew: TutorCon Q&A

Monday, December 09, 2024 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM MST

ZOOM (link provided at registration)

Join RMWCA for a discussion and information session about TutorCon 2025!

Come join us to talk about the conference and proposal process, ask questions, and be in community with your colleagues.

RMWCA TutorCon 2025 Call for Proposals

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:04:31 GMT

Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association TutorCon 2025

Call for Proposals

Deadline: January 21, 2025

Theme: Tutors Too

For TutorCon 2025, we invite you to share tutor perspectives that may sometimes get lost in the many moving pieces of writing center work. Creativity in conceptualizing, planning, and delivery is welcome. We encourage you to share your works-in-process or works in development, in a creative form or in terms of one or more of these categories: Individual presentations, Conference workshops, Workshop-in-a-Box or Training-in-a-Box , Roundtable discussions, & Tutoring Approaches Exchange

See the complete CFP / Register: https://bit.ly/RMWCATutorCon2025

Submit your proposal using this Google form. For more information, check out the proposal guidance page.

Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association TutorCon 2025: Tutors Too

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 23:58:24 GMT

Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association TutorCon 2025: Tutors Too

February 28, 2025 – Virtual/Online

Tutors are constantly inhabiting complex, liminal spaces as they address their own needs and writers’ needs, negotiate instructor expectations, and follow the direction of administrators. As such, listening to the voices of tutors from a variety of academic, cultural, and personal backgrounds and identities matters. We want to explore how tutors navigate these shifting responsibilities and shape their writing centers by amplifying their stories and voices. For TutorCon 2025, we invite you to share tutor perspectives that may sometimes get lost in the many moving pieces of writing center work.

See CFP / Register: https://bit.ly/RMWCATutorCon2025

RWMCA Past-president Juli Parrish Receives 2024 Maxwell Award

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 18:24:53 GMT

re-posted from: NCPTW

Juli Parrish, Director of the University of Denver (UD) Writing Center was awarded the 2024 Ron Maxwell Distinguished Leadership Award at the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing in Tacoma, Washington on October 18. Parrish, who was unable to attend the conference, has directed the UD Writing Center scine 2015 and has a long history of engagement with NCPTW. The Maxwell Award selection committee (composed of former award recipients) recognized how her values around peer writing tutoring and collaborative learning extend throughout her work with NCPTW. Especially noteworthy has been her investment in mentoring peer tutors’ attendance and presentation at NCPTW and beyond. One nominator noted that she has “guided and mentored at least 70 undergraduate and graduate peer tutors to present at national and regional writing center conferences,” including NCPTW. This nominator went on to identify her impact on “countless undergraduate adn graduate consultants as they develop leadership positions within the writing center and beyond in their chosen professions.”

Those who nominated her for this award described with admiration Dr. Parrish’s history of supporting and mentoring peer writing tutors across a number of contexts, including the peer observation model she and her staff implemented during the Pandemic, the collaboratively developed asynchronous feedback model that increased accessibility particularly for neurodivergent students, and her leadership roles with Center Moves and the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association.

Center Moves Issue 2 Published

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 17:56:59 GMT

The Center Moves Editorial Team is thrilled to inform you that the second issue of Center Moves: A Peer-Reviewed Archive of Tutor Training Materials is live!

This issue centered on two tutor training topics: how to support tutors with linguistic justice mindfulness and with tutoring citation formatting. Please check out our three fantastic submissions!

The Center Moves Editorial Board would also like to thank our reviewers for this issue, Lori Jacobson, College of William and Mary; Jack Kenigsberg, Hunter College; John Bradley, Vanderbilt University; and Erik Echols, University of Washington, Bothell. Additional thanks to Jamaica Ritcher, University of Idaho, for being one of the founding editors of Center Moves and the submissions editor for this second issue. All of us on the board are sad to have her step away from Center Moves and wish her well on her future endeavors.

Travel and Research Grant Deadline: August 15, 2024

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 20:25:59 GMT

Applications for a research or travel grants from the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association are currently open.

The application deadline is August 15, 2024. All members of RMWCA are eligible to apply for the grants.

To learn more, and to apply for the grants or seed money, go to https://rmwca.org/Travel-&-Research-Grants. You will need to log in to your RMWCA account to access the page.

If you have any questions, please write to RMWCA President Heather Graham at heather.graham@slcc.edu

CALL FOR PROPOSALS: TETYC SPECIAL ISSUE ON TWO-YEAR COLLEGE WRITING CENTERS

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 13:58:20 GMT

Teaching English in the Two-Year College invites proposals for a special issue on writing centers in two-year colleges, guest-edited by Clint Gardner of Salt Lake Community College and Sarah Z. Johnson of Madison College.

Nearly twenty years ago TYCA published its Position Statement on Two-Year College Writing Centers. The position statement was a collaborative effort of writing center professionals who attended the Two-year College Writing Center Special Interest Group at the International Writing Centers Association Conference. It was later adopted as well by IWCA (International Writing Centers Association), the only position statement adopted jointly by both organizations. At the time, these guidelines were greatly anticipated, as many two-year college writing center administrators (who sometimes were simply English faculty who’d been told “go start a writing center”) recognized that two-year contexts presented a unique set of parameters and opportunities. The document held up well over the years, giving helpful advice to both experienced administrators and tutors, and presenting newcomers to the field a theoretical and practical framework to build their programs.

However, the world has changed a lot in the intervening years—booms and busts in enrollment, various funding crises, and of course, a global pandemic. Through it all, writing centers remain essential to the success of many two-year writing programs and the students they serve. Yet the precarity remains as well.

As TYCA revises its Position Statement on Writing Centers in Two-Year Colleges to reflect this new-but-same reality, we invite proposals that explore the contexts and labor of two-year college writing centers. What insights do these programs bring to the field of writing center studies, and what perspective can they provide to all teachers of English in the first two years of college?

Possible themes and topics of research include but are not limited to

Staffing structures
o What are the implications, advantages, and disadvantages of mixed-staffing models?
o Peer tutoring (making it more available and possible)
o Providing training and ongoing support for peer and/or professional tutors
o Embedded tutoring

Peer tutor experience

o Nontraditional “peers”

o Writing Fellows in two-year colleges

o Inter-institutional transfer and peer tutors

Labor issues

o Gendered nature of the field

o How are 2YC WCs administered? What is their institutional location?

How the WC is utilized in new models of basic writing
History of community college writing centers
Demographic studies (of both users and staff)
Equity work of TYC writing centers (linguistic, racial, cultural, sexual and gender identity)
Impact of enrollment declines on 2YC WCs
Assessment, advocacy, and institutional recognition

We encourage proposers to share stories of both success and disappointment. Any writing center administrator can tell you stories of imposed reorganizations, budget cuts, and other disasters. We learn from it all, and though it isn’t as common in the literature, we invite colleagues to share the hard-won wisdom that comes from failure.

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should (a) be grounded in relevant theory and recent scholarship and (b) have a practical application for tutoring, teaching, tutor-training, or program design and administration.
Proposals should include a works-cited list that illustrates the types of scholarship that the finished piece will draw from.
The audience for proposals and finished articles should be instructors and program administrators who teach English in the first two college years at institutions that serve a broad range of learners from diverse social, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds.
For full-length articles (~4000 words) proposals should be no more than 500 words long, not including the works-cited list.
TETYC has long published Instructional Notes and for this issue, we invite undergraduate peer and professional tutors to propose short pieces exploring evidence-based, research-situated discussions of innovative tutoring practices and approaches.

Special Issue Timeline

1. Authors should submit proposals to the TETYC Editorial Manager submission system by November 15, 2023. TETYC’s general submission guidelines are available here.

2. Proposals will be selected in January 2024.

3. Authors with accepted proposals must submit complete manuscripts to the TETYC Editorial Manager submission system by July 1, 2024.

4. Authors will tentatively receive reviewer feedback by September 2024.

5. Final manuscripts will be due to the TETYC Editorial Manager submission system by March 2025.

6. Articles will be published in the December 2025 issue of TETYC.

For questions, please contact tetyc.editor@gmail.com.

Relevant Scholarship

Aikens, K. (2019). "Prioritizing Antiracism in Writing Tutor Education." Johnson, K.G. & Roggenbuck, T. How We Teach Writing Tutors. Writing Lab News Letter. https://wlnjournal.org/digitaleditedcollection1/Aikens.html

Azima, R., Hixson-Bowles, K., & Simpkins, N. (2022). “Starting from Square One”: Results from the Racial Climate Survey of Writing Center Professional Gatherings. The Writing Center Journal, 40(1), 5–26. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27203753

Bennett, K. C. (2022). "Critiquing the Normative Discourse Circulated by Two-Year College Writing Center Websites through Critical Disability Studies and Technical and Professional Communication." Teaching English in the Two Year College, 49(3), 238-256.

Blazer, S. & Fallon, B. (2020). "Changing Conditions for Multilingual Writers: Writing centers for Destabilizing Standard Language Ideology." [Special Issue: Promoting Social Justice for Multilingual Writers on College Campuses]. Composition Forum 44. https://compositionforum.com/issue/44/changing-conditions.php

Daniels, S., Babcock, R. D., & Daniels, D. (2015). “Writing Centers and Disability: Enabling Writers through an Inclusive Philosophy.” Praxis. http://www.praxisuwc.com/daniels-et-al-131

Efthymiou, A. (2021)."What Else Do They Take with Them?(And What Do They Leave Behind?): Understanding Writing Center Conferences as Opportunities for Tutor Transfer." WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, 46(1-2), 10-18.

Herzl-Betz, R. & Virrueta, H. (2022). "Perdiendo Mi Persona: Negotiating Language And Identity At The Conference Door." [Special Section: Undergraduate Research Experiences]. Pedagogy 22.1 [Special Issue: Undergraduate Research as a Future of English Studies], 169-172. https://doi-org.unco.idm.oclc.org/10.1215/15314200-9385624

Missakian, I.L. (2015). Perceptions Of Writing Centers In The Community College: Ways That Students, Tutors, And Instructors Concur And Diverge. (Doctor dissertation, University of California, Irvine). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, 3717093.

Munn, V.L. (2011). Moving Beyond Basic Skills In Community Colleges: The Beliefs And Practices Of Culturally Responsive Peer Mentors. (Doctoral dissertation, University of California at Los Angeles). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, 3483186.

Naydan, L.M. (2021). "What are You?: Rethinking Frames for Contingent Writing Center Work." Speaking Up, Speaking Out: Lived Experiences of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty in Writing Studies (pp. 59-69).

Pantoja, M.V. (2010) An Analysis Of Writing Tutoring Assessment In Four Community College Writing Centers. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, 3410759.

Perdue, S. W., & Driscoll, D. L. (2017). "Context Matters: Centering Writing Center Administrators’ Institutional Status and Scholarly Identity." The Writing Center Journal, 36(1), 185–214. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44252642

Sévère, R. (2019). "Black Male Bodies in the Center." Denny, H.; Mundy, R; Naydan, L.M.; Sévère, R. & Sicari, A. (Eds.), Out in the Center: Public Controversies and Private Struggles, Louisville, University Press of Colorado (pp. 43-50).

Valentine, K. and Torres, M.F. (2011). "Diversity As Topography: The Benefits And Challenges Of Cross Racial Interaction In The Writing Center". Writing Centers And The New Racism: A Call For Sustainable Dialogue And Change. Ed. by Greenfield, L. and Rowan, K. USU Press. 192-210

Valles, S.B., Babcock, R.D., & Jackson, K.K. (2017) “Writing Center Administrators and Diversity: A Survey.” The Peer Review, 1.1. https://thepeerreview-iwca.org/issues/issue-1/writing-center-administrators-and-diversity-a-survey/

Vick, N., et al. (2015) "The Effectiveness Of Tutoring On Developmental English Grades." Community College Enterprise, 21(1), 11-26.

Wells, J. (2016). "Why We Resist 'Leading the Horse': Required Tutoring, RAD Research, and Our Writing Center Ideals." The Writing Center Journal, 35(2), 87–114. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43824058

RMWCA Book Club Selection

Fri, 08 May 2020 15:47:12 GMT

The Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association is pleased to announce that its members have selected Theories and Methods of Writing Center Studies: A Practical Guide edited by Jo Mackiewicz and Rebecca Day Babcock. Members and other insterested parties will be gathering online throughout the summer to discuss the book. Mackiewicz and Babcock have agreed to join the final session. See our Events page for more information.

RMWCA Members Selected for International Writing Centers Association Posts

Wed, 25 Sep 2019 14:01:27 GMT

The International Writing Centers Association announced on September 24, 2019 the candidates selected to fill posts on the IWCA board. Among those selected were RMWCA members Elizabeth Kleinfeld and Eduardo Mabilog. Elizabeth currently serves as RMWCA Treasurer, and Eduardo is a peer consultant at Nevada State College. Congratulations to Elizabeth and Eduardo!

International Pronouns Day 2019

Mon, 09 Sep 2019 19:37:33 GMT

The Executive Board of the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association is proud to announce that it has officially endorsed International Pronouns Day 2019:

“We endorse International Pronouns Day, which seeks to make respecting, sharing, and educating about personal pronouns commonplace. Referring to people by the pronouns they determine for themselves is basic to human dignity. Being referred to by the wrong pronouns particularly affects transgender and gender nonconforming people. Together, we can transform society to celebrate people’s multiple, intersecting identities. We encourage colleges, schools, workplaces, and local organizations to hold educational and empowering events on International Pronouns Day.”

International Pronouns Day 2019 will be held on October 16, 2019. We encourage RMWCA individual and institutional members to visit the IPD website for useful links about the day: https://pronounsday.org/

Lisa Bell Awarded 2019 IWCA Dissertation Grant

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 15:01:45 GMT

RMWCA President Elect Lisa Bell has been awarded the 2019 IWCA Dissertation Grant for her project “Training Tutors to Scaffold with L2 Writers: An Action Research Writing Center Project.” Congratulations to Lisa!

Utah Writing Center Director Symposium

Mon, 24 Jun 2019 14:53:20 GMT

On Thursday, June 20, 2019, writing center directors from all across Utah gathered in Logan, Utah at Utah State University to exchange ideas and discuss writing center theory and practice. Topics included community outreach and marketing; tutor recruitment and development; supporting discipline-specific centers; online tutoring; accessibility and inclusion; obtaining financial support; collaborating with high schools; and graduate student involvement. The symposium concluded with a robust question and answer session, and a luncheon in USU's posh Skyline Restaurant. The event was completely funded by USU, and organized by USU Writing Center staff. Attendees were very appreciative of the generosity of both the school and the staff. While the event was not officially sponsored by RMWCA, the association still encourages such events around the region, and seed money is available in order to help development. If you are interested in hosting a similar event (or any sub-regional event), please contact your RMWCA State Representative, or any of the Executive Board Members for more information.

In order to support further sharing, the organizers set up a Google Drive where anyone involved in writing center work (within Utah, the RMWCA region, or beyond) may drop materials. Session notes may be found in the "Utah Writing Center Director Symposium '19" folder. The notes are very thorough, and should prove useful to those who could not attend the symposium.

RMWCA Grants News

Thu, 06 Jun 2019 14:49:59 GMT

We've got some exciting news! RMWCA has developed a new system to award research and travel grants, as well as seed money grants. While we have previously given by travel and seed money grants, RMWCA has not awarded research grants. Our process for awarding the grants was also pretty informal. We've formalized the process in order to ensure that grants can be awarded in a timely and equitable fashion in future.

As an organization, one of the key goals of RMWCA is "to facilitate community and professional development among RMWCA members." Research and travel grants do not be paid back. Seed money grants are used to develop local/regional conferences within RMWCA boundaries and need to be paid back within in 90 days after the event. All members of RMWCA are eligible to apply for the grants. The selection committee will consist of the RMWCA Executive Board, and there are two deadlines for the grants: January 15and August 15of each year. Applications will be evaluated and funds will be dispersed based on the following criteria:

RMWCA membership
Financial need
Representation of an underrepresented demographic
Not having received funding within the previous year
Quality of application
Benefit for general membership (outcomes, inclusion, etc.)

To apply for the grants or seed money go to https://rmwca.wildapricot.org/Travel-&-Research-Grants. You will need to log in to your RMWCA account to access the page.

Thanks for RMWCA President Elect Lisa Bell for heading up the efforts to revise our process.

Radical Writing Center Praxis Chosen for RMWCA 2019 Summer Book Club

Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:51:13 GMT

Members of the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association (RMWCA) have selected Dr. Laura Greenfield’s new book Radical Writing Center Praxis: A Paradigm for Ethical Political Engagement from Utah State University Press for their upcoming 2019 RMWCA Summer Book Club. According to USU Press Dr. Greenfield’s book “...calls for a paradigm change in writing centers, imagining a field whose very reason for being is to facilitate justice and peace.” Clint Gardner, President of RMWCA, stated that Greenfield’s book has been “highly anticipated, and will undoubtedly be influential on writing center theory and practice for years to come. I’m really excited that RMWCA members selected such a ground-breaking book to discuss.”

Jamaica Ritcher, RMWCA Outreach Coordinator explained the purpose of the Summer Book Club: "It's not uncommon for writing center administrators to feel somewhat isolated within their larger institutions, perhaps especially so during the quiet summer months. The Summer Book Club is proving to be an easy and really enjoyable way for us to stay connected with each other and with the latest in writing center scholarship." The RMWCA Summer Book Club began in 2018 with a discussion of R. Mark Hall’s Around the Texts of Writing Center Work. RMWCA members gathered online to discuss the book during the summer of 2018, culminating with a session with Mark Hall to discuss the work. Dr. Greenfield will also be taking part in the culminating session for 2019, where she will discuss the book with Summer Book Club participants. Gardner hopes to expand the number of discussions in 2019, but notes that RMWCA has not finalized the schedule yet. The final schedule will be determined shortly, and will be found at www.rmwca.org.

Dr. Laura Greenfield, (Ph.D. in English from Washington University in St. Louis) is the founding Director of the Transformative Speaking Program and Faculty Associate at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. According to her Hampshire College website, Dr. Greenfield’s “research and teaching interests include speaking and writing program administration, with a particular focus on social justice frameworks; critical pedagogy and anti-oppression education, with a particular focus on race and gender; public speaking, composition, and rhetoric; sociolinguistics, with a particular focus on ESOL and racially stigmatized language use in the United States; and contemporary multicultural American literatures, with a particular focus on ‘hybrid’ or borderland identities.” Dr. Greenfield’s previous publications include International Writing Centers Association Outstanding Book Award winning Writing Centers and the Racism: A Call for Sustainable Dialogue and Change--co-edited with R. Karen Rowan (USU Press, 2011).

RMWCA is a regional chapter (covering Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah & Wyoming ) of the International Writing Centers Association. This regional network acts as a support and resource for administrators and tutors and gathers at the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Conference to celebrate and learn from those who tutor writing. More information about RMWCA and the Summer Book Club may be found at www.rmwca.org.

CWWTC/RMWCA TutorCon2019 File Share

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 20:30:59 GMT

Here are files submitted for the TutorCon2019 File Share Archive.

Your name	Session Block	Presentation letter	Description of file uploaded	URL
Anne McMurtrey	Block 1	A	Power Point on Small-Group Tutorials	https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pn9V9ptu9Bi0PvZA4IQv1CVUc5nuatpQ
Chris LeCluyse			Administrator Workshop: Session Observations and Reflections (Consultants)	https://drive.google.com/open?id=15RQjpb6DHN07UVVSvvngJ6rz75elKxgD, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yrsWsRxtE9ywwaAKCfSaciEpbxaX8sGD
Elizabeth Kleinfeld	Block 2	A	slides for "Creating a Culture of Self-Care in the Writing Center"	https://drive.google.com/open?id=12yTCEckoLT10tKkyhT56qwWLhgCvHxxh
Elizabeth Kleinfeld	Block 5	C	slides and worksheet for "Forming and Sustaining a Writing Practice"	https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Bv7G4mfWc6ylnAJiKlA2NFSJViInObFp, https://drive.google.com/open?id=10fXsQmBR-rynt0HlvgeyY4df5qDZCghW
Abigail Dunn	Block 1	H	I uploaded the presentation I gave on the work that I did to help incarcerated students. I also attached the packet of "Academic Writing Tips" that we created and distributed to the incarcerated students.	https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sBnwfR2HcVbcfVrB9AsfFDWdcbWO6USO, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1V3fexBEeStm2HArbk-YSb34L7_aLBWiw
Jess Fahlsing	Block 3	H	Attached are my powerpoint and copy of the presentation I gave. The presentation itself is entitled, "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work at the University of Wyoming: A Case Study of (over)Work and Heightened Importance."	https://drive.google.com/open?id=10JrXoJ9sV-FG_dbokeojxzhYDOCU_Fpf, https://drive.google.com/open?id=1c-Q5YdQsTyRiqIGAdCo1oLLRWhIcYBo8

Colorado State Board Representative Election Results

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 19:21:41 GMT

Jessica McDermott of has been duly elected as Colorado State Board Representative.

Thanks for your service!

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 15:34:13 GMT

With the elections of new officers for RMWCA, we have several colleagues who have completed their service. RMWCA wishes to thank all lapsing officers for their hard work and service. RMWCA would not be where it is today without you.

Past President Kelly Webster, rather than moving into the official position of Past President, has been excused from that duty because of her challenging new job at Montana State University as Chief of Staff of the President of that University.

Former Secretary Michelle Miley will be taking on a new roll in the International Writing Centers Association as their new Treasurer.

Robyn Rohde, who recently accepted a teaching position as the College of Southern Nevada and has moved out of the Writing Center their, will be missed as our first-ever web editor, and Nevada State Representative.

Jessica McDermott who did great work in organizing our webinars will be stepping away from Tutor Representative.

Finally we have several state representatives moving on: Nathan Cushing (Arizona) who stepped up for service when the previous Arizona Representative moved out of state; Michelle Medeiros (Colorado); Melissa Keith(Idaho); Rachel Dunleavy (Montana); and Leigh Ann Copas (Utah).

RMWCA extends its mutual thanks to all, and wishes them all the best in the future.

2018 Election Results

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 16:50:46 GMT

The Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association (RMWCA) is proud to announce the results of the 2018 elections.

Lisa Bell will serve as President Elect for two years, and then move into the role of President for the subsequent two years. She will serve alongside Clint Gardner as President/Past President. Kelley Webster, has been excused from her duties as Past President due to her demanding new position at the University of Montana.

The following positions will serve until 2020. Jamaica Ritcher has been re-elected as Outreach Coordinator. Aubrey Julianna Baucum will be the new Tutor Representative. Matt Drollette takes on the role of IWCA Affiliate Representative. Jess Carroll will be our new Secretary.

Heather Graham will serve as web editor until 2021.

State Representatives serve two year terms, and work closely with the Outreach Coordinator. They are, Arizona: Nick Cenegy; Montana: Erin Strickland; Nevada: Rachel Herzl-Betz; New Mexico: Katie Denton; and Utah: Michelle Szetela.

RMWCA is still seeking State Representatives from Colorado and Idaho. If you are interested in running for those positions, contact Clint.Gardner@slcc.edu.

Summer Book Club

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 16:57:31 GMT

On June 28 and July 26, 2018, The Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association conducted its first-of-a-kind Summer Book Club in order to discuss Mark Hall's Around the Texts of Writing Center Work: An Inquiry-Based Approach to Tutor Education. With approximately 25 registrants, the book club talked about various applications of the book during its first meeting, and for the second meeting the author, Mark Hall joined the discussion to field questions, and further explain the work.

RMWCA hopes to have another Summer Book Club in 2019, but will be instating a monthly discussion group for the 2018/19 school year. More information about the monthly discussions will be out soon.

Call for Article Submissions: Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence (JETE)

Tue, 10 Jul 2018 21:20:28 GMT

The Editor for Utah State University’s academic Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence (JETE), Kim Hales, invites RMWCA members to submit articles for review. JETE publishes twice a year: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/jete/ .

Writing Center Spotlight: Salish Kootenai College Writing Center

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 14:54:16 GMT

Salish Kootenai College Writing Center

When the Writing Center at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) opened in January of 2009, it was the first writing center on a tribal college campus. SKC is on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. About 75% of our 800-member student body is Native American, and they represent 70 different tribes. In addition to our vocational programs and nearly 20 associate degree programs, SKC offers 15 different baccalaureate degrees. Though our writing center works closely with our liberal arts department, we serve students from all these programs.

Until this year, our facility was almost entirely a peer-tutoring program. The director is a faculty member who also does tutoring, but all other tutors have been students. Student tutors are generally recommended by instructors and then apply for a tutoring position. Before they are hired, they complete a full quarter of training, which includes a class focused on tutoring techniques and philosophy as well as a minimum of 20 hours of volunteer tutoring (initially supervised by the director or more experienced tutors as needed). This both prepares tutors to help their fellow students and also allows them to earn their Level One tutoring certification through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). SKC is certified to train and certify their tutors through all three CRLA levels.

This approach has been really effective in preparing high quality tutors. Many tutors complete all three certification levels and after working in the writing center for a few quarters are competent to work as TAs in writing classes. Our tutors also often receive requests to prepare and conduct presentations or lead writing workshops in classes. Another component of our tutoring program is our tutorial classes, which are offered in conjunction with both levels of composition. These are meant as an additional support for students whose placement tests indicate they are on the border between English 101 or a remedial writing class. Our tutors also teach these weekly supplemental classes.

The number of tutors working in the writing center has varied from three to ten since our staff is largely dependent on tutors’ credit loads and class schedules. They all work less than 20 hours a week. This fall we have also had two additional part-time tutors, who are staff rather than students. Their salaries are currently grant-funded, but if we are able to add a permanent position or two (in addition to the director) it’d be really helpful to address our most difficult staffing problem: tutor retention. Our best tutors are always gone after a few years because they graduate.

Our approach to staffing is one of many aspects of our writing center that has been constantly evolving and transitioning since we opened. Though our vision has remained consistent, we’ve had four different directors and are in our second (temporary) space, while plans for a permanent home are underway. The demographics of our student body are also changing. Although we’ve traditionally had a very non-traditional population, with students in various stages of life with widely varied academic backgrounds, we’re attracting more and more students right out of high school as our academic offerings (and on-campus housing and student activities and the like) continue to expand.

So far, through one-on-one tutoring our writing center has been directly serving about a fifth of the student body each year, but we hope to reach more as our space and staff increase. Those who do use our services usually come back frequently. Our writing center is filling an important need for both our writers who struggle and our top students who want to ensure their academic work is the best it can be. We’re excited to continue to grow to serve our student population.

Writing Center Spotlight: Caspar College Writing Center

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 14:00:04 GMT

Everything Old is New Again

The Writing Center at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, has a new home in the old college bookstore. Co-directors Karen Moenkhaus and Darby Sawyer were given the opportunity to design and furnish our new digs. We chose a color scheme of navy blue and lime green. Because this is a large space, we had the freedom to be creative and used artwork from our Visual Arts Department.

The entry way has an appealing sitting lounge area with couches, chairs, and tables.

Book shelves separate off the tutoring area with five spacious areas for individual or group tutoring sessions.

The new computer area hosts nine computers, comfortable chairs, and bistro tables that are perfect for students who want to drop in to complete homework assignments. Two smaller rooms furnished with monitors, computers, and cameras allow students to practice oral
presentations and receive feedback. We even have a classroom that is perfect for English classes and for other instructors to bring students in for workshops on writing.

Our tutors and students feel at home in our new area.

President's Message

Tue, 19 Jun 2018 21:42:54 GMT

Dear Colleagues:

We write on the heels of a productive conference season and during a time of transition for RMWCA. We hope you’re enjoying the turn toward spring and the renewal this turn promises.

For the RMWCA, this spring and summer mark exciting changes on the horizon. In an effort to focus on the value RMWCA can bring to you, we’ve been building a new website that will serve as a gathering ground for our information sharing, resources, and tutor interaction. We’ve launched our first webinar this spring, which was impressively successful, and we’re planning for more. Our peers at the University of Utah and our Colorado/Wyoming colleagues hosted two excellent conferences. We are an active region!

To help us maintain this momentum and build toward more robust benefits for our members, this July we will implement our new and affordable tiered dues structure. The membership dues will allow for both individual and writing center memberships, ensuring our organization remains affordable and accessible. We are very excited about the membership benefits these dues will help to fund, including travel grants and RMWCA Tutor Conference registration discounts. Please watch for further communications as we begin collecting dues this summer.

Finally, we write to announce one more coming change: a transition of leadership. Kelly Webster’s time as RMWCA President will come to a close as she transitions to a new leadership role at the University of Montana. Our great fortune is that Clint Gardner will take the helm. We are confident Clint will help us realize the benefits of our recent efforts. Clint is the right leader at the right time, especially as we aim to develop new opportunities for membership engagement. We’re on our way.

Please don’t forget to share your good news, questions, and announcements on our list serve rmwca@uidaho.edu . Happy Spring, everyone!

Kelly Webster, President

Clint Gardner, President-Elect