Dear participants and visitors,
I’d like to add my welcome to Brad’s! The 2008 institute participants are a rich mix, coming to us from a mosaic of institutions and from intriguing locales around the globe. Leaders and participants, we will all learn mutually from one another, recharge our batteries, work hard, and have fun. There’s always a lot of laughter at the Summer Institutes, sometimes there are made-up songs to commemorate the occasion, and occasionally there are tears, sometimes tears of joy.
Madison is one of my favorite places. In a funny way I came of age there, brought my two daughters there from the east, and then got the surprise of my life when the university just casually admitted me as a student. I’d dropped by when the girls were in school to explore the campus, asked a question about taking a class, and was ushered into the office of a genuine advisor who told me I could start right away. What a wonderful surprise. My youngest daughter went to kindergarten while I took an English class, lit and comp. Wow. My world changed in Madison, and I found my calling when I began there as a TA.
The university has morphed since then. It was an exciting, beautiful place, and the teaching and learning that went on were awesome. It has continued to grow and to retain its place among the top research institutions in the country. Ask Brad, and he will tell you about the great research that goes on there.
The UW-Madison Writing Center (http://www.wisc.edu/writing/) is one of the best in the country, and we are lucky to be able to visit, meet the staff, and see what happens there. I was a graduate tutor there in the seventies!
It’s an honor to work with Brad, Lisa, and a most excellent team of leaders. I am so looking forward to the Institute.
All best,
Paula
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6 comments:
Looking forward to seeing you again, Paula, and to being back in Madison, which I last saw as a four-year-old. I feel as though I'm going off to summer camp and freshman year of college all at the same time.
--Ellen Kolba (Montclair, NJ)
Like Paula, I started my writing center career as a T.A. at UW-Madison, and I deepened my connection to the place and this profession at the first Summer Institute in 2003. I guess you could say I'm another member of the rich "Madison diaspora"! I'll be watching this year's institute from a neighboring state, with a little jealousy, a good deal of curiosity to hear about the connections and knowledge being cultivated, and a lot of appreciation for the leaders and participants who strengthen our entire community through this important work (and play) together.
Ellen, I look forward to working with you, too. It's a great place to come "home" to.
Hi everyone, I'm taking a break from NYC by doing a writing retreat in Lawrence, Kansas, and getting some cycling in on the crazy hills here. While Lawrence was the site of the third SI, where I had the honor of being one of leaders, I was a participant in the first summer institute at UW-Madison. It was one of the most rewarding professional experiences I've had, inside or outside of academe. I got spurred to write and produce in ways that week that continue to pay dividends years later. The institute leaders and participants were great mentors and interlocutors, helping me think and re-think everything that life in writing centers ought be about: Interconnecting research, service, teaching and learning and invigorating administration with a mission of pragmatism (how to do what when and why) and idealism (social justice and the politics of what we do as a field). There aren't many days in my writing centers at STJ's that I don't channel those days in Madison, visualizing what Brad or Mickey might do or what Neal and Paula might advise. Beyond our IWCA, regional writing center or C's conferences, I can't imagine a better occasion to truly feel a part of a community in a tangible, substantive, sustainable sort of way. Like Kirsten says, the cultivation, play and work are unlike any other experience people will encounter in professional lives. I wish I could do the institute every year... Enjoy!
Kirsten and Harry, it was so good working with you at the SI in 2003. It's been fun to watch your trajectories since.
I had the pleasure of joining the leadership team at Clark (2004), the University of Kansas(2005), and Stanford (2006) and it seems my summers are empty now
without the SI experience! ;-)
Having worked with almost 150 participants who keep in touch even now, I can tell you that the week will "stick" -- you'll meet new people and new ideas and leave with a new confidence about your
professional identity, research plans, and writing center practices.
Enjoy!
Michele Eodice
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