Glad to Be at the Summer Institute!

Hi Everyone.

A writing center is “far more than a campus location and an institutional unit”. It can be “an agent for institutional change particularly in the institution’s response to difference, to alternative discourses, and to non-mainstream literacy” (Grimm, 2003:43).

These are the words of Nancy Grimm. It is a view I support and the above citation is one that I often refer to when talking about the role and importance of writing centers. In fact, this is a citation that my colleague, Rose, and I include in a paper we are working on. In that same paper we also describe writing as a “social act” (Gillespie and Lerner, 2000:13) and that writing and learning requires us to interact with others.

So imagine my surprise and elation when, out of the blue, I received the invitation from Paula Gillespie to be one of the leaders at the 2008 Summer Institute. Not only will I have the opportunity to work with Paula, whom I met at the 2003 CCCC, I will also meet and work with Nancy Grimm and Neal Lerner (and all the others that we will surely refer to in future papers!) – scholars who are highly regarded in the writing center community worldwide. No longer will these names only be references in papers.

So yes, though I’m anxious, challenged, I’m mostly excited about the opportunity to participate in this year’s Summer Institute.

Look forward to meeting you all.

Sharifa

Writing Lab, Stellenbosch University, South Africa