ANNE-MARIE HALL AMY KIMME HEA FAITH KURTYKA ASHLEY J. HOLMES UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA TUCSON, ARIZONA USA Ecologies of Writing Programs: A Heuristic for Building Sustainability

University of Arizona Writing Program Goals for Students in Writing Program 1. Assess the rhetorical strategies writers use to achieve their purposes with varied audiences, situations and purposes. 2. Use evidence and persuasive appeals that are effective with various audiences, situations, and purposes. 3. Develop critical analyses of public, scholarly and personal issues based on research, observations and reflections from their own experiences. 4. Revise in response to feedback from readers to improve drafts, and offer useful feedback to other writers on how to revise their writing. 5. Use the appropriate conventions of research and analysis, including the stylistic conventions of clear and convincing academic writing. To meet these goals, Writing Program courses stress collaborative learning. Courses employ writing workshops, with students revising multiple drafts of formal work in response to feedback from instructors, classroom peers, and other audiences.

Committees: Writing Program Advisory Committee (WriPAC)Monthly Course DirectorsMonthly Difference & Inequality (D&I)Monthly Department of English – Writing Program

Foundational Principles for Sustainability Avoid large financial encumbrances/grants that are not sustainable. Use local knowledge to build infrastructures. Evaluate existing personnel and talents. Identify existing support structures in your institution. Build capacity for leadership that allows for organic, bottom up growth (not top down mandates). Reflect annually. Change is continuous….

Sustainable Programs at UA Custom Publications–series of custom publications for writing courses, edited by graduate students and faculty = produces royalties, influences curriculum. Professional & Technical Writing Development– collaborations with science, engineering, public health to develop medical writing, online courses, service learning courses. Writing Center–opportunity to affect how campus community views and supports writing in all courses across the curriculum.

More programs…. Community Literacy–involvement in adult literacy, adolescent literacy projects in Tucson. Comparative Pedagogies–work with graduate students on differences and inequalities on Mexico-Arizona border that affects research and pedagogy in teaching. Visual-Spatial Showcase–annual showcase for first-year students to create an argument that rhetorically and strategically uses visual and spatial principles of design. Service Learning—collaborations with local secondary school teachers and students linking their students with first-year writing students to write collaboratively.

Finally….change ≠ loss Visibility on campus–administrators of writing programs sitting on university wide committees (and department, college, state and national committees) on General Education, assessment, technology uses in classrooms. Ongoing reflection–continuous process of change.

Discussion What are the demands placed on writing development in your institution? What can faculty do to support writing development and meet those demands? What can you do to build SUSTAINABLE writing development?

Case Studies Visual Spatial Rhetorics and the Showcase ear_Showcase.html Community/K-12 Outreach and Service Learning

SVR 2 Interactive Installations Mini-workshops 9 presenters 65 participants UAWP Honors Classes UA Honors College 2007 Visual-Spatial Showcase 4 instructors 54 students 2009 Visual-Spatial Showcase 22 instructors 415 students UAWP—All First-Year Writing Courses Pre-semester Interest Meeting Website Spatial & Visual Rhetoric Resources

Workshop I. List 3 areas of strength or expertise that you or your colleagues have regarding writing (development, personnel, curriculum, pedagogy, existing programs, etc.). II. Describe an “ideal” program based on your strengths. III. What are 3 things that need to happen to implement the dream? IV. CREATE A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF YOUR PROGRAM.

Where do we go from here? What additional foundational principles should we add to our sustainability heuristic? Join the groupsite at Post questions and discuss throughout the year. What else?

THANKS Anne-Marie Hall, PhD Amy Kimme Hea, PhD Director – Writing Program Associate Director – Writing Program Ashley Holmes Faith Kurtyka PhD candidate