2025:
June 3 & 4, 2025
8:00am-4:00pm
at the Browne Center in Durham, NH
Since 2015, the UNH Writing Program has invited applications for any faculty member invested in improving student writing in their courses to join this annual retreat and certificate program. (Priority given to writing-intensive course faculty). Retreat participants design or revise the writing elements in their course(s), then become part of the larger Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Faculty Network. Spaces available for up to 12 faculty participants.
The retreat includes:
- 2-day seminar at the Browne Center in Durham, NH
- Breakfast & Lunch for 2 days
- 2 follow-up lunch sessions at UNH (in December 2025 and May 2026) to discuss progress of your work and continue the discussion of improving student writing
Highlights:
- Learn current, research-based best practices to enhance student writing
- Understand and discuss the multiple roles of writing in the classroom
- Create assignments aligned with the core competencies of your course
- Discuss assessment and revision strategies
- Gain a network of writing-invested faculty colleagues at UNH
UNH Discovery Committee & Writing Committee presents:
"Courses with Attributes: info session on Writing Intensive (WI) & Discovery designations"
Date: TBD Fall 2025
For instructors looking for more information on what constitutes Writing Intensive (WI) and how to incorporate best writing practices into your class. Offered alongside information on general Discovery requirements and policies. This will not be as immersive an experience as the WI Faculty Retreat, but will offer an overview of foundational information on effective writing pedagogy in the disciplines. We will also show you the basics of submitting a course proposal through the new Courseleaf CIM software system.
Refreshments will be provided.
To be held some time in early October, 2024 during a common exam hour time. Watch this space for updates on how to register.
Past Events:
Spring 2025 WAC GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Lisa Blankenship
Thursday, March 27
12:40-2:00pm
Location: MUB Theatre I
Refreshments provided
Lisa Blankenship is an Associate Professor of English at Baruch College, City University of New York. Her book Changing the Subject: A Theory of Rhetorical Empathy explores empathy as a rhetorical concept for engaging with and connecting across difference (Utah State University Press, 2019). Her work on rhetorical empathy also was included in the edited collection Feminist Connections: Rhetoric and Activism across Time, Space, and Place (University of Alabama Press, 2020), and she currently is co-editing a collection about empathy in writing classrooms. This event made possible by the generosity of the Dey Family Gift Fund.
TA Training Session: how to respond to student writing
The UNH Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program provides specific training to TAs on how to give feedback on student writing. We offer three separate sessions at the beginning of the semester:
- Monday, January 27 from 11:00am-12:30pm in Dimond 352
- Tuesday, January 28 from 12:30-2:00pm in Dimond 352
- Wednesday, January 29 from 2:00-3:30pm in Dimond 352
TAs can choose to attend whichever session fits into their schedules, as each offers the same content.
We will go over the various ways TAs can provide feedback on student writing. We will share tips, techniques, and strategies for effectively providing comments on writing in progress. And, of course, we discuss when to defer back to the course instructor when necessary. TAs will come away with resources and support from the Writing Programs to help them feel successful as helpful mentors to student writers.
Questions can be directed to UNH.Writing.Programs@unh.edu
WAC January Workshop on Therapeutic Writing
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
10:00-11:00am via ZOOM
The University Writing Programs invites you to please join us for a Zoom workshop titled "To Feel What You Write: Therapeutic Composing in College Classrooms." In a relaxed environment, we'll explore the intersections of writing and care. We'll consider topics such as creating and orchestrating therapeutic writing opportunities for students and dialoguing with students therapeutically about their writing. We'll look together at examples of therapeutic writing, and possibly even write our own. If there's time, we'll discuss various approaches to knowing when student content crosses the limits of our expertise. Please join Matthew Morrison from University Writing Programs, Shelley Girdner from the English Creative Writing department, and other co-contributors from PACS.
Academic Project Design:
Pedagogical Support for Large-Scale Student Project Design and Writing Series
fall 2024
Location: Conant 113
"Backwards Design PART 1" for projects and timeline management.
Wednesday, September 25 from 10:00am-11:00am.
"Backwards Design PART 2" a continuation of timeline management for large-scale writing projects.
Wednesday, October 16 from 10:00am-11:00am
"STEM and Clinical Projects" for undergrad and grad student writing projects.
Wednesday, November 15 from 10:00am-11:00am
"Humanities Projects" for undergrad and grad student writing projects.
Wednesday, December 4 from 10:00am-11:00am
This workshop series is an opportunity for instructors and research advisors to discuss empirically supported methods to help students successfully design, complete, and write-up large projects for honors, capstones or Master’s or Doctoral theses. This series will provide collaborative support from E3 & the Writing Program through a three part workshop where we discuss empirically supported methods for instructors to help students successfully design, complete, and write-up large projects for honors, capstones or Master’s or Doctoral theses. After broader discussions relevant to most large project designs, there will be a choice of sessions specific to STEM and Clinical projects as well as Humanities projects.
University Writing Center 30th Anniversary OPEN HOUSE
Friday, October 18, 2024
10:00am-2:00pm
in Dimond library
This year marks the 30th year of the University Writing Center. We look forward to celebrating this three-decade milestone with a series of activities, speakers, alumni reunions, refreshments, and opportunities to share the history of our service to the student writers at UNH.
- Opening remarks from 10am-11am given by SVPAA Kate Ziemer, Library Dean Kimberly Sweetman, founding faculty member Cinthia Gannett, current director Meaghan Dittrich, and establishing archivist Kate Tirabassi, followed by time to connect and view displays/ exhibits.
- The National Archives of Composition and Rhetoric (NACR) will have an open meeting during the 12-1pm hour.
- Raffle at 1:30pm
A.I. "Lunch Club"
E3 Think Tank Topics in Higher Ed: Problem-Solving Lunch on UNH policy needs around A.I. in the Classroom
September 23, 2024
11:00am-12pm VIRTUALLY (Zoom link provided upon registration)
or
12:00pm-1:00pm IN-PERSON (bring your lunch!) in Conant 113
This will be a one-hour discussion during lunch to identify specific needs and questions surrounding Artificial Intelligence in the classroom. Co-hosted and facilitated by members of the E3 Program and the University Writing Programs.
“Gaming Assessment: Reclaiming Equity and Fairness in Classroom Evaluation.”
Date: April 16, 2024
Time: 12:40 - 2:00pm
Location: Memorial Union Building (MUB) Theatre II
The Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program's annual guest speaker event is pleased to bring in Dr. Stephanie West-Puckett this year. Stephanie is currently Assistant Professor of Writing & Rhetoric and Director of First-Year Writing at the University of Rhode Island. She'll be visiting UNH in April to speak with faculty about writing assessment. Her talk will include discussion on alternative assessment practices to create richer understandings of what writing is, along with points regarding how faculty can use AI in writing assignments.
Thank you to all who attended!
January 16 & 17 from 8am-4pm at the Browne Center in Durham, NH
Since 2015, the UNH Writing Program has invited applications for any faculty member invested in improving student writing in their courses to join this annual retreat and certificate program. (Priority given to writing-intensive course faculty). Retreat participants design or revise the writing elements in their course(s), then become part of the larger Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Faculty Network. Spaces available for up to 15 faculty participants.
Worth up to 4 CEITL points.
We invite you to join us for the Fall 2023 Coffee and Conversations event co-sponsored by the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching and Learning and the UNH Writing Programs. This is an opportunity to meet with teaching colleagues, visit, and discuss topics such as pedagogy, learning activities, writing in your courses (whether you teach a writing intensive course or just want to discuss how to integrate writing into your curriculum), assessing the effectiveness of your teaching, and more. We also invite you to bring a department colleague with you to join in the teaching and learning conversations. Refreshments will be provided. Below are the event details:
Date: Thursday, November 2nd, 2023
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Location: Conant Hall G02
Friday, September 22 in Hamilton Smith Hall (first floor)
10:00am - 5:00pm, with an evening reception from 5:00-7:00pm.
The English Department is hosting a celebration and conference to mark the 50th anniversary of the awarding of our first PhD in 1972. English PhD alumuni/ae’s achievements and insights will be the centerpiece of the event. We plan an exhibit of alumni books, and some returning alums will participate in conversations about their work—in scholarship, administration, teaching, nonprofits, and other areas—and about the state of the humanities. The schedule will include roundtables featuring short alumni/ae talks in Hamilton Smith Hall 150 and will end with a reception at 5PM in Hamilton Smith Hall’s Atrium. This is an open event, and members of the UNH community are welcome to drop in and join the celebration.
Click to view the EVENT SCHEDULE
June 5-8, 2023 at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel: The UNH Writing Program hosts faculty members invested in improving student writing in their courses. (Priority given to writing-intensive course faculty). 8-10 participants design or revise the writing elements in their course(s). Includes lodging with lunches at the Omni Mount Washington Hotel (family members are welcome to accompany participants). Participants then become part of the larger Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Faculty Network.
This annual event made possible by the generosity of the Dey Family Fund.
"Unbound: the Un-CFP"
Saturday, April 1 in the Memorial Union Building (MUB)
Keynote address by Clarissa Walker, Rhode Island College
Founded in 1983, the Northeast Writing Centers Association (NEWCA) is a regional affiliate of the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA). NEWCA has a long history of fostering collaboration among writing center practitioners and scholars throughout New England and New York. Members include administrators and staff of writing centers and persons interested in writing centers. NEWCA membership consists of, but is not limited to, individuals from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. NEWCA is committed to ethical and just organizational practices that promote social justice and inclusion within our organization and our larger community, prioritize responsible management of our resources as a non-profit, and advocate for the development and flourishing of our membership and their centers.
Tuesday, February 28 from 12:40 - 2:00p.m. on Zoom.
"Prioritizing Accessibility: Engaging in Inclusive Writing Instruction"
In higher education, there is a tendency to try to diagnose disabled students and default to accommodations rather than crafting more accessible pedagogical environments. Meeting students’ needs requires foregrounding accessibility in physical and digital spaces, curricular and programmatic design, and interactions with each other. This presentation will address how to design writing classrooms and curricula that are truly accessible, rather than simply accommodating of difference.
Dr. Hitt is the author of Rhetorics of Overcoming: Rewriting Narratives of Disability and Accessibility in Writing Studies. You can find out about her work on her website.
Worth 1 CEITL point.
This annual event is made possible in part by the generosity of the Dey Family Fund.
Wednesday, February 22 from 12:40 - 1:40p.m. in Conant Hall (Multipurpose room)
Presenters:
Catherine Overson, CEITL Director
Meaghan Dittrich, University Writing Programs Director
Spring 2023 Talk About Teaching Session (recorded February 22, 2023):
ChatGPT: What is it? Considerations for Embracing This Artificial Intelligence Technology in Your Course
