Working with Faculty Writers

by Anne Ellen Geller, Michele Eodice

 The imperative to write and to publish is a relatively new development in the history of academia, yet it is now a significant factor in the culture of higher education. Working with Faculty Writers takes a broad view of faculty writing support, advocating its value for tenure-track professors, adjuncts, senior scholars, and graduate students. The authors in this volume imagine productive campus writing support for faculty and future faculty that allows for new insights about their own disciplinary writing and writing processes, as well as the development of fresh ideas about student writing. 

Contributors from a variety of institution types and perspectives consider who faculty writers are and who they may be in the future, reveal the range of locations and models of support for faculty writers, explore the ways these might be delivered and assessed, and consider the theoretical, philosophical, political, and pedagogical approaches to faculty writing support, as well as its relationship to student writing support.

With the pressure on faculty to be productive researchers and writers greater than ever, this is a must-read volume for administrators, faculty, and others involved in developing and assessing models of faculty writing support.

Genres: Writing

319 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2013

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating edited collection that not only made me think about the potential value of having formalized writing services for faculty on campus, but also about the rationale for distinguishing those services from those offered to other writers. This is because I'm 100% convinced by the argument that various contributors made that encouraging faculty members to vocalize and reflect on their writing helps make them more empathetic toward the student writers they work with. And, I therefore wonder whether it would be worthwhile creating more services wherein said faculty writers engage with and work alongside student (especially graduate student) writers in retreats and writing groups would have positive benefits for all parties that transcend those that might be found from working exclusively with faculty or graduate students alone. Of course, the fact that this collection compelled me to think in such terms is really a testament to its quality. It effectively blends solid, pragmatic advice with theory, and -- as the editors suggest in the introduction -- formalizes the importance of these issues in a book form so as to underline the importance of working with faculty writers in a university and college setting.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scholars in composition tend to think of themselves as working with, first, undergraduate student writers, then next with graduate students who are learning how to teach writing, and finally with faculty colleagues who want to use writing more in their own courses. This collection of essays broadens our constituencies with its focus on how we can help university faculty themselves develop as writers. It is filled with terrific advice that will help me rethink how I approach working with my university colleagues. A terrific book.

[David Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic read on higher education organization, strategic planning, resource building, faculty support, tenure, writing, scholarship... I couldn't put it down. The themes really resonate and inspire. The authors have built a really strong case for their propositions.