Writing Across the Curriculum Seeking an Assistant Director

A search has begun for an Assistant Director of Writing Across the Curriculum Program composed of the pioneering intradisciplinary Writing-Enriched Curriculum Program (WEC) and the multifaceted interdisciplinary Teaching with Writing Program (TWW). The position will remain open until filled, but applications will begin review processes on August 1st.

The Assistant Director provides campus-wide instructional support services to undergraduate and graduate faculty/instructor populations who assign various modes of writing. For the WEC Program, they serve as lead contact, facilitator, and resource for a “caseload” of 10–20 undergraduate-enrolling departments and programs engaged in a process of developing, implementing, and assessing the impact of comprehensive Undergraduate Writing Plans. For TWW, they design, facilitate, and assess instructional support workshops and research-based discussions, develop instructional support resources, lead writing retreats, and conduct instructional consultations.  In addition, this position includes the possibility of teaching one course per semester (two per year) in the University’s Department of Writing Studies. Other responsibilities are described via the application link.

This position serves also as a core member of the WAC team and is suited to people who feel able to toggle between close collaboration and independent responsibility. Responsibilities balance administrative behind-the-scenes tasks with faculty/instructor-facing programming and consulting.

We welcome applications from candidates who prize opportunities to both investigate and support effective writing instruction across academic disciplines, to facilitate quietly radical curricular and pedagogic transformations, and to join our collaborative team. The University recognizes and values the importance of diversity and inclusion in enriching the employment experience of its employees and in supporting the academic mission and is committed to attracting and retaining employees with varying identities and backgrounds. All WAC team positions are annually renewable; salary is commensurate with the candidate's experience and qualifications. We will conduct a first round of interviews via Zoom.

Please apply online via the employment system. (Job #361728)

Matthew Luskey Appointed Director of Writing Across the Curriculum

We're delighted to announce the appointment of Matthew Luskey, Ph.D., as Director of the University of Minnesota’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program. Matt currently serves as the University of California at Irvine’s Coordinator of Writing Across the Curriculum & Writing in the Disciplines. From 2017-2023, however, he served in the University of Minnesota’s WAC Program as Assistant Director, so we’re delighted to welcome him back! Matt’s previously held positions include Writing Instruction Specialist (California Polytechnic State University), Lecturer and Director of Western Pennsylvania Writing Project (University of Pittsburgh), Asst. Professor of Liberal Studies (San Francisco State University), and Lecturer and Writing Project Director (University of Washington).

Those who have already had an opportunity to work with Matt know that he views writing and writing instruction expansively, that he deeply respects the central role written communication plays in learning and communicating, and that he approaches his institutional, departmental, and consultative work with both intellectual curiosity and a contagious enthusiasm. As WAC Director, Matt will oversee both the Teaching with Writing Program (offering all faculty members and instructors programming that supports the integration of effective writing instruction into courses across all disciplinary areas) and the Writing-Enriched Curriculum Program (offering departments and programs a flexible, faculty-driven model for structuring relevant writing instruction into curricular systems).

We would like to thank members of the search committee for their dedication to this important search. Members include: Josh Feinberg (Earth Sciences and Office of Undergraduate Education), Sarah Hobbie (Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior), Helena Ruf (German, Nordic, Slavic and Dutch), Leslie Schiff (Microbiology and Office of Undergraduate Education), and Heidi Solomonson (Writing Across the Curriculum).

We also express our sincere thanks to everyone who attended guest workshops in the spring for their thoughtful and enthusiastic participation.

Matt’s appointment will begin on July 15, 2024. Please join us in welcoming him back to the University of Minnesota and in congratulating him on his new role!

Pamela Flash is Retiring!

Pamela Flash will retire from the Office of Undergraduate Education on July 1, 2024. Pamela's thirty-three year career at the University of Minnesota has involved several teaching and administrative appointments, but since 2001, she has led the Writing Across the Curriculum Program as the program’s first director. 

She inaugurated the Teaching with Writing Program, which has served the Twin Cities Campus (and increasingly all system campuses) with faculty seminars, workshops, panel discussions, book circles, and short courses for faculty members and instructors who assign any form of writing in their courses. Since 2011, the program has served more than five thousand faculty and instructors across the UMN community in small groups and large.

Notably, Pamela is the visionary behind the Writing-Enriched Curriculum Program (WEC), a groundbreaking initiative that empowers academic units to develop, implement, and assess undergraduate writing plans tailored to their disciplines and curricula. This program, which began with $1M in support from the Bush Foundation, has now flourished to serve over 75 departments and degree-granting programs located in every college on the University’s Twin Cities campus and is being adapted by colleges and universities across the US and internationally. In 2023, Pamela's exceptional leadership was recognized with the Exemplary Enduring WAC Program Award from the International Writing Across the Curriculum Association, a testament to the program's success and impact.

In addition to her programmatic achievements, Pamela has been a beacon of inspiration and guidance in the writing community. Her co-editor and she were honored with the IWAC Book award for the best-edited collection in 2021. Pamela was also part of the inaugural class of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum Programs' Academy of Distinguished Fellows. Her roles as chair of the 2014 International Writing Across the Curriculum conference, keynote speaker, manuscript reviewer, and mentor, have left an indelible mark on countless writing program administrators in the United States and abroad. 

We express our deep appreciation and respect for Pamela’s contributions and tireless effort to infuse meaningful writing and writing instruction into the undergraduate curriculum.  Her expertise, experience, and leadership in support of writing and commitment to the University will be sorely missed. 

The University of Minnesota’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program Wins Two International Awards

The University of Minnesota’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program has received international recognition by winning two prestigious awards. The first is the 2023 Exemplary Enduring Program Award, which was announced at the Sixteenth International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference at Clemson University. Bestowed jointly by the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum and the WAC Clearinghouse, the Enduring Program Award is presented to one WAC Program that has operated for at least 11 years and is recognized for extraordinary achievements in establishing, maintaining, and sustaining effective WAC programming. The selection committee noted that the University’s 35-year-old Writing Across the Curriculum Program is doing more than supporting writing across the curriculum; it is making shifts to the culture of writing on campus and beyond—having impact at a broad scale.” The WAC team shares the honor of this award with the many faculty members and instructors who serve as Faculty Liaisons in its WEC Program, for with the Office of Undergraduate Education, for its steadfast support of effective writing and writing instruction. 

The second award is the 2021 Council of Writing Program Administrators Best Book Award for Writing Enriched Curricula: Models of Faculty-Driven and Departmental Transformation, edited by Pamela Flash and Chris Anson. Along with editorial and chapter contributions from Flash, the book also includes a chapter from Assistant Directors Matthew Luskey and Daniel Emery. The book also received an honorable mention for the 2023 Best Edited Collection on Writing Across the Curriculum.