Composition faculty share research at CWPA 2019

by Emily R C Staudt

Catherine Saunders, Joyce Johnston, Courtney Wooten, and Jessica Matthews presenting at CWPA 2019

“More Seats at the Table: Radical Inclusion in Writing Programs,” the theme of CWPA 2019, offered many of Mason’s Composition faculty members a chance to collaborate and present scholarship around our efforts to invite and support the marginalized and underrepresented into our writing programs.  This year’s conference was held in Baltimore and the plenary session by Holly Hassel and Joanne B Giordano dispersed the myth of the “typical” college student and explored the educational deserts from which many two-year college students come.  Hassel and Giordano called on us to consider the roadblocks in our courses that keep students from progressing as they read and write in our courses. 

Building on these themes, Michelle LaFrance helped lead the WPA workshop in the first part of the week.  During the weekend-long conference, Thomas Polk presented research findings on “Methodological Inclusion for Methodological Rigor: Revising Research with Feminist Aims” with two members of GMU’s Writing and Rhetoric PhD program, Robyn Russo and Lacey Wootton. Emily Staudt presented a paper titled “Supporting Faculty to Foster Students’ Writing Transfer in FYLC with Embedded FYC” on a panel dedicated to promoting writing transfer.  Catherine Saunders, Joyce Johnston, and Jessica Matthews presented their poster, “Facilitating Contingent-Faculty Collaboration and Inclusion Through the Creation of an Online OER Collection.” 

Lourdes Fernandez, Courtney Wooten, Jennifer Messier, and Kathryn Meeks present at CWPA

Jennifer Messier presented her research on a mentoring panel, “The Value of Voice: Sustaining Learning Communities as Inclusive Models of Faculty Development.”  On another interactive panel, Courtney Wooten shared research on “Deepening Definitions of Emotional Labor Across Administrative Perspectives.” A Mason-only panel featuring research from the new community-engaged ENGH 101 courses, “Building Public Writing Programs at Diverse Institutions,” included Courtney Wooten, Anna Habib, Jennifer Messier, Lourdes Fernandez, and Kathryn Meeks.  Shelley Reid participated in a roundtable session, “Finding Funding for a WPA Consultant-Evaluator Visit,” along with other members of the WPA Consultant-Evaluator Service.

 Mason faculty were among 400 presenters at this year’s CWPA in Baltimore.  The conference and workshops were an excellent opportunity to share their research, build connections, and garner support for our writing program work.