The RWC English Department has restructured the Writing Center to operate under directorship of full-time faculty. Professor Tami Phenix has been named the Interim Director for the 2005-2006 academic year. Phenix says she is very excited to help the Center grow with many more options to help the students of RWC. “Since I came to the Writing Center, the tutors and I have been meeting to share ideas and discuss directions we might take in the future,” she said in a recent interview. “The Center works well now. Our tutors–Maria Damen, Kim Mason, Mei Ying Minnich, and Peggy Strohmaier–are extremely experienced and able to stay close to student needs since they also teach Preparatory and English Composition courses themselves.”
They all have joined the new Ohio Writing Center Consortium, a group of Ohio college, university, and high school writing center directors, and they will be attending its next conference at Mt. St. Joseph in February.
Phenix and the Center’s tutors are beginning a regular study group of their own, so that they can look at current ideas in writing center theory and practice and reflect upon them, while dicussing their own theory and practice. Phenix promises to “continue to provide excellent student support as we use this year to study and work together, exploring possiblities for the Center.