Tag: NSU Writing and Communication Center

Professor Picked as Fellow for Hispanic Universities Association

Kevin Dvorak

Kevin Dvorak

DvorakNSU Professor Kevin Dvorak, Ph.D., has been selected by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities as one of its 45 fellows who will make up the sixth cohort of its Leadership Academy/La Academia de Liderazgo. Dvorak is the director of NSU’s Writing & Communication Center.

The program is designed to increase diverse representation in executive and senior-level positions in higher education. Fellows participate in an array of leadership development activities preparing them for leadership roles in the full spectrum of institutions of higher learning, with an emphasis on Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Emerging HSIs.

The one-year fellowship program includes webinars and three seminars, with the first seminar in October in conjunction with HACU’s 38th Annual Conference in Aurora, Colo. The second seminar will be held in Washington, D.C., in April 2025, at HACU’s National Capitol Forum. The third seminar will take place at a still to be determined international location.

The Leadership Academy faculty consists of current and former presidents, chancellors and senior administrators and brings over 100 years of combined experience in serving various sectors of higher education, including private/public universities, community colleges and faith-based institutions.

Halmos Workshop Series Dedicated to Helping Faculty

Janine Morris, Ph.D., and Eric Mason, Ph.D.

NSU Writing & Communication Center (WCC) faculty coordinators Janine Morris, Ph.D., and Eric Mason, Ph.D., have wrapped up the last of a series of workshops to help faculty in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS) who are planning to apply for promotion in 2024. Morris and Mason are associate professors in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts.

The workshops are one example of how the center serves faculty. They were designed to be an accessible and inspiring opportunity to support faculty as they wrote pieces of their dossier, including a reflective narrative, summary of accomplishments and curriculum vitae. Halmos Dean Holly Lynn Baumgartner, Ph.D., and Charles Zelden, Ph.D., Halmos promotion and sabbatical committee chair, spoke at the workshops about best practices and common pitfalls.

“The HCAS Promotion Workshop series has been a positive way to increase faculty preparedness for the application, understanding of the expectations for review and successful completion of the process, thereby achieving promotion,” Baumgartner said. “The WCC has been instrumental in organizing the myriad pieces that make for a strong dossier. It was important to me to be one of those pieces and inform faculty of what I look for in their materials.”

Students and faculty can come to the WCC to get help on their professional journeys, receiving feedback on their job search documents, professional portfolios and more. To learn more about the NSU Writing and Communication Center, visit nova.edu/wcc

Posted 02/18/24

WCC Faculty Coordinators Featured on Podcast

From left, Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., and Janine Morris, Ph.D.

Janine Morris, Ph.D., and Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., talked about their collaboration on “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” on WLN: A Writing Center Journal’s Slow Agency podcast. Their penchant for collaboration also has been discussed on NSU’s Writer’s Edge podcast.

“Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers” contains 15 chapters that explore how emotions affect function in writing centers from the perspectives of writing center tutors and administrators. The collection has interest for anyone working with students in supportive roles, including administrators and staff in tutoring centers, writing centers and academic support services. The collection was nominated for a 2023 Conference on College Composition and Communication Outstanding Book Award.

Morris and Concannon co-edited “Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers,” published by Parlor Press. Morris is an associate professor and Concannon is a professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. The two also are faculty coordinators at the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC).

“The editorial process was incredibly collaborative,” Morris said. “It was exciting to see the collection grow from the work we do here in the WCC.”

‘Emotions and Affect in Writing Centers’ is available via Parlor Press at https://parlorpress.com/products/emotions-and-affect-in-writing-centers

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/

Posted 02/04/24

Writing & Communication Center Celebrates 50,000 Consultations

The NSU Writing & Communication Center (WCC) celebrated its 50,000th consultation on March 14, 2023. WCC undergraduate consultants, Melissa G. and Melissa A. both worked with undergraduate students Olivia Blaszczynski and Rosa Amador who were finalizing BIOL 1500 Lab Reports.

WCC consultants are embedded into Biology 1500 to assist students with their lab reports each semester. Michael McCall, an HCAS graduate student in Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media and WCC graduate assistant coordinator, said, “Our 50,000th consultation is a testament to the WCC’s commitment to student collaborative learning. Our commitment is made possible by our consultants of past, present, and future!”

Kevin Dvorak, executive director of the Writing and Communication Center, stated, “This is an exciting moment for the WCC and the university. I think it shows how hard everyone here has worked to support our students and faculty for the last five years. We are truly grateful for the support we receive from university leadership, too. I look forward to the next 50,000 consultations.”

NSU’s Writing and Communication Center offers one-on-one consultations to all NSU undergraduate, graduate, and professional students across all NSU campuses and disciplines. Students meet with consultants in person on the 4th floor of Alvin Sherman library and online via Zoom. NSU undergraduate, graduate, and professional students can make one-on-one consultations by visiting https://nova.mywconline.com/.

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/ or follow the WCC on Instagram (@nsuwcc) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/nsuwcc).

Posted 04/09/23

Writing Center Faculty Coordinator Appointed Journal Editor

Eric Mason, Ph.D.

Eric Mason, Ph.D., NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) Faculty Coordinator, was appointed co-editor of Southern Discourse in the Center: A Journal of Multiliteracy and Innovation, February 2023. Mason is an associate professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts (DCMA) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. Mason’s co-editor is Devon Rolston, Ph.D. (associate professor & Writing Center Director, Winthrop University).

Southern Discourse in the Center: A Journal of Multiliteracy and Innovation (SDC) sponsored by the Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA), is a journal for writing center practitioners, students, and faculty looking interested in innovative approaches to writing center practices.

Of his new position, Mason stated “Based on my past experience working as an editor of other academic journals, there are several things I hope to change about how SDC is run, including involving graduate students as editorial assistants so they get to experience the academic publication process firsthand. Overall, I’m excited to take over as co-editor of SDC, and eager to help the journal become an even better resource for those working in writing centers around the world.”

Click here to read current and past issues of Southern Discourse in the Center.

To learn more about the WCC, visit nova.edu/wcc

Posted 04/09/23

WCC Assistant Director Elected to Writing Center Association Executive Board

Nikki Chasteen, M.A.

Nikki Chasteen, M.A., NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) Assistant Director, was elected to the Online Writing Center Association (OWCA) Executive Board as the Assistant Secretary in November of 2022 for her two-year term beginning in January 2023.

The mission of the Online Writing Center Association (OWCA) is to promote excellence in online writing center pedagogy and administration by providing resources, mentorship opportunities, and advocacy for online writing centers. Their goal is to foster a community of collaboration wherein writers can reach their full potential while advancing equity and inclusion in writing center work through anti-racist efforts.

Of her new position, Chasteen stated “I am excited to join the Online Writing Center Association’s executive board. In my role, I hope to help mentor other writing center administrators and bring back helpful resources to help our WCC continue to serve our students in the best ways possible.”

At NSU, Chasteen serves as the WCC Assistant Director, which involves overseeing 70+ undergraduate, graduate, and professional consultants. She works alongside faculty coordinators to support writing and communication efforts across the university. Chasteen also teaches undergraduate courses in Communication for the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences, along with UNIV 1000: First Year Experience.

To learn more about the WCC, visit www.nova.edu/wcc

To learn more about the Online Writing Center Association, visit https://www.onlinewritingcenters.org/

Posted 04/09/23

Educators Publish Article in Southern Discourse in the Center

Nikki Chasteen, M.A., NSU Writing & Communication Center (WCC) Assistant Director; Kevin Dvorak, Ph.D. NSU WCC Executive Director; and Kelly Concannon, Ph.D., Eric Mason, Ph.D., and Janine Morris, Ph.D, NSU WCC Faculty Coordinators, published “From Crisis to Habit: Re-Shaping Academic Conferences for Remote Communities” in the Fall 2022 issue of Southern Discourse in the Center. Dvorak, Concannon, Mason, and Morris are all faculty members in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts (DCMA) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences (HCAS). Chasteen is an alumna of the DCMA Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media master’s program.

“From Crisis to Habit” focuses on lessons learned while hosting the virtual 2022 Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA) conference, February 2022. Chasteen et al. co-hosted the conference, with support from DCMA and the SWCA board. Of the experience, Chasteen et al. reflect, “Almost two years into the pandemic, and with all of this uncertainty in mind, we wondered what we could do to engage conference participants in needed conversations, how we could understand this period as an opportunity to maximize our most productive habits, and what lessons we had learned in the process” (11). The article provides advice for educators interested in hosting remote conferences.

To access “From Crisis to Habit: Re-Shaping Academic Conferences for Remote Communities,” click here.

To learn more about the WCC, visit www.nova.edu/wcc

Posted 03/12/23

WCC Director and HCAS Faculty Co-Author Book Chapter

Kevin Dvorak, Ph.D., and Mario D’Agostino, Ph.D., co-authored “Afterword: Reflecting on Post-COVID Experiential Education and Learning” in Diverse Pedagogical Approaches to Experiential Learning, Volume II: Multidisciplinary Case Studies, Reflections, and Strategies (edited by Karen Lovett). Dvorak is the Executive Director of the NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) and a professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and the Arts (DCMA) in the Halmos College of Arts and Sciences. D’Agostino is an assistant professor of writing in DCMA.

“Reflecting on Post-COVID Experiential Teaching and Learning” uses the authors’ experiences in the WCC and DCMA classes to explore how teaching practices changed during the pandemic and apply lessons learned to future teaching contexts.

According to Dvorak and D’Agostino (2022), “[n]ow, a year into the pandemic, with an eye on returning to some sense of normalcy, we offer ideas for the future of [experiential learning], based largely on adjustments colleagues have made to their programs and how the global workforce has rapidly evolved in response to the coronavirus.”

You can access Diverse Pedagogical Approaches to Experiential Learning, Volume II, published by Springer, here.

To learn more about the WCC, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/

WCC Consultants Facilitate Tutor Collaboration Day Session

Screen shot of Zoom session facilitators including Stephanie Shneydman, Emma Masur, Rachel Larson, Julia Kelley, and Michael Lynn

Stephanie Shneydman, NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) undergraduate consultant, along with Emma Masur, Rachel Larson, Julia Kelley, and Michael Lynn, WCC Graduate Assistant Coordinators, facilitated a session at the Southeastern Writing Center (SWCA)’s Tutor Collaboration Day (TCD), on November 12, 2021. The session focused on using social media to engage students and creating elevated social media content. Shneydman is an Exercise and Sports Science major and Pre-Health minor in the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. Masur, Larson, Kelley, and Lynn are all Halmos College of Arts and Sciences graduate students in the Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media (CRDM) Master’s Program.

During the session, Shneydman et al. described how the NSU WCC social media team developed a social media strategy that included animated graphics, videos, reels, and story takeovers. They provided lessons and advice for other writing center social media teams. SWCA’s TCD provides a space for peer writing consultants to share relevant interests and ideas that celebrate their unique experiences, diversity, and learning.

Larson stated, “I appreciate any opportunity I get to speak in front of people about the work I do. It’s good practice but it’s great to be able to share these types of experiences with my fellow team members.”

Click here to learn more about SWCA’s 2021 Tutor Collaboration Day event.

To learn more about the NSU Writing and Communication Center, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/.

Posted 07/17/22

Grad Student Publishes Article in Southern Discourse in the Center

Adara Cox

Adara Cox, NSU Writing and Communication Center (WCC) Graduate Assistant Coordinator, co-published “Black Tutor Perspectives on Trauma and Transformation: An Edited Transcript of the 2021 SWCA Keynote Panel” in the Fall 2021 issue of Southern Discourse in the Center. Cox is a Halmos College of Arts and Sciences MA student in the Composition, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program.

The article was co-authored with other Southeastern Writing Center Association 2021 Conference Keynote panelists: Talisha Haltiwanger Morrison, Ph.D.; LaKela Atkinson, Ph.D.; Chanara Andrews-Bickers; Micah Williams; and Genny Kennedy. The keynote panel elevated the experiences of Black writing center tutors. “Black Tutor Perspectives…” includes the edited transcript from the keynote with an introduction from Haltiwanger Morrison and Atkinson.

According to Cox, “Writing this article provided me with the opportunity to reflect upon the conversation we had while on the panel, discussing our experiences working in predominantly white spaces such as writing centers. Because this was my first time working on a transcript, I learned about what processes are involved with editing and revising a transcript from a recorded audio. This transcript shares our thoughts and suggestions of how to equip writing centers to support POC tutors and faculty; and what can be integrated into writing center praxis, so that centers are more proactive rather than reactive regarding diversity.”

To access the full issue of Southern Discourse in the Center, click here!

To access “Black Tutor Perspectives on Trauma and Transformation: An Edited Transcript of the 2021 SWCA Keynote Panel,” click here!

To learn more about the NSU Writing and Communication Center, visit https://www.nova.edu/wcc/.

Posted 07/03/22

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