Writing Center Conference Coming to MC!

There’s a hustle and bustle in the air as the MC Writing Center gears up for the annual Mississippi Writing Center Association (MSWCA) conference.

Tutors and administrators from writing centers across the state of Mississippi will gather on March 22-23, 2019, to give presentations and hear keynote speaker, Jackie Grutsch McKinney, the president of the International Writing Centers Association, as she speaks on life after tutoring and the skills that tutors can employ elsewhere.

The IWCA president has travelled across the nation and the world, consulting with writing centers, and her speaking at the Mississippi Writing Center Association conference will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local writing centers.

Bringing her experience as an English professor and Writing Center Director at Ball State University and as the author of three books (Peripheral Visions for Writing Centers, Strategies for Writing Center Research, and The Working Lives of New Writing Center Directors), McKinney is coming to Clinton, MS.

This conference will be hosted at Hinds Community College on Friday night and at Mississippi College on Saturday.

Tutors from writing centers across Mississippi, including those from our beloved MC Writing Center, are currently preparing their own presentations that focus on “how writing center practitioners define, explore, and negotiate collaboration that we all experience and practice” (mswritingcenters.org).

One such eager tutor is Katherine Parker. She says, “It’s a chance to explore the possibilities and capabilities in our own writing center, relay that to other writing centers and see their own ideas on how to keep growing writing centers in the state.”

Blog assistant editor Cassie Holcombe also hopes to present in March. “For me, this is a chance to see the connectedness of writing centers and how each relates to the others because up until this point, I’ve only experienced this one.”

For all of our tutors, this is an opportunity to meet fellow tutors and writers from all over the state. They will attend conference sessions and engage in networking.

Lingshan Song, Assistant Director of the MC Writing Center, is especially invested in the conference since she serves as the Chair of the Mississippi Writing Center Association and as the Conference Chair of the 2019 MSWCA conference.

“It’s my privilege and honor to serve MSWCA.”

Song says, “It’s my privilege and honor to serve MSWCA and work with so many writing center consultants and administrators who work hard every day to build up writers. I’m super excited that Mississippi College and Hinds Community College can collaborate together this year to host the conference, which demonstrates the theme of the conference, Connect & Collaborate: Moving from Vision to Action, in such a unique way. MSWCA is growing strong; the conference provides a great opportunity to showcase the growth, connect writing centers across the state, and explore possibilities for collaboration.”

In the spirit of collaboration (this year’s conference theme), MC Writing Center Director Dr. Steve Price says he is ready to welcome Mississippi writing centers and empower them to excel.

“For me, the MSWCA is important because we were one of the founding members and we want to continue to be leaders in the state. The conference is a chance for us to make connections and bring people from around the state together,” Price says.

The keynote speaker session with McKinney is open to anyone interested in this field of higher education. Contact Dr. Price at sprice@mc.edu or Ms. Song at song00@mc.edu if you would like to attend.