Effectively Affective: Examining the Ethos of One HBCU Writing Center

Over the past several decades, writing center scholarship has evolved to include multiple theories and pedagogies that led to widely used best practices. As is the case in many disciplines, often writing centers at large, research PWIs are most often cited and highlighted within the scholarship. While many of those readings do offer helpful strategies for working with students at all levels, often they do not account for the unique contexts and diverse student populations that make up many HBCUs. As a result, more research from a variety of writing centers is needed so practitioners see there are multiple ways to operate a successful center and facilitate effective sessions. These authors begin by describing their student population and the HBCU learning environment. They then articulate three specific strategies, many of which directly oppose current mainstream practices, implemented in their writing center that influenced their policies and procedures. Lastly, they explore larger implications for these findings, for they believe aspects of these practices, all with traditions deeply rooted in the often-undervalued affective components of literacy instruction at HBCUs, will advance ideas in the field and ultimately be helpful for staff and students in all writing center contexts

From the Editors: MSIs Matter: Recognizing Writing Center Work at Minority Serving Institutions

University Writing Cente

Measuring Everyday Life: Talking About Research and Why It Matters

Why do people act as they do? How can we improve our health and well-being? What can the past tell us about our future? Research can help us address such questions, but the journey to finding answers can be challenging and full of adventure. Curated from interviews featured on the public radio show, The Measure of Everyday Life, this collection reveals ways that we can ask useful questions. The book also offers insights from behind the scenes of social science research, communication campaigns and interventions, and community engagement projects. A wide range of audiences—including anyone interested in applying academic research to practical projects, new graduate students, and undergraduate students learning about research—should find useful material in the collection

Coach Prime and Me: Deion Sanders’ Impact on My Academic Self from Praxis: A Writing Center Vol.19 No.1

Recently, I have been finding my academic inspiration from a most unlikely place: a college football coach. It’s Deion Sanders --- former National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB) player, Deion Sanders. While he dominated professional football far more than professional baseball in the 1990s and early 2000s, he remains the only athlete who has competed in both an MLB World Series and an NFL Super Bowl. Often called by the name “Prime Time,” NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was known during his sports career for his bodacious ego, flashy attire, and his ability to back up his swag on the football field. Sanders has built his career and his entire reputation on being a winner and dominating his crafts. While it may feel like somewhat of a stretch, I see that we can learn much from Coach Prime in the field of Composition and Writing Center Studies. There are several scholars and thought-leaders in our field who have built their careers and developed successful writing programs and writing centers at large R-1 universities and other institutions with stable financial support, high visibility, and tangible resources. What they can learn from Coach Sanders is it is time to use their status and resources to create new experiences and opportunities for reciprocal success at other institution types.University Writing Cente