WRITING CENTER DIRECTOR

Salary:

Minimum $70,000 ANNUAL (12 months)
Depending on Qualifications

Job Summary:

The University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks a director for its Writing Center. This is a full-time, twelve-month permanent academic staff position at the level of teaching professor.

The Writing Center Director directs and manages all aspects of the UW-Madison Writing Center, which serves 6,000-7,000 students, faculty, and staff each year. Responsibilities include directing all one-to-one instruction at the Main Center, eight campus satellite locations, and seven community locations through in-person appointments, virtual meetings, and online written feedback as well as coordinating all group writing instruction, including Writing Center workshops, weekly undergraduate and graduate writing groups, dissertation writing camps, and cross-campus outreach in courses across the disciplines. The Director hires, trains, supervises, and mentors five full-time Writing Center career staff members and 45-50 graduate TAs, including 5 TAs in leadership positions (Writing Center Assistant Director, Online Writing Center Coordinator, Multicultural and Social Justice Initiatives Coordinator, Outreach Coordinator, and Madison Writing Assistance Assistant Director). The Director coordinates all Writing Center TA training, including designing and teaching 3-4 sections of the graduate proseminar in Writing Center Theory and Practice each year, planning and leading monthly staff meetings for all Writing Center staff, and conducting session observations of Writing Center TAs. The Director also assists with the hiring, training, supervision, and mentoring of 7-8 undergraduate Writing Center receptionists. With support from the English Department, the Director oversees and allocates the Writing Center's budget and works closely with the Writing Center administrator to publicize, promote, coordinate, and support all Writing Center instruction, resources, and services.

Collaboration with campus and community partners is a key component of this position. The Writing Center Director collaborates with faculty and staff across the disciplines to design writing presentations and workshops for approximately 150+ courses and student organizations each year. The Director also develops, sustains, and expands writing initiatives and funding support both within and beyond campus through an extensive series of partnerships, including partnerships with residence halls, dining halls, multicultural student centers, the Graduate School, the Advanced Opportunity Fellows (AOF) Scholars program, the Odyssey Project, the Greater Madison Writing Project, the UW-Madison libraries, and the Madison Public Libraries. The Director leads and coordinates the Writing Center's multicultural and social justice initiatives, working closely with campus colleagues to design and provide writing support for students at the Black Cultural Center, the Center for Cultural Enrichment, and the Multicultural Student Center. In addition, the Director directs Madison Writing Assistance, which provides free, weekly, one-to-one writing assistance to Madison-area residents at seven local libraries and neighborhood centers, and works closely with donors and colleagues to procure funding for this wholly grant-funded program. The Director collaborates with instructional technology colleagues to design and support the Writing Center's extensive online offerings, including synchronous and asynchronous instruction, a vast website of writing resources, and several social media platforms that promote and support the writing of students, faculty, and staff. The Director also provides guidance to and serves as an active member of the Writing Center's standing committees on accessibility, antiracism, assessment, communications, Madison Writing Assistance, and the Writing Center's award-winning blog, Another Word.

The Writing Center Director collaborates closely with the Writing Across the Curriculum Director and with the Writing Fellows Director, serves as a member of the Composition and Rhetoric graduate area, and participates in various English Department committees. The Director also consults regularly with colleagues about writing and writing centers at other colleges and universities, participates in national and international conferences on writing studies, and pursues research on writing centers and writing studies to maintain the UW-Madison Writing Center's reputation as a leader among Big Ten schools as well as nationally and internationally.

Responsibilities:

Provides classroom, online, and/or laboratory instruction associated with more than one lecture or laboratory course. Assists with the design and execution of administrative functions associated with academic instruction and the development of pedagogy/andragogy or assessment tools and resources to support quality student learning. Provides for-credit instruction in formats such as classroom, online and/or laboratory settings, including grading. Serves as an instructor of record.

• 10% Designs curriculum and/or techniques for instruction in a disciplinary area and suggests new ways of effective instruction in courses within discipline
• 5% Assesses learner performance and prepares reports recommending instructional improvements
• 5% Develops teaching techniques that enhance course effectiveness in alignment with desired outcomes and established strategy and trains faculty and other instructional staff in use of instructional techniques and programs. Presents evaluations of teaching methods and techniques to those in the institution and elsewhere
• 35% Provides classroom, online, and/or laboratory instruction, including grading
• 5% Supervises the day-to-day activities of work unit employees involved in instructional support as needed
• 5% Develops grant proposals for instructional development and may serve as principal or co-principal investigator on grants to develop new teaching methods in the discipline. May administer budget and personnel for instructional grants and programs
• 10% Assists in defining the objectives of the program and plays a major role in carrying out program duties
• 5% Oversees curriculum design and instruction of other instructors
• 5% Provides oversight and guidance on the development of grant proposals by other staff
• 5% Leads unit level course programming and alignment with unit policy, procedures, guidelines, and instructional focus
• 5% Advises unit director on instructional budget and personnel decisions
• 5% Provides professional development around curriculum development and program implementation to support other instructors in the unit

Institutional Statement on Diversity:

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Education:

Preferred
PhD in English or Writing Studies

Qualifications:

--10 years of experience in writing program administration
--Significant experience leading community writing initiatives
--Experience training instructional staff and teaching assistance in writing center best practices
--Experience supervising staff
--Demonstrated ongoing involvement in professional development and engagement in research in writing studies and writing program administration

COVID-19 Considerations:

UW-Madison continues to follow necessary health and safety protocols to protect our campus from COVID-19. All employees remain subject to the COVID-19 Workplace Safety Policy: https://policy.wisc.edu/library/UW-5086 . Please visit https://covidresponse.wisc.edu for the most up-to-date information.

Work Type:

Full Time: 100%

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Appointment Type, Duration:

Ongoing/Renewable


How to Apply:

Please click on the "" button to start the application process.

For questions on the position, contact: Michael Bernard-Donals--mfbernarddon@wisc.edu

To apply for this position, you will need to upload a cover letter, resume and contact information for at least three professional references, including your current supervisor. References will not be contacted without advance notice.

Your cover letter should address your qualifications as they pertain to the qualifications listed above.

Contact:

Spring Sherrod
sherrod@wisc.edu
608-263-3303
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1 (out-of-state: TTY: 800.947.3529, STS: 800.833.7637) and above Phone number (See RELAY_SERVICE for further information. )

Official Title:

Teaching Faculty IV(TL031)

Department(s):

A482400-COL OF LETTERS & SCIENCE/ENGLISH/ENGLISH

Employment Class:

Academic Staff-Renewable

Job Number:

260755-AS



The University of Wisconsin is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. We promote excellence through diversity and encourage all qualified individuals to apply.

If you need to request an accommodation because of a disability, you can find information about how to make a request at the following website: https://employeedisabilities.wisc.edu/disability-accommodation-information-for-applicants/

Employment will require a criminal background check. It will also require you and your references to answer questions regarding sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on-campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW-Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department .

Applications Open: Jun 27 2022 Central Daylight Time
Applications Close: Jul 15 2022 11:55 PM Central Daylight Time