Call for Proposals
Carolinas Writing Program Administrators
Meeting in the Middle
Friday, February 16, 2018
10:00 AM – 4:30 PM
(optional Thursday and Friday evening events)
UNC-Charlotte Center City Building
320 E. 9th Street, Charlotte, NC 28202
Theme: 2020 Vision: Building Connections and Coalitions across Campuses
Proposal deadline: Friday, February 2, 2018
Carolinas Writing Program Administrators is accepting proposals for its Twelfth Annual Spring Conference, Meeting in the Middle.
Connections, collaborations, coalitions. Effecting change—whether in working conditions or website resources—requires sustained and supported efforts of groups of people who share common goals, values, and vision. It helps if they also share disciplinary identity and language. In their chapter in the recently published collection Surviving Sexism in Academia: Strategies for Feminist Leadership, compositionists Jennifer Heinert and Cassandra Phillips describe the characteristics of effective coalitions: “A coalition has common goals, works purposely toward them, and shares credit and responsibility for the work. Creating a coalition begins with identifying, including, and supporting colleagues who share values, concerns, and goals. On the surface, this may seem like an easy task, but it involves establishing regular communication and developing trust over time” (“From Feminized to Feminist Labor”).
This year’s Meeting in the Middle is designed to give writing program administrators and faculty time and space to find the people who share their values, concerns, and goals. Acknowledging that the work in front of us, whether teaching, research, or activism, is more than one individual person, program, or school often has time or resources to tackle well, we encourage you to find partners to share the load. We are, as has been said, better together.
We invite proposals for brief presentations that might address the following:
- Successful coalitions. Already have partners? What kinds of things have you accomplished as a team? And what can others learn from your experience?
- Help wanted. Have a research, curricular, or programmatic project that could use a few more heads or hands? Describe the project and the ways others can help.
You are entirely welcome to attend the Meeting in the Middle without presenting, but those who declare what they are working on in advance will be listed on the formal agenda, which may help with self-advocating for travel funding.
Your proposals also help us plan appropriate interest groups and design workshop activities around your goals.
We welcome creative interpretation of the theme and goals. This forum is appropriate for work that would benefit from feedback and focused workshop time. Carolinas WPA welcomes individual and team projects at any stage of development and from people working in any teaching or administrative positions related to writing in the Carolinas.
Conference Format
A featured talk on strategies for cross-institutional collaboration led by Carolinas WPA member Jessie Moore will be followed by small breakout interest groups and writing activities. Those presenting should prepare for 15-20 minutes per person to discuss their work-in-progress and seek feedback from those with shared interests.
Proposals
Each proposal should be 250 – 500 words including the following:
- Names and contact information (email, phone, home institution) for each person associated with your proposal
- A presentation title
- A description of the pertinent topic
- Your specific goals for presenting at MinM
Submit it via email to Collie Fulford (cfulfor1@nccu.edu) and Paula Patch (ppatch@elon.edu) by 12:00 midnight Friday, February 2, 2018, using the subject line “MinM Proposal yourlastname.”
Questions or Comments? – Contact Paula Patch at ppatch@elon.edu.
Registration
The registration price of $40.00 includes lunch and the opportunity to bring a guest for free. Carpooling encouraged. Recommended: Add $6.00 per car to prepay parking.
- The registration deadline is Friday, February 9, 2018.
- When you “Bring a Friend for Free,” you must register your friend when you register yourself.
Registration opens soon on the Carolinas WPA website.
Parking
UNC-Charlotte Center City charges Carolinas WPA $6 for each event parking pass. Passholders have access to a lot very close to the conference building. If you prepay for a parking pass, we will email guidelines for printing your pass the week of the conference. If you choose not to prepay, you will need to find an alternate parking location.
Hotels