I'm a Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at Ball State University where I teach undergraduate and graduate courses and direct the Writing Center. My research focuses writing center studies, writing research, and composition pedagogy. My first book, Peripheral Visions for Writing Centers, available from Utah State University Press, won the 2014 IWCA Outstanding Book Award. My second book, Strategies for Writing Center Research, is a guide to doing empirical research in/on the writing center, and my most recent book, The Working Lives of New Writing Center Directors, co-authored with Becky Jackson and Nikki Caswell is now available from Utah State University Press; both of these books also received the IWCA Outstanding Book Award. I am currently serving as Past President of the International Writing Centers Association.
Current Position
Professor of English & Writing Center Director
Ball State University, Department of English, Muncie, IN 47306
Winner of the 2019 Outstanding Faculty Member Award, Ball State University
President of the International Writing Centers Association
(Vice President Nov 2015-17)
(President Nov 2017-19)
(Past President 2019-21)
Administrative Experience
Director of the Writing Center, Ball State University, 2003-2011; Summer 2014; 2015-present
Director of the Writing Program, Ball State University, 2011-2014
Assistant Director of Composition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2002-2003
Assistant Director of the Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2001-2002
Memberships/Professional Service
Leadership in Professional Organizations
International Writing Center Association Board, President, 2017-present
Vice President, Nov 2015-2017
ECWCA Regional Rep, 2011-2013
Chair, Article Award Committee, 2012
Member, Works in Progress Committee, 2012
International Writing Center Association Summer Institute, Leader, June 22-27, Lexington, KY, 2014
Founding member of Indiana Writing Center Directors, 2008
Board member for East Central Writing Center Association, 2009-2013
Vice President, April 2010- March 2011
President, March 2011-March 2012
Past President, March 2012-March 2013
Webmaster, Fall 2011-March 2013
Reviews/Editorial Boards
Journals
Reviewer: Writing Center Journal, 2010-present
Reviewer: Composition Forum, 2012
Reviewer: Writing Lab Newsletter, 2013-2015
Reviewer: Praxis, 2013-present
Reviewer: Southern Discourse in the Center: A Journal of Multiliteracy and Innovation, 2014-2016
Reviewer: The Peer Review, 2016-present
Reviewer: Writing Program Administration Journal, 2018
Reviewer: College English, 2019
Reviewer: College Composition and Communication, 2019
Presses
Reviewer: Utah State University Press, 2014
Reviewer: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2016
Reviewer: Routledge, 2017
Founding Advisory Board Member: Southern Illinois University Press Book Series, Writing Research, Pedagogy, and Policy, 2017-
External Program/Personnel Reviews/Consulting
IUPUI, Writing Program and Writing Center, February 2013
Taylor University, Writing Center, Fall 2013
Arcadia University, Tenure File, Fall 2013
Westminster College, Promotion to Full, File, Fall 2016
University of Michigan-Flint, Promotion to Full, File, Fall 2016
Miami University of Ohio, Howe Writing Center, Consultation, Summer 2017
University of Central Florida, Promotion to Full File, Summer 2017
Marquette University, Tenure File, Summer 2017
Michigan State University, Tenure File, Summer 2017
University of Alabama-Birmingham, Tenure File, Summer 2018
University of Texas-Rio Grande, Tenure File, Summer 2018
North Carolina Central University, Promotion to Full, Summer 2018
Miami University of Ohio, Howe Writing Center, Consultation, Fall 2018
Other
National Advisory Board Member, Howe Center for Writing Excellence, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 2017-2020
Departmental Service
Committees
Rhetoric and Composition Area Committee Member, 2003-present
Chair, 2005-2007
Secretary, 2003-2004
Promotion and Tenure Committee Member, 2007-2008; 2012-13; 2017-18
Writing Committee, 2003-present
Chair, 2011-2014
Salary Committee, 2009-2010
Programs Committee, 2009-2010; 2010-2011; 2016-17
Executive Committee, 2009-present
Assessment Committee, 2009-2011
Writing Program Teaching Assistant Review Committee, Chair, 2011-14
Contract Faculty Review Committee, Ex Officio, 2011-2014
Other Positions
English Department Internship Coordinator, 2009-2010
University Service
University Core Curriculum Committee, Spring 2013
MAPS Advisory Committee, 2011-2012
Student Rights, Ethics, and Standards Committee, 2012-2013
UCC Rubric Development Committee, Summer 2013
College Curriculum Committee, Fall 2016
Ad Hoc College Committee on P&T Digitalization, 2015-present
New Faculty Academy Leader, 2017-18
Courses Taught at Ball State University
Undergraduate Courses
English 103: Composition I :: Fall 2003, Fall 2005, Fall 2015, Spring 2016
English 104: Composition II :: Spring 2004, Spring 2011, Summer 2012, Summer 2015, Summer 2016, Summer 2017
English 230: Reading and Writing about Literature :: Fall 2003
English 231: Writing in the Workplace :: Spring 2006, Fall 2006
English 389/400/435: Tutoring Writing :: Fall 2004, Spring 2008, Spring 2016
English 435: Rhetorical Art of Blogging, Spring 2010
English 444: Multimodal Ethnography (Senior Seminar) :: Spring 2007, Fall 2008
English 444: Qualitative Research & Representation :: Spring 2010
English 444: Autoethnography :: Spring 2015, Fall 2016
Graduate Courses
English 601: Research Methods in Composition :: Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2017
English 604: Teaching with Technology :: Spring 2006, Spring 2008, Spring 2014
English 605: Teaching Composition :: Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2012
English 690: Seminar on Basic Writing :: Fall 2005
English 690: Comp without Classrooms :: Summer 2004
English 690/689: Writing Center Theory & Administration:: Summer 2008, Summer 2013, Fall 2016
English 690: Feminism and Composition:: Fall 2015
English 693: Writing in the Profession :: Fall 2017
English 699: Contemporary Theories of Composition :: Spring 2005, Spring 2007
ID601: Teaching Composition Practicum :: Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
Theses, Exam, & Dissertation Committees
Doctoral Committee Chair for
Cara Miller, PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2019.
Morgan Gross. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2018.
Elmar Hashimov. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended June 2015.
Erin Banks-Kirkham. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2015.
Rena Dossett. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended June 2014.
Laura Romano. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2014.
Jenn Stewart. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended March 2014.
Stephanie Hedge. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended March 2013.
David DiSarro. PhD Student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended Summer 2011.
Emily Standridge. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended Fall 2011.
External Doctoral Committee Member for
Beth Towle. Purdue University. PhD Student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended March 2019.
Brandon Hardy. East Carolina University. PhD Student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2019.
Ball State Doctoral Committee Member for
Abigail Barker. PhD Student in Rhetoric and Composition. Degree in progress.
Alyssa Parker, PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Degree in Progress.
Margo Brines. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Degree in Progress.
Kelsie Walker. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended October 2018.
Elisabeth Buck. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended Spring 2016.
Matt Balk. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended Summer 2016.
Elizabeth Imafuji. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2014.
Casey McArdle. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2014.
Sarah Sandman. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2014.
Brian Derico. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended December 2013.
Leo Huisman. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2011.
Claire Lutkewitte. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended May 2011.
Xiaojing Ching. PhD student in Applied Linguistics. Defended June 2009.
Huimin Xie. PhD student in Applied Linguistics. Defended June 2007.
Anthony Atkins. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Defended July 2004.
Dissertation Committee Member-at-Large for
Bonnie Von Hoff. PhD Student in Music. Defended January 2013.
Heather Schilling. EdD student in Elementary Education. Defended May 2011.
Marisa F. Fink. EdD Student in Adult, Higher, and Community Education. Defended May 2006.
PhD Exam Committee Member for
Karen Neubauer. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2014.
Tess Evans. PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition. Passed Exams in 2010.
MA Thesis/Project Director for
Will Chesher. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. Degree in Progress.
Amory Orchard. MA Student in English Studies, 2018.
Aly Schweigert. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2014.
Kat Greene. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2013.
Nicole Williams. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2009.
Amber Buck. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2005.
MA Thesis/Project Committee Member for
Tyler Petty. Creative Writing. 2011.
Nicki Caswell. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2008.
Susan Darling. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2006.
Jennifer George Palionis. MA Student in Rhetoric and Composition. 2004.
Undergraduate Honors Thesis Advisor for
Sarah Papin (Undergraduate English Education major). Completed May 2006.
Megan Niehaus (Undergraduate English major). Completed December 2005.
Education
Ph.D in Rhetoric and Composition, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2003
M.A. in Rhetoric and Composition, New Mexico State University, 1999
B.A. in English, minors in Secondary Education and French, University of St. Thomas (MN), 1997
Professional Training/Advanced Study
International Writing Center Association Summer Institute, Participant, Madison, Wisconsin, Summer 2008.
