NEWS RELEASE

LAKE SUPERIOR
STATE UNIVERSITY

***************************
LSSU's new university writing program to hold fall symposium

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI - Lake Superior State University's newly established university writing program is kicking things off with a fall symposium, October 9 and 10, that will focus on the intellectual and practical work of teaching writing.

Patricia Donahue and Bianca Falbo from Lafayette College will visit campus for a series of workshops and meetings with faculty in English, the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee, and members of LSSU administration.

The two bring a wealth of experience in writing and administration of writing programs.

"The university writing program has been established to make more visible Lake State's serious commitment to the teaching of writing," said Jim Zukowski Ph.D., associate professor of English and communication and director of the LSSU program. "We're in the process of re-evaluating our composition courses to make sure our students write more regularly, receive more immediate feedback, and work on projects that ask them to read various kinds of texts closely, to study texts with particular goals in mind, and to learn to work across texts. To complement that effort, and to make sure our students remain fluent in writing during their entire time with us, the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee has been established to formulate a procedure for integrating more writing into the courses that students take in their majors.

"It's no secret that more active and committed learning takes place when students write and when teachers use writing to teach," Zukowski added. "The work of writing, the intellectual labor and skill involved, is precisely what historians, scientists, engineers, market researchers and others must be able to perform. We want our students to stand out once they leave LSSU, to be able to compete nationally for jobs or for graduate work. The UWP is committed to helping our students succeed in these areas by demanding more from them and from ourselves."

During the first day of the two-day symposium, Donahue and Falbo will discuss the university's required composition courses.

On the second day, the two will meet for three hours with the LSSU Writing Across the Curriculum Committee and other members of the university community to respond to three faculty presentations on teaching with writing.

LSSU faculty presentations include:

- The Razor's Edge: Balancing Self-Disclosure with Professional Ethics in Psychology Writing Assignments, by Russell Searight Ph.D., M.P.H., LSSU associate professor of psychology

- Assigning and Grading the Argumentative Essay in the Humanities, by Jason Swedene Ph.D., LSSU associate professor of philosophy and humanities

- Writing-Intensive Requirements for Professional Portfolio Development, by Debra McPherson, LSSU professor of recreation studies and exercise science.

For more information on the symposium, which is funded by LSSU's Issues and Intellect Committee, contact Zukowski at jzukowski@lssu.edu or 906-635-2115.

***************************