University of Louisville. Department of English

Dr Layne Porta worked in the UofL Writing Center initially as a MA student in 2013 and then returned as a PhD student to be an Assistant Director from 2016-2018. Dr. Gordon describes the challenges of learning to offer writing center help outside one’s area of expertise, and the importance of viewing consultations as collaboration rather than instruction. She discusses how she has incorporated lessons learned in the UofL Writing Center in her ongoing work at Rollins College, particularly the ideas that writing is an emotional act and that “every writer needs response,” two values she stresses when training consultants in her current role. Dr. Gordon also shares how she helped launch the partnership with Family Scholar House and took part in events like International Mother Language Day. She touches on how her time at the UofL Writing Center informed her decision to pursue writing center work and scholarship. Additionally, she recalls how she enjoyed working with Adam Robinson, Cassie Book, Amy Nichols, Ashly Bender, Jessica Winck, and Rachel Rodriguez.

Professor Richard Kain, who came to the University of Louisville's Department of English in 1940, discusses his formal education, teaching and scholarly career, and community activities. Topics include his research in Irish literature, particularly the work of James Joyce.

Dr. Iswari Pandey was a graduate student at UofL from 2000-2006. He describes the journey that led him to working in UofL’s Writing Center as a MA student and the learning curve he experienced working as a writing consultant for the first time. After completing his undergraduate and first graduate degree in Nepal, Iswari came to UofL and worked in the newly renovated tutoring facility under Dr. Carol Mattingly. He discusses how a compliment regarding his work with students, in addition to a series of gratifying circumstances helping writers, led him away from his primary interest in literary theory and on a career path in rhetoric and composition. After completing his MA, Iswari transferred to the PhD program at UofL and describes the role he played performing research for the National Writing Center Research Project—an endeavor that collected data on writing centers to assist newly forming departments establish themselves—and how his research turned into a publication for the Writing Center Journal. Iswari witnessed some of the first virtual appointments at the Writing Center and talks about adapting appointments to meet the needs of students in digital consultations. As a graduate student during a time digital use was growing, particularly with the rise in popularity of social media, Iswari details his thoughts on how digital writing has changed the way people think about rhetoric and writing practices.

Dr. Hephzibah Roskelly earned her MA and PhD in the English department at UofL in the early 1970s. After graduating, she worked as a writing consultant at the University Writing Center (UWC) and a professor within the English department throughout the 1970s and 80s. Roskelly also served as the UWC Director in the 1980s. She is now Professor Emeritus of Rhetoric and Composition at UNC Greensboro, where she has taught since leaving UofL in 1989. In this wide-ranging interview, Roskelly describes the difficulties of establishing the UWC (formerly The Writing Clinic) practices at a time when writing center research was in its infancy. This includes a discussion on the hurdles of formulating an interdisciplinary approach. Under the guidance of UWC Directors Susan Helgeson and Kate Ronald, as well as Composition Director Joe Comprone, Roskelly was able to formulate a methodology for teaching composition and improving writing center practices that has allowed her to better assist writers throughout her extensive career. She also discusses the importance of reading comprehension, interpretation, and critical thinking as a means to help writers grow. Finally, Roskelly touches on a number of topics, including: recreating successful UWC approaches at UNC Greensboro, the benefits of technology in the writing center, the evolving structures of modern writing centers, and the importance of creating a sense of community.