Faculty member in attendance at a workshop, seated at a desk and prepared to write

What is WAC/WID/CxC?

Pearce Center has made WAC, WID and CxC programs the center of its current activities. Writing Across the Curriculum programs work to ensure that Clemson students are prepared for writing in a wide variety of academic and professional settings. WAC often involves writing to learn—informal writing that helps writers explain their reading, their observations and their own thinking to themselves. WAC can take the form of field notes, lab notes, journals, lecture summaries, reflection papers and many other familiar forms. Writing in the Disciplines introduces students to writing for a particular field: its conventions, practices and formats⁠ — all the requirements for joining a disciplinary conversation. WID can take the form of journal articles, masters theses, doctoral dissertations, grant applications and technical documents for a variety of science and engineering fields. Communication Across the Curriculum ensures that Clemson students are prepared to express themselves in modes of communication other than writing, including the visual rhetoric and information design needed for posters, presentations and visual productions. In 2001, Time magazine named Clemson “Public College of the Year” and featured Clemson’s commitment to WAC/WID. The Pearce Center for Professional Communication is committed to reaching similar recognitions for its WAC, WID and CxC programs, with particular emphasis on supporting Clemson Forward’s engagement initiatives.

 

Funded Projects

To augment its ongoing commitment to improving the communication skills of all Clemson students, the Pearce Center regularly invites requests from faculty in all disciplines for

• funding for curricular or other initiatives that enhance oral, written, visual and/or digital communication or that foster writing to learn at Clemson;

• small grants for communication-based, peer-reviewed research in your discipline;

• assistance developing a communication component in your grant proposals; and/or

• space/technology in the Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication for your project, class or research team.

How Can I Apply?

Calls for proposals are put out in the spring for projects to be funded during the following academic year. The Pearce Center Faculty Advisory Council reviews all submissions. Please direct any questions to Cameron Bushnell, Director of the Pearce Center for Professional Communication.

WAC Initiatives

The Pearce Center for Professional Communication is dedicated to continuing Clemson’s tradition of WAC excellence through a variety of programs and initiatives. The Pearce Center hosts workshops, conferences and writing challenges for departments and faculty. Pearce also funds the Grad WAC Fellows program and the Faculty Fellows program to encourage WAC teachings and research. Learn more about these and other initiatives below.

Students write and listen to unseen speaker

Workshops

The Pearce Center offers workshops on issues regarding written and oral communication to help faculty and graduate students with their own writing and with the teaching of writing.

Take a look below at some of our previous workshop offerings. Contact Sarah Costley to request a workshop in your department.

Alan Alda Center Faculty Workshop

In March 2021, the Pearce Center hosted a virtual faculty workshop through the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science called “The Essentials.” The three-hour workshop focused on effective communication strategies and techniques; it was particularly designed for faculty who need to present science research to non-specialist audiences, including grantees, collaborators in other fields and public audiences. Aimed at research scientists and practitioners who want to help others explore science and its significance, attendance was limited to 16 participants who were nominated by department chairs and associate deans to apply. At least one faculty member from every college on campus attended the workshop, including Pearce Center FAC member Lesly Temesvari.

CUSHR Writing Challenge

The Pearce Center hosted a summer writing challenge for the CUSHR Faculty Scholars. Participants attended daily for 2.5 hours to write together as a group. Each session started with the presentation of a short writing tip and ended with a report of the progress each of the writers made during the session. Projects included manuscripts, journal articles, grant applications and more. Eight faculty members completed the challenge, and two winners were selected via drawing for gift card prizes! Participants reported that the most helpful elements of the challenge included having an accountability group of peers, the positive and focused support system and the daily writing tips, and many expressed interest in repeating the challenge or forming writing groups in the future.

Faculty Writing Groups

Throughout the calendar year, the Pearce Center hosts virtual writing groups for CAAH faculty members. The groups met up to three times a week in order to form a committed community of writers with dedicated time to work on their projects. In Spring 2021, the Pearce Center held a Spring Break Writing Challenge, during which writing sessions were held every weekday for two and a half hours. Participants who attended every day were entered into a drawing for one of two gift card prizes.

Stay up to date on all Pearce Center events by signing up for our mailing list below!

Mailing List

Two graduate students work on a writing activity together

Grad WAC Fellows

Grad WAC Fellows is a professional development program for graduate TAs that emphasize written communication in their classrooms. The program focuses on increasing the quality and quantity of their students’ writing, as well as increasing the Fellows’ own writing skills.

More About Grad WAC Fellows

Faculty member points at laptop screen and speaks with four students

Faculty Fellows

The Pearce Faculty Fellows program seeks to meet the needs of faculty in departments from across campus who are interested in learning strategies for teaching writing in undergraduate and graduate disciplinary classrooms. Fellows seek to enhance efforts to develop more interdisciplinary curricula.

Become a Faculty Fellow

Two students sit at a wooden table writing in notebooks. They are both wearing masks and looking down at their work.

WAC Faculty

Pearce Center’s WAC Faculty dedicated to educating others in Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing In the Disciplines practices to further the use and practice of writing in classrooms of all disciplines. These faculty members are responsible for co-teaching the Grad WAC Fellows classes.

Meet Our WAC Faculty

The WAC Journal

The WAC Journal is a national peer-reviewed journalCover of the 2020 issue of the WAC Journal featuring the logo on a grey background. of contemporary research relating to Writing Across the Curriculum, available in print and online through Colorado State’s WAC Clearinghouse. This journal of practical ideas and pertinent theory is also published by Clemson University and Parlor Press and was copyedited this year by Pearce Center’s PEP program. Director Dr. Cameron Bushnell also serves as co-editor of the publication.

Communication Resources

The WAC Clearinghouse, in partnership with the International Network of Writing Across the Curriculum Programs, publishes journals, books and other resources for teachers who use writing in their courses.

National Association of Communication Centers: http://www.commcenters.org/