Writing Center Work

“I came away from the experience not only understanding why Dr. Moroski-Rigney [formerly Watkins] is so respected within the international writing center community but also having learned quite a bit from her myself. I have since gone on to implement some of her ideas in my own writing center.”

Christopher LeCluyse, Westminster College

Writing Center work is not just part of my career; it created my career. As a current university administrator, I owe any success I’ve had to my training as a tutor, an assistant director, a director, and a mentee in the Writing Center community. Writing centers are my scholarship, my research, and my passion projects. They embody my values of meeting students where they are, of leveling students in general education at the university, and collaborating to find excellence.

Writing Center work is also where I’ve been most efficient at combining my personal love for event planning with academic service. As a thirteen-time conference chair/co-chair, I see this opportunity to create collaboration as some of the most rewarding.

Questions about my research, my classes, or conference planning? Contact me!

Writing Center Service Work

National and Regional Service

• Co-Organizer, WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship Mentor Matching Program, 2019 to Present
• Reviewer, WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship, 2018 to Present
• Leader and Co-Chair, International Writing Center Association (IWCA) Summer Institute, 2017 and 2018
• Mentor, IWCA Mentor Matching Program, 2016-18, 2020
• Past-President, Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA), 2018-19
• Conference Chair, Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference, 2015
• Advisory Board, Southern Discourse in the Center: A Journal of Multiliteracy and Innovation, 2013-19
• President, Southeastern Writing Center Association, 2016-18
• Vice President, Southeastern Writing Center Association, 2014-16
• Tennessee State Representative, Southeastern Writing Center Association, 2011-2014
• Director, Tennessee Writing Center Directors’ Collaborative, 2011-14
• Excursions Coordinator/Assistant to the Conference Chair, Dr. Trixie Smith, Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference, Nashville, TN, 2007

Lipscomb University Service, 2010-2019

• Director, The Writing Studio at Lipscomb University
• Chair, The Writing Studio at Lipscomb University Advocacy Board, 2016-2019
• Director of Writing Resources, English Department, 2011-15

Middle Tennessee State University Service, 2002-2010

• Assistant Coordinator, The Margaret H. Ordoubadian Writing Center, 2007-2010
• Peer Mentor, The Margaret H. Ordoubadian Writing Center, 2003-2004
• Peer Tutor, The Margaret H. Ordoubadian Writing Center, 2002-2004

Professional Memberships

• East Central Writing Center Association (ECWCA)
• Michigan Writing Center Association (MiWCA)
• Past President, Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA)
• American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U)
• International Writing Center Association (IWCA)

“When the current IWCA president asked me to nominate chairs for the 2017 and 2018 IWCA Summer Institutes, I mentioned Dr. Watkins [now Moroski-Rigney] without hesitation. I nominated her, in part, because of two reasons: A) Her successful chairing of the 2015 SWCA Conference showed that she could handle the complexities of planning an event and successfully manage and lead sessions; and B) she did an excellent job in a mentorship role as part of the IWCA’s Mentor Matching program.”

Kevin Dvorak, Former IWCA President

Writing Center Courses Taught

• EN 3000, Writing Center Theory
• EN 3003, Writing Center Theory and Practice

Selected Writing Center Presentations

• March 2020: The East Central Writing Centers Association Conference (ECWCA), Indianapolis, IN. “Creating a Culture of Access: Prison Writing Programs & Going Beyond the Bars” with Karen-Elizabeth Moroski
• November 2019: The Michigan Writing Centers Association (MiWCA), Mount Pleasant, MI. “Considering Accessibility in Prison Writing Programs” with Karen-Elizabeth Moroski
• (Invited) October 2019: International Writing Center Association (IWCA) Conference, Columbus, OH, “A Canvas of Opportunity: Painting a Picture of Research in SLAC Writing Centers” with Alexis Hart, Liz Egan, Nick Plunkey, and Jessica Kem
• (Invited) February 2019: Southeastern Writing Center Association Conference (SWCA), Myrtle Beach, SC, Tutoring Philosophy Workshop
• October 2018: International Writing Center Association (IWCA) Conference, Atlanta, GA, “Cultivating Community: A Perspective on the California Travel Ban”
• (Invited) March 2018: The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), Kansas City, MO. “Transforming Writing Center Scholarship” with Jackie Grutsch-McKinney, Dagmar Scharold, and Julia Bleakney

• November 2017: International Writing Center Association (IWCA) Conference, Chicago, IL, “Reconceiving the WC Regional: Meetings, Membership, and (Organizational) Memory” with Sherry Wynn Perdue
• (Invited) July 2017: Nova Southeastern University M.A. Program, Ft. Lauderdale FL, “Professionalizing in the Writing Center Discipline”
• October 2016: IWCA Conference, Denver, CO, “Creating a Writing Center Advisory Board: A Workshop of Best Practices”
• October 2015: IWCA Conference, Pittsburg, PA, “Creating ‘Write it Like Disaster:’ A Compilation of Music by Writing Center Staffers, Professionals, and Allies”
• (Invited) October 2014: IWCA Conference, Orlando, FL, Graduate Student Mentor, Special Interest Group (SIG): “Graduate Student WC Leadership and Professionalization”
• February 2014: SWCA Conference, Greensboro, NC, “Homeschooling and Writing Centers: Extending the Community”
• (Keynote) August 2013: University of Tennessee-Martin’s Hortense Parrish Writing Center Annual Retreat, “Writing Center Outreach”
• February 2013: with Dr. Jan Harris and Rachel Robinson, SWCA Conference, Ft. Lauderdale, FL “Who are We Talking To? Marketing to Students, Faculty, and Administrators in the Writing Center.”
• October 2012: IWCA Conference, San Diego, CA “Blurring Boundaries: Developing Collaboration Across Tennessee Writing Centers”
• February 2011: SWCA Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL “Rebuilding and Rebranding: Overcoming a ‘Remedial’ Reputation after the Surge”