New! Check out the first issue of the Michigan Writing Centers Association Newsletter. Many thanks to the Newsletter Staff: Ann Russell, Frances FitzGerald and Melanie Keyser of Madonna University

The 2008 East Central Writing Centers Association will take place at Ohio State University April 11-12.
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Proposals for the 2008 International Writing Centers Association conference (Las Vegas, October 30 - November 1) are due March 15.
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Has your contact information changed? Please visit the Membership link to view your current contact information. Use the Contact Us link or send a message to penninj@lcc.edu to inform us on any changes.

 

If you have an announcement about an upcoming event or an accomplishment within your writing center that you would like included in this space, please submit it via the Contact Us link in the red column. We welcome your contributions.

Annual Ideas Exchange

The Ideas Exchange is held every fall semester at a different institution each year. It is a day-long event featuring an opening session and welcome, concurrent sessions on various general topics of interest, lunch, a board meeting, and an afternoon closing session and social gathering. The MWCA strives to keep registration fees minimal and to maintain a tutor focus in which tutors vastly outnumber directors and administrators in attendance and as presenters.

Following is a history of MWCA Meetings and Ideas Exchanges. The MWCA was officially born on August 10, 1995, at Western Michigan University. This same year, the term “Ideas Exchange” was adopted to describe our annual gatherings. The University of Michigan—Flint hosted our first Ideas Exchange in October 1995.

History of Michigan Writing Centers Association Meetings and Ideas Exchanges
Year
Host
# in Attendance
October 1994 Michigan Council of Teachers of English
Special Interest Group Meeting, Lansing, MI
33
February 1995 Michigan Writing Centers Open House: An
Introduction to the MSU Writing Center,
Michigan State University
23
April 1995 Spring Conference on the English Language Arts
(a.k.a. “Bright Ideas” Conference),
Michigan State University
25
June 1995 Michigan Writing Centers Project Summer
Invitational Institute,
Michigan State University
16
August 1995 MWCA Steering Committee Organizational Meeting,
Western Michigan University
15
October 1995 Ideas Exchange, University of Michigan—Flint
80
March 1996

Host (with MSU) of East Central Writing Centers
Association Conference,
Michigan State University
*
October 1996 Ideas Exchange, Macomb Community College
*
October 1997 Ideas Exchange, Northwestern Michigan University
*
November 1998 Ideas Exchange, Saginaw Valley State University
90
November 1999 Ideas Exchange, Grand Valley State University
85
October 2000 Ideas Exchange, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
100
October 2001 Ideas Exchange, Central Michigan University
120
October 2002 Ideas Exchange, Michigan State University
110
October 2003 Ideas Exchange, University of Michigan—Flint
108
October 2004 Ideas Exchange, Lansing Community College
100
November 2005 Ideas Exchange, Grand Valley State University
100
October 2006 Ideas Exchange, Northwestern Michigan College
88

October
2007

Muskegon Community College
125


* Information not available
+ Denotes future conference site

The MWCA also holds its annual Board meeting during the Ideas Exchange. This is an open meeting to which all participants in the Ideas Exchange are encouraged to attend. Minutes from some previous meetings are available below in rich text format.

Minutes from 2003 Ideas Exchange at UM-Flint

Minutes from 2004 Ideas Exchange at LCC

Minutes from 2005 Ideas Exchange at GVSU

Minutes from 2006 Ideas Exchange at NMC

Minutes from 2007 Ideas Exchange at MCC
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Site Last Updated: February 11, 2008