ASU professor named director of national evaluator service

Shirley Rose, director of Writing Programs and professor in the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, has been named the new director of the Consultant-Evaluator Service of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA).

“It will be an honor and privilege for me to serve as the new director of the WPA Consultant-Evaluator Service,” Rose said. “I respect and admire all the members of the panel, and I value the process of reflective self-study and peer reviews that are fundamental to the work of the service.”

Rose’s appointment was announced July 18 by council president Rita Malenczyk at the organization’s annual summer conference in Bloomington, Illinois.

“We are delighted that Shirley Rose has agreed to take on the leadership of this highly important activity of the Council of Writing Program Administrators,” Malenczyk said. “She has the trust of our Executive Board and the membership more broadly, and she has earned the respect of her fellow Consultant-Evaluators in the Service.”

The mission of WPA Consultant Evaluator Service is to assist colleges and universities with improving and assessing their writing programs, including first-year writing, general studies writing, writing across the curriculum, writing in the disciplines, professional and technical writing, undergraduate writing majors and minors, graduate writing programs and writing studies departments.

Members of the panel are leaders in the field of writing studies, and they hold positions at a wide range of colleges and universities. All are experienced writing program administrators, and many have additional administrative experience as department heads, deans or provosts.

Rose has been a member of the panel of WPA Consultant-Evaluators since 2004 and has conducted numerous consultations and reviews for writing programs across the country and internationally. As director, she will consult with faculty and administrators at institutions considering consultations or reviews for their writing programs, and advise them in preparing their program self-studies, select and appoint Consultant-Evaluator teams for site visits, assist with evaluating the outcomes of Consultant-Evaluators’ visits and reports, and lead the ongoing training of the panel of Consultant-Evaluators.

The WPA also publishes a journal and newsletter, holds an annual workshop and conference, makes grants and awards, develops position statements, offers consulting and program evaluation, and fosters extensive discussions about college writing and writing programs.

For more information about the Council of Writing Program Administrators, visit: http://wpacouncil.org/.