Voting will begin on March 6, 2023 and end on March 20, 2023 at 11:55 pm EST. Individuals eligible to vote will receive a unique email invitation with a link to the ballot on March 6, 2023.
The following positions are on the ballot: Chair (one position) and Members at Large (four positions). The Chair will serve a term of two years. Members-at-large will serve two-year terms. The terms begin on July 1, 2023.
The names, bios, and statements of candidates for the board positions are listed below.
Chair (1 candidate for 1 position)
Kristina Quynn
Assistant Dean, Graduate School; Director, CSU Writes, Colorado State University-Ft. Collins
Bio: I serve as Assistant Dean of the Graduate School at Colorado State University, and I am founding director of CSU Writes. Trained as a literary critic, I saw the light and turned toward writing studies in 2016 when I encountered the CGC group at the International Writing Center Conference. My research focuses on relational and sustainable writing practices for writing collaborators and research teams. I have a chocolate lab named Finn and a partner named Bill, sometimes I call them “Phil.”
Statement: As an advocate for graduate student communication research and support, I am excited to run for the position of Board Chair of the Consortium on Graduate Communication (CGC). We work with graduate students during a complex era of increasingly sophisticated AI text generation, the revaluing of graduate education, and need for greater access, equity, and inclusion in higher ed, broadly.
I have a background of board service on local and regional boards as member, director, vice-chair, and chair. As Board Chair, I would help sustain the collaborative work and programing of CGC: shared resource bibliography, virtual chats, publishing initiatives, and, of course, the Summer Institute.
If given the opportunity, I envision supporting these ongoing initiatives, listening to you, and to bring forward additional opportunities so that we might continue to discuss the changing landscapes of graduate communication support in higher education—virtually, in-person, and in print.
Member at Large (7 candidates for 4 positions)
Nadine Fladd
Manager, Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Programs, Writing and Communication Center, University of Waterloo
Bio: Nadine Fladd (she/her) is the Manager of Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Programs at the Writing and Communication Centre (WCC) at University of Waterloo. She completed her PhD in English, with a focus on collaborative editing practices in Canadian fiction, at Western University in 2014. She has worked at the WCC since 2015 and has served as both Secretary and Membership Chair for the Canadian Writing Centres Association.
Statement: As a staff member at the Writing and Communication Centre at University of Waterloo, I am attuned to the needs and experiences of graduate students. I meet with graduate students for individual writing consultations, coordinate intensive communication support programs like writing retreats, lead a small team that includes full-time writing centre professionals and graduate student staff, and conduct research about academic writing support for graduate students, especially collaborative and social writing practices.
After five years of serving on the Board of the Canadian Writing Centres Association (CWCA/ACCR), I am looking forward to an opportunity to learn from the ways CGC strategizes, plans, advocates and shares knowledge with its members and to share my own insights from my experiences doing these things with CWCA/ACCR. I would bring to the CGC Board perspectives from the Canadian higher education landscape and from the field of writing centre pedagogy and administration.
Eric Grunwald
Director, English Language Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Bio: Eric Grunwald studied physics and engineering at Stanford University for two years before majoring in history and teaching English to newly non-East-German engineers in Berlin. He then worked in tech transfer at Stanford, obtained his MA in creative writing at Boston University, and became an editor at the literary journal Agni. He returned to teaching in 2007, studied applied linguistics at UMass-Boston, joined MIT’s English Language Studies program in 2012, and became its director in 2022.
Statement: The CGC, formed just two years after I began teaching primarily graduate students, has been invaluable to my work. This gathering of expertise and dedication has helped me understand better my clientele’s unique needs and provided me excellent resources, strategies, and camaraderie, as well as exposure to contexts very different from my own (bilingual STEM students), in turn helping me to understand and serve mine better.
As a member-at-large, I would seek to help the CGC continue to thrive as a flexible brain-trust that evolves organically, with such recent initiatives as the book club and book series as examples. However, with some 500 members now across a variety of contexts, more opportunities to commune with like-focused people—as in interest groups for such things as testing, program administration, L2 communications, or program types such as graduate communication centers, writing centers, and ESL programs—might harness our resources even more effectively.
Christine E. Kephart
Writing Instructor, Doctor of Social Work Program, Rutgers University
Bio: I am the Writing Instructor (NTT) in the Doctor of Social Work program at Rutgers University New Brunswick and an educator first and foremost. I have nearly a decade of experience as a college writing center director and much experience teaching writing to students at all levels of higher education, with particular expertise in writing and communication instruction at the doctoral level in Social Work, STEM, Nursing, Education, and Business.
Statement: I began participating in the CGC in 2021 and feel very comfortable in this community. The mission, goals, and attitude of the CGC align meaningfully with my own around teaching and graduate communications, specifically in the graduate population I serve and my focus on pedagogy, tools, and teaching models. The CGC has already helped me further my research and has connected me to new friends and colleagues with whom I now collaborate. As Member-At-Large I would expect to provide support to CGC leadership as needed; bring a fresh perspective to discussions around further CGC growth, themes for the Summer Institute, and the like; host and moderate where needed, such as for chats and Summer Institute sessions; and continue conversations around equity in graduate communications, which lies at the heart of my teaching and research.
Yvonne Lee
Director, Graduate Writers’ Studio, Lehigh University
Bio: Yvonne directs the Graduate Writers’ Studio at Lehigh University. With her graduate-student-focused dissertation, she earned her PhD in Literacy, Rhetoric, and Social Practice from Kent State University in 2020. She has been supporting academic writers since 2007 and strives to build a foundation of community and support for graduate students.
Statement: I would like to be considered for one of the open member-at-large positions. True, I am a relatively new PhD, professional in the graduate-support community, and CGC member. However, this means that I come with all of the excitement and exuberance such a status allows for, and I likely feel less bound than some by the reluctances attached to long-held practices. Additionally, I tend to speak my mind no matter who is in the room, which can be challenging during difficult but must-have conversations. While these characteristics do have their limitations, as is proven by my accomplishments at Lehigh University, they are also a powerful force – a force that I would like to use to help the CGC add to its already substantial footprint by working to advance equity of access and to promote social justice in the field of graduate communication support.
Nathan Lindberg
Lecturer; Director, Writing and Presenting Tutoring Service, Cornell University
Bio: For the past seven years, I’ve been a lecturer at Cornell University, teaching mostly academic writing and oral skills to international graduate and professional students. I also direct a Writing & Presenting Tutoring Service. My PhD is in TESOL & Composition from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Statement: My main impetus for running for an at-large position is to give back to the group that has given me so much. I’ve been attending the Summer Institute for the past seven years, and after each time, I have come away reinvigorated with new ideas. At the SI, and other CGC events, I’ve met wonderful people, whom I’ve made connections and collaborations with. Having benefited from the labor of others who organize events, now I hope now to give back.
As for my vision for the CGC, while I appreciate the research and administrative foci, as a teacher, I would love to see more direct support for pedagogical innovations, e.g., sharing course designs, teaching resources, and even lesson plans. I would also like to update some of the CGC’s existing resources, specifically the syllabi and bibliographies on the website.
I have logistical experience, organizing many events and directing several programs. If elected, I would apply my skills to the CGC. In addition, I would like to explore drawing more international attendees and graduate students.
Megan Siczek
Associate Professor, EAP Program, George Washington University
Bio: Megan Siczek is an associate professor in the EAP program at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Her research interests include second language writing, the internationalization of higher education, and oral academic discourse socialization. She has authored a number of book chapters and research articles and published two books with the University of Michigan Press: the research monograph International Students in First-Year Writing: A Journey Through Socio-academic Space (2018) and the edited collection Pedagogical Innovations in Oral Academic Communication (2022).
Statement: I have been participating in CGC since its first colloquium at the University of Toronto in 2015 and have loved watching the organization develop and expand its reach. If elected to a member-at-large position with CGC, I would happily support any initiative the organization is working on but think I could make unique contributions in these key areas: oral academic communication for graduate students; Critical Language Awareness (CLA) at the graduate level; online teaching and learning for graduate EAP; and policy considerations for graduate EAP programs. In my role as director of GW’s EAP program, I have overseen a number of curricular refinements, such as the development of new courses and programs, as well as interacted with stakeholders from across the university. I am also a steering committee member for the second language writing interest section (SLW-IS) at TESOL and could work on strengthening connections between CGC and this group.
Brad Teague
Assistant Dean; Director, English for International Students, Duke University
Bio: Brad serves as assistant dean and director of the English for International Students (EIS) program at Duke University. He has over two decades of teaching and administrative experience in English-language programs for adult learners. Brad earned a B.A. in Spanish and linguistics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A. in applied linguistics at the Universidad de las Américas-Puebla (Mexico), and a Ph.D. in teaching and learning at Vanderbilt University.
Statement: Since 2015, I have actively participated in CGC summer institutes, online chats, listserv discussions, and contributions to the website. At this point in my career, I am interested in assuming a CGC leadership role that would allow me to expand my understanding of how the consortium works and to offer ideas to add to current programming. For example, I am actively involved in international TESOL and could identify areas of overlap between the two organizations that might serve to recruit new CGC members. Also, as an ESL program administrator, I would like to lead more events – both at the CGC summer institute and online during the year – for other CGC members who work with international populations. I have served in leadership positions with Carolina TESOL, international TESOL, and the North Carolina Association for International Educators and would apply and build on this experience through a Member-at-Large position with CGC.
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