Education
Publications
Teaching & Advising
Presentations
Administration
Mentoring
Assessment
University Service
Field-wide Service
Service Learning
Tech Experience
Copyediting
Grants & Fellowships
Workplace Experience

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to download a pdf version of my CV

Appointments

2016—Present  

Assistant Professor of English in Professional Writing. University of St. Thomas. St. Paul, MN.

2020—Present  

Coordinator for the Academic Development Program. University of St. Thomas. St. Paul, MN.

Education

Ph.D., English

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN. May 2016

Primary Area: Rhetoric and Composition

Secondary Areas: Professional Writing and Public Rhetorics; Writing Program Administration; Queer Rhetorics

Dissertation: “Communication in Place-Making Professions: Exploring the Network Pictures of Urban Designers.”

Committee: Dr. Patricia Sullivan, Dr. Michael Salvo, Dr. Jennifer Bay, Dr. Bradley Dilger


M.A., English M.S., Counseling Psychology B.A., English, Spanish, Psychology
University of St. Thomas
St. Paul, MN. May 2010 		University of Wisconsin–Madison 
Madison, WI. May 2006      		Wabash College
Crawfordsville, IN. May 2004

Selected Publications

Published and Forthcoming Scholarly Work

Fernando Sánchez. (2021). “Queering Spaces.” Routledge Handbook of Queer Rhetoric, Eds. Jackie Rhodes and Jonathan Alexander. Routledge Press: Forthcoming.

Fernando Sánchez, Isidore Kafui Dorpenyo, and Jennifer Sano-Franchini. “Election Technologies as a Tool for Cultivating Civic Literacies in Technical Communication: A case of The Redistricting Game”.  Equipping Technical Communicators For Social Justice Work: Theories, Topics, and Methodologies, Eds. Rebecca Walton and Godwin Agboka. Utah State University Press: 197-213.

Fernando Sánchez. (2020). “SMAPL, the Urban Planning Comic Book, as Methectic Technical Communication.” Technical Communication Quarterly, Accepted and Forthcoming.

Fernando Sánchez. (2020). “Toward a Theory of Distributed Ethos: Mediation in a Mental Health Call Center.” Rhetoric of Health and Medicine, 3(2): 133—162.

Fernando Sánchez (2020). “The Spaces Between: Mapping Gaps in the Assemblages of Spatial Renderings.” Computers and Composition, 55: 1—19.

Fernando Sánchez. (2019). “Trans Students’ Right to Their Own Gender in Professional Communication Courses: A Textbook Analysis of Attire and Voice Standards in Oral Presentations.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 49(2): 183—212.

Fernando Sánchez. (2018). “Racial Gerrymandering and Geographic Information Software: Subverting the 2011 Texas District Map with Election Technologies” Technical Communication, 65(4): 354—370.

Fernando Sánchez. (2018). “Enabling Geographies: Mapping Campus Spaces through Disability and Access.  Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, 18(3): 433—456.

Fernando Sánchez. (2017). “The Roles of Technical Communication Researchers in Design Scholarship.” Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 47(3): 359–391.

Fernando Sánchez and Stacy Nall. (2017). “Crossbreeding Disciplines: Collaboratively Developing a Writing Culture in Animal Sciences Courses.” Writing Program and Writing Center Collaborations: Transcending Boundaries, Eds. Alice J. Myatt and Lynée L. Gaillet. Macmillan: 95—116.

Fernando Sánchez and Daniel Kenzie. (2016). “Of Evolutions and Mutations: Assessment as Tactics for Action in WAC Partnerships.” WAC Journal,27: 119—141.

Don Unger and Fernando Sánchez. (2015). “Locating Queer Rhetorics: Revealing Local Infrastructures through Maps.” Computers and Composition, 38: 96—112.

Fernando Sánchez, Liz Lane, and Tyler Carter. (2014). “Engaging Writing about Writing Theory and Multimodal Praxis: Remediating WaW for First Year Composition.” Composition Studies, 42(2): 118—146.

Fernando Sánchez. (2013). “Creating Accessible Spaces for ESL Students Online.” WPA: Writing Program Administration, 37(1): 161—185.

Fernando Sánchez. (2012). “Queer Transgressions: Same-Sex Desire and Transgendered Representations in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger.” Trans-scripts, 2: 176—190.

Work Under Review

Fernando Sánchez, Rachel Scott, and Maggie Twaroski. “Cultivating Narrative and Ethos in Sustainability Proposals.” Submitted for Review.

Works in Progress

Examining English Majors’ Affect post-graduation.

Navigating Organizational Change Narratives.

Purdue OWL Content

Fernando Sánchez and Lily Hsu. (2015). “Medical Writing: SOAP Notes” and inclusive subsections. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/1003/01/

Fernando Sánchez. (2013). “Undergraduate Application Timeline and Additional Resources” and inclusive materials in subsections. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/978/1/

Graduate Teaching and Advising

Graduate-Level Courses

Teaching College English (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of GENG 507  |  Spring 2020).

Developed a Master’s-level course that introduced students interested in teaching at the college level to contemporary composition theory and theoretical work that has been influential in composition studies. Discussions centered on the history of the field, approaches to teaching composition, teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students, and controversies in the field. Student projects included conceptualizing the idea of “code-brokering” to introduce students to the idea of multiliteracy; arguing for a “digital place-based” pedagogy in an urban two-year college; applying a post-human lens to writing research protocols; and analyzing the disconnect between high school and college educators’ discussions of students’ use of technologies in the writing classroom.



Professional Writing and Diverse Publics (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of GENG 573  |  Summer 2017).

Developed a Master’s-level course that introduced students to the history of technical communication and its relationship to diverse communities and groups. Discussions centered on the role of the technical communicator within the contexts of usability, localization, and research. Students also engaged with more recent scholarship on inclusivity, social justice, and globalization. Students produced article-length final projects, proposals for submission to conferences, and discussion forum posts which helped to facilitate meetings. Projects included looking at Beauty Boys’ deployment of YouTube videos as subversive tactical technical communication, rearticulating the role of the grant writer as activist, analyzing the language of the United Nations’ Human Rights document, and exploring the concepts of supercrips and user-writers in the production of a manual for one-handed individuals.

Graduate-Level Independent Studies

Getting Published (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of GENG 573  |  J-Term 2019)

Developed a Master’s-Level independent reading for a graduate student interested in studying the process of scholarly publication. Topics included: drafting for submission, picking a journal, the review process, interpreting reviewer feedback, and strategies for revising.

Scientific Communication (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of GENG 698  |  Summer 2018)

Developed a Master’s-level independent reading for a graduate student interested in studying health and science communication as it circulates within social media. Readings focused on rhetorical theory, circulation studies, scholarship in the rhetoric of health and medicine, and science studies. Assignments included synthesis papers, a book review for publication in Technical Communication Quarterly, a conference proposal, and a final paper which could be expanded into a master’s thesis. 


Graduate-Level Advising

Master’s Thesis: Katelyn Brunner (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of GENG 699  |  Fall 2018)

Directed a Master’s-level project, SUDEP and the Rhetorical Ecology of Grief.  This project traces the rhetorical ecology of information on Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) that confronts individuals with epilepsy.

Master’s Thesis: Erica Oswald (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of GENG 699  |  Fall 2020)

Will direct a Master’s-level project, title tbd. This project will provide an overview of linguistic difference in the writing classroom and theorize how mono-lingual students can come to understand the importance of multiliteracies through the concept of code-brokering.


Undergraduate Teaching and Advising

Undergraduate Professional Writing Specialization Courses

Business Writing (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 315  |  Spring 2020)

Developed a Writing in the Disciplines, service learning course in which students were asked to create a narrative that documented the history of organizational change at a large, metropolitan transit authority. In teams, student’s analyzed documents in the organization’s archive, conducted interviews with transit staff, and interpreted numerical, quantitative data. Student produced client briefs, meeting minutes, progress reports, white papers, and a final narrative for our community partner. My main goal for this class was to help students cultivate their comfort with ambiguous writing situations.

Visual Rhetoric and Design (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 315  |  Summer 2018)

Developed summer Writing in the Disciplines course with a service-learning collaboration with the Metropolitan Council in the Twin Cities who needed assistance with visually remediating an environmental vulnerability report for the region. Students learned about visual semiotics as well as principles and methods of designing visuals. Students’ final project consisted using their knowledge of visual design to create visual prototypes to user test and write a recommendation report for the Metropolitan Council with suggestions on what types of visuals to implement or avoid.

Introduction to Professional Writing (University of St. Thomas; 3 sections of ENGL 298/256)

Developed course focused on teaching students of professional writing and other majors the historical, ethical, and scholarly dimensions of the fields of professional writing and technical communication. As I flagged this as a Writing in the Disciplines (WID) course, students learned the rhetorical and mechanical conventions associated with proposals, memos and professional emails. For their major project, students used primary research methods to write a formal report documenting communication breakdowns in their places of employment (or a related context).

Introduction to Research for Professional Writers (Purdue University; 1 section of ENGL 203  |  Fall 2015)

Implemented course to introduce students in the Professional Writing major to research methods in professional writing. Topics focus on ethics in research, workplace studies, and qualitative methods. Students produce research proposals, annotated bibliographies and presentation reports.

Writing Grants and Proposals (University of St. Thomas; 2 sections of ENGL 315  |  J-Term 2017 and Spring 2019)

In this intensive J-Term course that met every day for a month, students learned about the process of applying for a grant. Students learned about where grants come from, the mission and vision of nonprofit organizations, the different types of grants that exist, the sections necessary to complete a grant, and how to assess the progress of their organization’s program. Topics included qualitative and quantitative forms of data collection, conducting literature reviews, connecting ideas through transition statements, and engaging with constituents through professional forms of communication such as cover letters, memos, email, and presentations. The later iteration of this course involved a service learning component focused on having students complete grant proposals for Pillsbury United Communities for Urban Agriculture projects.

Guided reading on Writing in the Health and Human Sciences (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 315  |  Spring 2018)

Developed a guided reading for one undergraduate student. The guided reading centered on (1) how practitioners  in health and human sciences communicate and make knowledge; (2) how publics construct their own expertise on health, and (3) the ethical considerations that arise when these two epistemologies clash.

Undergraduate Professional Writing Service Courses

Technical Writing (Purdue University; 1 section of ENGL 421)

Developed a technical writing course focused on issues of design and wicked problems. Assignments included technical descriptions of spatial features of campus as well as a usability exercise through mapping campus through disabilities. Students also engaged with the game SimCity 4 to write proposals on wicked problems, discussing how design solutions yield new problems.

Technical Writing Online (Purdue University; 1 section of ENGL 421Y-Online)

Developed assignments and exercises for online delivery of instruction. Assignments and activities reflected workplace writing in technical communication settings. Reports, online instructions, and job documents comprised the core of the coursework. In order to successfully complete assignments, students collaborated, conducted user analyses, and managed documentation from distant locales.

Professional Writing (Saint Mary’s University; 1 section of COM 309)

Implemented a curriculum for returning students in the workforce enrolled in a bachelor’s completion program. Incorporated work experience of adult learners into units on correspondence, background research, and proposal writing.

Writing for Health and Human Sciences (Purdue University; 4 sections of ENGL 422)

Coordinated with community partners to present real-world writing scenarios for students in the College of Health and Human Sciences. Throughout the four sections, projects in the course asked students to practice writing for multiple audiences; these included funding agencies (Grant project), lay audiences (Health Information Materials project), and other professionals (In-Service Project). In total, students earned $4,500.00 in grant funding for their projects across 3 sections of the course. Students also practiced writing detailed, objective, and patient-centered notes and presented their findings on the disability maps they created of campus at the Purdue Professional Writing Showcase.

Business Writing (Purdue University; 2 sections of ENGL 420)

Innovated a curriculum in business communication that centered on matters of place. Students conducted background research on impending disasters that will impact specific locations of their choosing. Students also designed marketing materials for cities and towns wanting to increase tourism.         

Courses in the Major

Introduction to English Studies (University of St. Thomas; 3 sections of ENGL 280)

Designed a course to focus on the possible avenues of study available to English majors across the discipline. In this course, students were introduced to theoretical paradigms within subfields of English and developed a vocabulary for discussing relevant issues in literary theory, creative writing, rhetoric and composition, professional writing, second language studies, linguistics, and digital humanities/digital writing.

Undergraduate Professional Writing Advising

Experiential Learning Internship (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 478  |  Spring 2020)

Supervised an undergraduate professional writing student during his internship as a medical scribe for a local clinic. Every two weeks, the student submitted a journal of 500 words reflecting on his experience. At the end of the semester, the student submitted a portfolio of accomplished scribing work with names redacted along with a final reflection.

Summa Cum Laude Examination (University of St. Thomas;  Spring 2020)

Guided a professional writing student as she developed ideas for her summa cum laude written and oral exam. Her work focused on how social media is deployed to create community in faith-based organizations.

First-Year Composition Courses

Social Media and its Discontents (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 204).

Developed a course on rhetoric in online spaces. Topics covered included the affordances and constraints of social media in protest movements, public shaming in online spaces, and sexism and racism embedded within social media networks. Students read articles on network theory and circulation theory and produced projects that tracked the circulation of current news items in social media platforms.

SimCities: Maps, Places, Power (University of St. Thomas; 3 sections of ENGL 204)

Developed a course on the rhetoric of spaces. Students used SimCity to think critically about the design of spaces and consider the users of urban places. Students studied the concept of wicked problems in order to show how local development issues have a plethora of possible solutions, each leading to new, unintended problems.

Critical Thinking and Writing (University of St. Thomas; 4 sections of ENGL 121)

Integrated literary and rhetorical concepts to teach students about rhetorical situations, producing surface/depth statements, and connecting close readings of texts to social relevance and historical contexts. Assignments included a rhetorical analysis of students’ digital communication; close reading of contemporary issues; and a literary analysis.

First-Year Composition: Writing About Writing (Purdue University; 3 sections of ENGL 106)

Implemented Teaching for Transfer courses centered on linking writing in the classroom with workplace and community writing. This course also asked students to connect their daily digital writing to course material. For example, students used Tumblr to track their literacy sponsors and composed on WordPress to describe the discourse communities that they belong to. These blogs were then shared with and critiqued by students in other sections of the course implementing similar projects.

First-Year Composition Learning Community (Purdue University; 1 section of ENGL 106R)

Partnered with Secondary Education instructors to implement a writing course for first-year students enrolled in the TEACH learning community, who take coursework together. Course centered on Writing about Writing pedagogy and digital rhetorics pedagogy in which students used Tumblr to track their literacy sponsors and composed on WordPress to describe the discourse communities that they belong to.

Critical Reading and Writing I (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 111)

Implemented a Fiction and Non-Fiction prose comp-lit course which focused on having students learn different literary genres (memoirs, short stories, novels), appreciate diverse cultural perspectives, engage in written discourse with texts they read by constructing well thought out theses, and practice different types of high and low-stakes writing (journal entries, formal papers, cover letters).

Critical Reading and Writing II (University of St. Thomas; 1 section of ENGL 112)

Implemented a drama and poetry comp-lit course which asked students to engage in close reading and analysis of various poems (in terms of rhythm, meter, metaphor, etc.). Students also learned the language of stage production, conducted academic research, and used textual evidence to support their claims.

Other Teaching Positions

Graduate Teaching Assistant. PSY 160: Human Sexuality (University of Wisconsin – Madison; 4 sections).

Implemented a curriculum for four discussion sections of a large undergraduate course taught by Dr. Janet Hyde. Developed test items, coordinated with other teaching assistants to deliver consistent activities, and graded student essays on course texts.

Graduate Teaching Instructor. SPA 101: Introduction to Spanish (University of Wisconsin – Madison; 1 section)

Developed a curriculum for a course that met five times a day to help graduate and undergraduate students develop their proficiency with a foreign language. Developed test items, created participatory activities that encouraged engagement, and graded short student essays as they become more comfortable with speaking and writing in Spanish.

Undergraduate Tutor. SPA 101: Introductory Spanish. (Wabash College; 1 section)

Led a weekly discussion group for students in a Spanish 101 course. Coordinated with the instructor of the course to help students practice their written and verbal Spanish abilities.

Writing Administration & Consultation

Academic Development Program (ADP) Coordinator (University of St. Thomas; Summer 2020- present)

As I shift into this role, I will be responsible for researching new mechanisms for student placement in basic writing sections; assessing prospective student essays for placement; facilitating pedagogical conversations with ADP instructors; coordinating with campus-wide units responsible for academic curricula, counseling, and registration to promote ADP within the university.

Animal Breeding WAC Coordinator (Purdue University; 6 sections of ANSC 311)

Delivered and revised a writing curriculum for students in an Animal Sciences course on Genetic Breeding. Held in-class and out-of-class workshops to teach students about business correspondence, annotated bibliographies, report writing, and using textual and graphic evidence to back up claims.

Writing Center Graduate Consultant (Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota; 3 semesters)

Tutored graduate students on writing projects for coursework throughout the university including courses in the MBA program, the Master’s in Nursing program, and the Master’s in Clinical Psychology program. Led workshops and held consultations on topics such as using APA style, evaluating online sources, strengthening arguments, and paying attention to mechanics and syntax.

Selected Presentations

Professional Writing and Technical Communication

2018
“Gerrymandering and Visual-Deliberative Rhetoric: A Case Study of the 2017 Texas Court Decision on Districts 23 and 35.” Rhetoric Society of America. Minneapolis, MN. June 2018.
2018 
“Trans Students’ Right to their Own Gender in TPC Presentations.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing conference. Kansas City, KS. March 2018.
2017     
“Engaging Traditional English Majors in Technical Communication.” Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication. Savannah, GA. October 2017.    
2015    
“‘Response Ability’ in Issues of Health Literacy.” Poster Presentation. National Council of Teachers of English Convention, Minneapolis, MN. November 2015.
2015      
“Eliza in Sim City: Exploring the Role of V(irtual)-Humans in Technical Writing.” Computers and Writing. Menomonie, WI. May 2015.
2015  
“The Composing Process of Urban Planners.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Tampa, FL. March 2015.
2015      
“Finding Our Place in Space: Comparing the Values of Design in Technical Communication and Urban Design.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing Conference. Tampa, FL. March 2015.
2014 
“Diversity in the Wild.” Midwest Association of Business Communication Conference. Minneapolis, MN. April 2014.
2014

“Writing about Human Health: Opportunities for Rearticulating Program Identity.” Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication Annual Meeting. Colorado Springs, CO. October 2014.
2014
“ReMapping Campus Pathways through Disabilities.” Society for Disability Studies Conference. Minneapolis, MN. June 2014.








Digital Rhetorics

2019
“Playing with Districts: Teaching Students Technical Knowledge about Electoral Practices.” Association of Teachers of Technical Writing conference. Pittsburgh, PA. March 2019.
2018 
“Gerrymandering and Latino Counterpublics: An Analysis of Visual Deliberative Rhetoric”. Conference on College Composition and Communication. Kansas City, MO. March 2018.
2015 
“Engaging Spatial Rendering Technologies: Urban Design, Ideology, and the Body.” The Great Plains Alliance for Computers and Writing Conference. St. Paul, MN. October 2015.
2015  

“Presumed Ubiquity & Tangible Networks: The Materiality of TechnoRhetorical Work.” Roundtable with Michael Salvo and Adam Strantz. Computers and Writing. Menomonie, WI. May 2015.
2014 
“Responding to the Map: Using Maps to Create an Awareness of Space and Connectivity.” Thomas R. Watson Conference. Louisville, KY. October 2014 .
2014
“Discursive Pursuits:  Analyzing Discourse Communities in Popular Culture.” Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Conference. Chicago, IL. April 2014.
2014  
“Digital Assemblages: Constructing Rhetorical Situations with Graphic Editing Software.” Computer Connection at CCCC. Indianapolis, IN. March 2014.

2012      
“Out of the Closet and into the Archive: Queer Scholarship and Visibility in Composition and Rhetoric.” Co-presented with Don Unger. Thomas R. Watson Conference. Louisville, KY. October 2012.

2012      
“Usability at the Center: Making Writing Center Websites Accessible to ESL Students.” Symposium on Second Language Writing. West Lafayette, IN. September 2012.

2012      
“Blogsolation: When We Come Out to No One (and Everyone) Online.” Computers and Writing Conference. Raleigh, NC. May 2012.

2013      
“Stewards of Infrastructure: The Increasing Digital Qualifications and Responsibilities of Writing Center Staff.” Midwest Writing Centers Association. Chicago, IL. October 2013.


Writing Program Administration


2020     
“Exploring the Dark Writing of Composition Commonplaces.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Milwaukee, WI. April 2020. [Conference cancelled due to COVID-19]

2016      
“Of Evolutions and Mutations: Assessment as Tactics for Action in WAC Partnerships.” Conference on College Composition and Communication, Houston, TX. April 2016.

2014      
“Moving Away from Entropy: WPA Assessment of ‘Orphan’ WAC Programs.” Writing Program Administration Conference. Normal, IL. July 2014.

2014      
“Moving From Conference Presentations Into Publications.” Roundtable with Tom Sura and Joan Mullin. Writing Program Administration Conference. Normal, IL. July 2014.

2014      
“Assessment of/in the First Year of a Decade-Long WAC Partnership.” International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. Minneapolis, MN. June 2014.

2013      
“Mind Your Place: Re-Forming the Role of the WPA.” Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference. Savannah, GA. July 2013.

2011      
“When the Writing Center is the Center of Writing” with Cheryl Prentice and Alex Urquhart. Midwest Writing Center Association Conference. Madison, WI. October 2011.

History of Rhetoric

2020     

“Welcoming Places: Examining Rhetorical Exigencies Across Three Sets of Urban Planning Policy Documents.” Rhetoric Society of America Conference. Portland, OR. May 2020. [Conference cancelled due to COVID-19].
2013      
“Walking in the Polis: Urban Planning’s Material Influence on Aristotle’s Topoi in the Rhetoric.” Conference on College Composition and Communication. Las Vegas, NV. March 2013.
2012      

“Modern (Class)Warfare: Exclusion and Conformity in Education During the Modern Period of Rhetoric and Today.” Co-presented with Stacy Nall. Working Class/Poverty Class Academics Conference. Madison, WI. July 2012.


Invited Talks

2015           
“The Rhetoric of Urban Design: Integrating Discourse and Design in Multimodal Texts.” Lecture open to the public presented at the University of St. Thomas. St. Paul, MN. March 2015.
2003
“None Among All.” Reading of segment of novel written for the Hockenberry Fellowship open to the public and presented at Wabash College. Crawfordsville, IN. April 2003.

Mentoring

Teaching Mentorship at the University of St. Thomas Department of English

As part of the Mentorship program at St. Thomas, Kaari Newman was embedded in my Introduction to English Studies course in the Fall of 2017. As part of the mentorship, I guided her through teaching pedagogy, assignment design, and provided her opportunities to teach certain class days, respond to students’ assignments, and select readings for the course. Conversations included effective pedagogical methods, how to succeed in doctoral work, and managing classroom logistics.

ATTW Career Workshop

Participated in workshop for PhD students and candidates in technical communication. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing Conference. Portland, OR. March 15, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA. March 13, 2019.

Programmatic Assessment Projects

Programmatic Assessment of Professional Writing Track. University of St. Thomas. 2017-present

Engaged with UST English alumni employed in professional settings to determine ways that the new Professional Writing Track within the English Major could better support current students.

Programmatic Assessment of the Animal Sciences (ANSC) 311 WAC Curriculum. Purdue University. 2014-16.

Worked closely with Animal Science department to design and distribute surveys to Animal Science alumni and employers who hire animal science graduates in order to assess their values of writing. Results from analysis will guide modifications to the curriculum.

University Service

University Service Committees

Member of Health Professionals Advisory Committee. University of St. Thomas. 2018—present.

Responsible for working closely with pre-med students and providing them with feedback: revising medical school statement of purpose rubrics; conducting personal statement workshops; conducting mock interviews; providing writing and interviewing feedback; writing letters of recommendation; also serve on the scholarship committee which reviews scholarship applications and awards pre-med students financial funding based on merit.

Member of the Institutional Accreditation Team. University of St. Thomas. 2018—present.

Responsible for staying updated with accreditation practices from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Our main project for the 2019-2020 academic year was to solicit ideas for implementing a campus-wide Quality Initiative (QI) through the HLC. This involves asking for feedback on possible education initiatives from the St. Thomas community that they would like to see undertaken in the next four years. Because this information gathering is a multi-step process over the course of the next year, our work was divided up in to teams. On the Qualtrics, team I developed short Qualtrics survey for QI idea submissions and organize the survey’s responses that we receive from members of the St. Thomas community.

University Service Projects

Revising Writing Lab Component of MBA Courses. University of St. Thomas. 2017.

Provided consultation to MBA program regarding integrating a writing component into their existing courses. Work consisted of researching different forms of writing labs in similar situations, consulting with writing colleagues on best practices for proposed recommendations, and meeting with stakeholders in the MBA program.

Copyediting the University of St. Thomas’s Higher Learning Commission Assurance Argument. 2018. Responsibilities included:

  • Copyediting for consistency:
    • using similar formal style throughout the document;
    • eliminating unnecessary sentences, paragraphs, or phrases;
    • asking for clarification from writers on meaning;
    • ensuring the written arguments address each of the requested components

  • Proofreading for clarity:
    • correcting grammatical errors
    • streamlining stylistic issues
    • ensuring that evidence is appropriate and accessible



Departmental Committee Work

Member of Graduate Program Committee. University of St. Thomas, 2017-present.

Elected as member of committee to craft and oversee curricular changes to the graduate program in English. Read application materials from prospective students and collaborated on admission decisions with colleagues.

Chair of Professional Writing Committee. University of St. Thomas 2017-present.

In this role, I have been responsible for

  • educating the other committee members on the national trends, practices, and recommended learning goals in the field of Professional Writing;
  • researching other universities’ Professional Writing curricula;
  • developing syllabi for the new Major and new Course proposals
  • charting potential curriculum-to-career path for Professional writing-emphasis major ;
  • presenting the Professional Writing track and new course proposals to the department and fielding expert questions.


President of Rhetoric Society of America, Purdue Chapter. 2014-2015.

Led student meetings, conducted fundraising, and wrote grants to obtain funding. Was responsible for performing outreach and coordinating with other entities and organizations on campus. Reached out to outside and local speakers for RSA lectures.

Field-wide Service

Field Committee Work

Member of Grants Committee. Council of Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication. 2018—present

Reviewed multiple project proposals and assessed their rigor for awarding grant funding.

Member of Professionalization Committee. Council of Writing Program Administrators-Graduate Organization. 2014-2016.

Organized sessions for CWPA conference, performed outreach to call for participants for these sessions, and conducted analysis of feedback from audience members’ surveys for future session planning.

Panel Chair

Social Design and Design Standards. Association of Teachers of Technical Writing. Pittsburgh, PA. March 12, 2019.

Reviewer Work

Publications

Untitled Edited Collection Project in Technical Communication. Blind-reviewed 5 chapters at the request of the editor. March 2020.

Spark: A 4C4E Journal. Standing reviewer for the journal. Blind-reviewed 6 manuscripts as part of the editorial collective. 2018-2019.

Composition Studies. Blind-reviewed manuscript at the request of editor. June 2018.

Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture. Provided feedback on manuscript submission to co-editors of peer-review journal. December 2015.

The Writing Campus: Blog for Writing Across the Curriculum at George Mason University. Blind-reviewed submissions for publication on the blog. November 2014.


Conferences

Association of Teachers of Technical Writing Conference. Blind-reviewed proposals for the 2017; 2018; 2019; and 2020 conferences.

Conference on College Composition and Communication. Blind-reviewed proposals for the 2018 conference.

International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. Blind-reviewed proposals for the 2016 IWAC conference.

Writing Program Administration—Graduate Organization Professional Development Committee. Blind-reviewed proposals from potential roundtable participants for CWPA Conference. 2015.

Service-Learning Projects

Recent Projects

Organizational Change Narratives at a Metropolitan Transit Authority (University of St. Thomas; Spring 2020)

Collaborated with metropolitan transit authority to have students in a Business Writing course research the history of an expansion project and how it has impacted employees. Four teams of students conducted interviews with current employees, tracked historical data points through an analysis of the documents in the organization’s archive, and interpreted qualitative data. Teams produced and presented a white paper of their results along with a final narrative of the organizational change that is currently taking place.

Writing Grant Proposals for a Local Urban Farm (University of St. Thomas; Spring 2019)

Three teams of students in a Grant Writing course produced grant proposals for our community partner that centered on sustainability initiatives. Students became familiar with proposal genre conventions and as well as with internal and external communication practices when staying in contact with our community partner. Students delivered a white paper presentation along with their proposals to our community partner.

Climate Change Visualizations  (University of St. Thomas; Summer 2018)

Worked with the local planning commission to connect students in a Visual Rhetoric and Design course to opportunities for applying visual design principles. Students prototyped, tested, and implemented visuals for remediating a report that the planning commission was hoping to post online regarding the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations in the metropolitan area.  Students gave poster presentations of their redesigned prototypes along with small report on their findings and justification for their designs.

Previous Projects

Managed ten health information projects across three sections of ENGL 422 in partnership with Westminster Village in West Lafayette, and Food Finders and Creasy Springs in Lafayette, IN. 2014, 2015. Responsibilities included:

  • Providing students feedback on their grant proposals and individual project ideas.
  • Teaching students about professional genres (letters, reports, memos) to keep our community partners informed of their progress.
  • Instructing students on methods for conducting user testing on their prototypes.

Developed instructions and conducting usability testing for the Celery Bog WebCam with the Lilly Nature Center. Lafayette, IN. 2012. Responsibilities included:

  • Assessing Nature Center educational needs.
  • Translating needs into actionable project work.
  • Developing training documents for multiple users.
  • Implementing testing to determine solution effectiveness.

Drafted an alternate New Chauncey Neighborhood land use plan with the New Chauncey Neighborhood Association. West Lafayette, IN. 2012. Responsibilities included:

  • Conducting resident interviews and secondary research for stakeholders.
  • Collaborating with local neighborhood leaders on zoning plans.
  • Documenting neighborhood expectations and suggestions.
  • Presenting recommendations to local city planning commission and city council.

Digitized original New Chauncey plat books with West Lafayette City Hall. West Lafayette, IN. 2012. Responsibilities included:

  • Coordinating with Purdue Libraries to access digitization equipment and processes.
  • Creating accessible versions of 1865 plat books of New Chauncey for use online.
  • Securing  funding for digitization service.

Tech Experience

 

Webmaster for the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University, 2015-2016.

Responsible for using HTML, CSS, and Javascript languages to maintain OWL functions online. Oversaw and coordinated with other institutional entities to ensure smooth launch of the OWL mobile site.

Webmaster for the Graduate Student English Association (GradSEA) at Purdue University, 2013-2014.

Responsible for updating content of the GradSEA website to reflect latest minutes, elections, and events.

Webmaster for the Writing About Writing (WaW) syllabus approach at Purdue University, 2013.

Responsible for uploading content such as possible activities and readings for all instructors of the WaW syllabus approach to use in their teaching.

Technology Steward for the Writing Center at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. 2010-2011.

Responsible for redesigning, maintaining and updating the Writing Center Website, as well as coordinating with tech partners and researching new technologies to implement.

Proficiency with Technology

 

Dreamweaver, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, HTML, CSS, Microsoft Office, Qualtrics, Nvivo.

Copyediting Experience

 

Copyedited Terrifying Transformations: An Anthology of Victorian Werewolf Fiction (Valancourt Books, 2013) by Alexis Easley. University of St. Thomas.

Copyedited Celebrity Culture, Gender, and the Victorian Author, 1850-1914 (Rosemont, 2011) by Alexis Easley. University of St. Thomas.

Copyedited and Indexed The New India: Citizenship, Subjectivity, and Economic Liberalization (Palgrave, 2011) by Kanishka Chowdhury. University of St. Thomas.

Grants

 

Competitive Grants

2019       Luann Dummer Award course release to pursue research projects in Spring 2020.

2018       Faculty Research Grant course release to pursue research projects in Spring 2019.

2017       Luann Dummer Award course release to pursue research projects in Spring 2018.

2016       $2,370.00. DHSI Travel Grant to attend a week-long 3D Modeling Workshop at the Digital Humanities and Social Sciences at the 2017 Digital Humanities Summer Institute in British Columbia, Canada.

2015       Innovation Travel Grant for proposed presentation at the Great Plains Alliance for Computers and Writing Conference in St. Paul, MN.

2015       Purdue University Graduate Student Organization Grant to fund 2016 activities of Purdue’s chapter of Rhetoric Society of America (RSA).

2014       Council of Writing Program Administrators Graduate Organization Travel Grant for proposed presentation at the CWPA Conference in Bloomington-Normal, IL.

2014       Professional Writing Showcase at Purdue – People’s Choice Award for Professional Writing Project on Disability Maps in West Lafayette, IN.

2014       Purdue Graduate Student English Association Emerging Scholars Award for proposed presentation at the Midwest Association of Business Communication Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

2014       International Writing Across the Curriculum Registration Scholarship for proposed presentation at IWAC Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

2013       Purdue University Office of Student Engagement Service Learning Grant to fund community engagement project with the New Chauncey Neighborhood Association. West Lafayette, IN.

2012       Purdue University Office of Student Engagement Service Learning Grant to fund creation of technical documents for the Lilly Nature Center. West Lafayette, IN.

2012       American Studies Association Community Partnership Project Grant. West Lafayette, IN.

2012       Purdue University Office of Student Engagement Service Learning Grant to fund West Lafayette City Hall Archival resources. West Lafayette, IN.

2011       Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Hendrickson Leadership Grant for Writing Center to host Symposium on ESL Writing in Higher Education and invite Featured Speaker Dana Ferris.

2009      University of St. Thomas Diversity Grant for continued diversity research.

2008      University of St. Thomas Diversity Grant for continued diversity research.

Additional grants

2015       Computers and Writing/Graduate Research Network Travel Award to present at the 2015 Computers & Writing Conference in Menomonie, WI.

2015       Purdue English Department Graduate Student Travel Grant to attend and present at the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing in Tampa, FL.

2014       Society for Disability Studies Conference Travel Grant To present at the SDS Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

Fellowships

Purdue Research Foundation Summer Fellowship, 2014.

Merit-based funding for dissertation development.

Purdue Doctoral Fellowship, Purdue University. 2011-2013.
Competitive two-year fellowship for students of diverse backgrounds, views, and experiences.

Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, University of Wisconsin – Madison. 2004.

Competitive one-year fellowship for students for first-generation graduate students.

Hockenberry Summer Fellowship, Wabash College. 2003.

Competitive summer fellowship for research and writing of proposed fiction project.

Professional Affiliations

 

Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW)

Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

Workplace Experience

 

Mental Health Case Manager. Mental Health Resources, Inc. St. Paul, MN. 2008-2009.

Academic Advisor. Walden University. Minneapolis, MN. 2007.

Mental Health Counselor. Family Service. Madison, WI. 2005-2006.

Languages

 

Fluent in English and Spanish.