Skip to main content

SLCC Writing Center Director Wins National Award

Salt Lake Community College Student Writing Center Director Clint Gardner recently was given the Outstanding Service Award during the International Writing Centers Association conference in Orlando.

The award given every four years recognizes people who have made significant impacts in the field of writing centers locally, nationally and internationally. Since the award’s founding in 1984, Gardner is the first recipient from a two-year college. SLCC associate professor of English Tiffany Rousculp coordinated Gardner’s nomination.

Clint Gardner

“What sets Clint apart from other colleagues is his enduring commitment to improving writing, both at SLCC’s Student Writing Center and its Community Writing Center,” Rousculp said for an IWCA press release. “His genuine ability to pursue the collective cause never ceases to amaze me.”

Gardner and other SLCC faculty started the college’s Writing Center in 1990 shortly after he began teaching there. Since that time an estimated 50,000 students have visited the Writing Center.

“There really wasn’t a lab where you could talk one on one with students,” Gardner said. “We wanted to create something where students could come to improve as a writer and succeed as a student. This is a retention thing for SLCC and a learning opportunity for students.”


 Today most of the students seeking help are non-native speakers, often refugees and immigrants, aided by 15 trained, paid peer tutors. SLCC Institutional Research recently compiled statistical data to document its claim, “Writing Center students are much more likely to pass ENG 1010 and much less likely to withdraw or receive an incomplete.”

The center, once tucked away on the second floor of an older building, is now located in a highly visible area on the first floor in the new Academic and Administration Building on the Taylorsville Redwood Campus, a location Gardner said has increased its usage by at least 20 percent. His goal is to grow and provide increased access to tutors on SLCC’s other campuses, mainly Miller, Jordan and South City.

“I really want to expand what we’re doing,” he said. “What we do is so important to these students.”


Gardner’s wall full of awards in his office includes the 2012 Ron Maxwell Award given out by the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW). After winning the IWCA award Gardner earlier this month headed to Dubai where he was the keynote speaker at the Middle East-North Africa Writing Centers Alliance. Gardner has also served as president of IWCA and the Rocky Mountain Writing Centers Association and he will co-host the NCPTW event in Salt Lake City in 2015.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SLCC Automotive Repairs

Click to enlarge. Attention: SLCC Students, staff and faculty! Many SLCC automotive programs need vehicles to work on in these areas: 30 point inspections Oil changes Tire rotation Engine repair Brake systems repair Automatic and transmission repairs Air conditioning repair Electrical troubleshooting & repair Suspension & steering system repair Auto-body repair and painting (on a very limited basis) Please be advised that any repairs are done at the discretion of the instructors due to the subject areas they are teaching.  Because we are using your vehicles for training purposes, we offer members of the College discounts on parts and labor. Parts are at our cost plus 15% and the service fee is $20 per hour based on industry time standards (if the industry assigns an hour for a repair, that's all you're charged for, regardless of how much time it takes the student). We can also offer these services to non-college personnel on a limited basis with...

SLCC All Access

Did you know you can access SLCC lab software for free from your own computing device?   Come learn how SLCC is supporting BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) with All Access. The goal of All Access is to provide any time, any place, and any device access to college computing and lab software SLCC students, faculty and staff.  All Access works on almost any device from a PC or Mac, to tablets and smart phones.  With All Access you can use programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, AutoCAD, MatLab, Mathematica, MyITLab, NetBeans, and online Library Databases.  We also provide you with online storage space so you can save your files in the cloud and have access to them wherever you are.  Anyone is welcome to this session where we will cover the basics of All Access, give you some tips and tricks for getting the most out the system, and we’ll also have some people there to help get your computer set up.  When and where: ...

SLCC Alumnus and U.S. Diplomat to Speak at 2025 Commencement

Salt Lake Community College’s 2025 Commencement speaker Branigan Knowlton will share his perspectives drawn from a 12-year career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. In serving his country, Knowlton has honed his foreign relations and diplomacy skills in Hong Kong, Mexico, Colombia and Italy. Knowlton is also a proud Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) alumnus (2002).     Knowlton currently serves at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. Before reporting to the embassy, he was detailed to the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport as part of the Transatlantic Diplomatic Fellowship program. In Bogotá, Knowlton worked for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, and in Hermosillo, Mexico, he worked for the Bureau of Consular Affairs. His first assignment abroad was in Hong Kong, where he worked for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.     "I've actively sought opportunities that push me into the unfamiliar, even when ...