Lamar Hall. Photo: Thomas Graning, The Daily Mississippian.
By fall 2014, The University of Mississippi’s Writing Center will move from the third floor of the J.D. Williams Library to the second floor of Lamar Hall, located just off the Grove.
Bob Cummings, director of the Center for Writing and Rhetoric, said the move was a decision made in the 2009 Quality Enhancement Plan, in which the university renewed its commitment to teaching writing.
The move will hopefully make the writing center more prominent and closer to classrooms, according to Cummings.
“If it’s easier to get to the writing center, and the writing center is in view, it is more likely students will remember the services and use the services,” he said. “So the move is about making sure that anyone that is interested in using the writing center services is able to do so.”
Moving locations is nothing new for the center. Over the years it has moved all over campus, including to the basement of Bondurant, Brevard and even Kinard.
While not all classes meet in Lamar, freshman writing classes will be centered in the building by next fall.
However, the writing center is available to help any student at the university with any class writing assignment.
Cummings said that a larger space will allow the writing center to hopefully help more students.
“I hope that the services offered will be improved even more by the new space by allowing the ability to handle more appointments at the same time because of more square footage,” Cummings said.
The writing center was started more than two decades ago on the Oxford campus and provides students with help in any stage of the writing process.
Students can sign up for appointments online to either meet in person or have writing evaluated online.
The 30-minute or longer sessions can cover anything from the brainstorming process to editing a paper with students who are trained to work in the center.
Writing center consultant Anna Terry said she enjoys helping improve students’ work and grades.
“I like talking to the students, reading their papers and learning things from their perspective,” Terry said.
Although Terry said she got the job her sophomore year through a friend, the process has since changed to include training for a semester and taking a class.
Terry might not see the move happen before she graduates, but she is excited for the change.
“There really isn’t any reason not to go when your tuition technically is paying for it,” Terry said. “And we will help you every step of the way. It’s just a really beneficial tool.”
While there is still no definitive date for the move, writing center staff said that promotional information and posters will be distributed throughout campus to keep students in the know.
Cummings said he believes the new location amid Lamar Hall’s newly reopened classrooms and pedestrian traffic will be advertising in itself.
— Natalie Moore
nemoore91@gmail.com
