Call for Proposals: WPA Institutional Home

The Council of Writing Program Administrators (WPA) invites proposals from colleges and universities wishing to serve as the organization’s institutional home. This is a terrific opportunity for an institution to gain visibility and provide professional development opportunities for faculty and graduate students.

While the ideal starting date will be no later than March 2009, WPA will negotiate the beginning date with the successful institution. The agreement will be through July 2012, with the option of continued renewals with the consent of both parties.

Basic Responsibilities of the WPA Institutional Home

1. Provide the function of WPA Secretary, including maintaining current and historical membership records (which include current contact information and membership status), and coordinating and tallying votes of the membership and the Executive Board via the WPA web site in collaboration with the Digital WPA coordinator. Handle reprint permissions related to WPA publications and position statements.

2. Provide the function of WPA Treasurer, including collecting, depositing, investing, and keeping secure membership dues and other income; paying bills as authorized by the Officers of WPA; keeping accurate financial records; coordinating the completion of the Form 990 required by the IRS, and providing regular reports to the Executive Board twice yearly. It is desirable for the Treasurer candidate to have experience with Quick Books and experience with budgeting processes.

Both the secretary and treasurer positions (which can be filled by one or two individuals) serve as ex officio members of the WPA Executive Board. As members of the Executive Board, the Secretary and Treasurer must attend two meetings of the Board each year. CWPA will provide (economy class) travel to CCCC and WPA conferences, one night’s lodging and two days’ meals at established government per diem rates at CCCC, and all nights’ lodging and registration costs (including conference meals) and non-conference meals at the WPA annual meeting. Note: the offices of Secretary/Treasurer may be divided among two individuals.

3. Provide clerical support for WPA, for answering e-mail, telephone, or written queries about the organization and for referring individuals to appropriate contact persons. Support may take the form of clerical/graduate/student worker assistance; reassigned time; space; compensation; or the like.

WPA may be able to cover some costs associated with clerical support for the organization from institutional staff or undergraduate or graduate employees. If this is desirable, please specify the range of duties that will be associated with this request, the approximate number of hours associated with the duties, and an estimate of the budget amount associated with this request.

4. Maintain the circulation of WPA Journal, including maintaining back issue inventory and mailing lists. Ensure that the journal is mailed out to subscribers on a timely basis after publication, and that back issues are mailed out on a timely basis and consistently.

Additionally, the institutional home may host an occasional summer conference, also a fantastic opportunity for institutional visibility, program promotion, and professional development.

The institutional home may also consider maintaining the archive of WPA records, including publications, minutes, programs, correspondence, historical accounts, financial histories, and other materials related to the Council of Writing Program Administrators. The archive should be organized and secure, yet accessible to scholars and WPA members who articulate legitimate needs for access to them. This also can offer excellent research opportunities for faculty and/or graduate students.

To Apply:

Send (1) a detailed proposal that articulates the institution’s ability to perform the responsibilities as described above (and any optional roles the institution may wish to address); (2) the CV(s) of the person(s) to be designated as Secretary/Treasurer, along with the CVs of any other professionals who may contribute to the effort; (3) if desired, a request for funds to support clerical support including a description of the duties to be performed and an estimate of the number of hours associated with those duties and an estimated budget; and (4) a letter of endorsement from the administrator(s) (chair, dean, vice-president) with the authority to describe and confirm institutional support.

We welcome inquiries about this CFP or any aspect of serving as the WPA institutional home. Please send inquiries to Linda Adler-Kassner at Linda.Adler-Kassner@emich.edu. Proposals should be sent by December 1 to Linda Adler-Kassner, Chair, Search Committee for WPA Institutional Home via MS Word 2004 to Linda.Adler-Kassner@emich.edu. Please do not send proposals with a .docx extension.