June 26, 2023 to June 30, 2023 EDT
Through the support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MLA has hosted regional summer institutes to strengthen the teaching of reading and writing at access-oriented institutions (AOIs)—community colleges and other colleges that prioritize access over selectivity in admissions. Between 2019 and 2022, the association organized eight regional summer institutes for those who teach at AOIs and those who would like to make their teaching careers at them. Through the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Social Science Research Council, the MLA will continue this work with four more regional institutes in 2023, with continued support from the Mellon Foundation.
The institutes will
provide new and future faculty members with an understanding of the needs and circumstances of students at AOIs, who are primarily first-generation college students, Pell Grant recipients, and students of color;
provide new and future faculty members with intensive training in pedagogical theory and practices for the teaching of writing and reading together to improve writing instruction at AOIs and to nurture the study of the humanities and social sciences in vocational and transfer-oriented educational settings;
develop strategies for locally sustaining the collaborations started by the institutes;
renew conversation in the profession about relationships among literature, composition, the humanities, and other disciplines; and
build stronger connections between introductory writing courses and upper-level courses.
Upon completion of the institute, participants will be eligible to receive the MLA Certificate in Reading-Writing Pedagogy at Access-Oriented Institutions.
One of the 2023 institutes will be in Fairfax, VA, hosted by George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College from 26–30 June (in-person)
The facilitators for this institute will be Leslie Goetsch, Assistant Term Professor of English at George Mason University and Director of the Northern Virginia Writing Project; and Chris Kervina, Associate Professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College, Manassas. The institute includes
a $500 stipend upon completion of the institute
two institute-provided meals for five days
on campus housing
some evening activities
For more information and eligibility requirements, review their informational flyer.
For more information on qualifications and the application, click here.
Applications must be submitted through Interfolio by 31 March 2023 and should include
