29 Aug 2014

Freshman Writing Conference is Underway for Next Week

Freshman Writing Conference is Underway for Next Week

The Freshman Success Initiatives and The Freshman Writing Initiative will host the Freshman Writing Initiative Fall Conference featuring presenters 9th Wonder and Dr. James Peterson. The conference is scheduled for Friday, October 25 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, October 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The theme is Relevance, Rigor, and Rhetoric: The Keys to Cultural Relativism and Writing Cultivation.

Dr. James Peterson is a critically-acclaimed writer, lecturer and speaker. He is the director of Africana Studies and associate professor of English at Lehigh University and founder of Hip Hop Scholars, LLC. 9th Wonder (Patrick Douthit) is a Grammy award-winning music producer, record executive, DJ and lecturer. He is a Harvard University Fellow in the Hip Hop Archive and adjunct professor at Duke University.

The two-day conference will consist of workshops, a keynote, special presentations and a panel discussion. Each workshop showcases a group of invited and resident facilitators whose presentations will provide participants with knowledge and strategies that may be implemented with their students. The keynote and special presentations will be given by gifted orators and scholars who are leaders in their field. The panel discussion will provide an opportunity for scholarly exchange on popular culture and its place in the classroom. This conference is aligned with the goals and objectives of the Freshman Writing Initiative (FWI). FWI aims to improve the writing proficiency and communication of first-year students and to train faculty in innovative writing and learning activities. In addition, FWI aims to enhance student learning through fostering an appreciation for the non-cognitive factors that contribute to student challenge and success, in an effort to develop the “whole student.”

The cost to attend is $55. To register, visit http://www.st-aug.edu/fwi-fall-conference.html. For more information, contact Erica Russell, executive director of Freshman Success Initiatives, at (919) 516-4623 or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..