ABSTRACT
In her introduction to Kitchen Cooks, Plate Twirlers, and Troubadours, Diana George uses the metaphor of plate twirling to describe the lives of writing program administrators (WPAs)—“on stage, trying to sustain the illusion of perpetual motion, worried over how to end the show without losing control as those plates go crashing onto the stage floor” (xi). George’s description may be tongue in cheek, but we suspect that many WPAs have felt like plate spinners from time to time, working hard to create movement and balance amidst a “host of constraints” (Bizzell ix). The essays in this collection certainly reflect this view. We see WPAs developing and revising curricula; mediating conflicts; advocating for and advising students; training and evaluating graduate student teachers, adjunct instructors, and full-time writing faculty; managing budgets; conducting research; coordinating or contributing to writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) programs; developing assessment tools; administering writing centers; staying abreast of conversations and controversies in a number of disciplines; evaluating programs; serving as a liaison among students, faculty, and administrators from across the institution; and investigating and selecting technologies. Of course, most WPAs are also teaching a range of courses, sitting on various institutional committees and boards, maintaining an active research agenda, and publishing in their area of specialization. The list goes on.
