ABSTRACT
When we established our Writing Center several years ago, we were determined to make research and reflection an integral part of our work. We encourage graduate student writing consultants not only to manage the particular projects they oversee, such as coordinating classroom presentations, teaching a linked course, and developing the use of technology, but also to study these projects. We encourage undergraduate writing consultants to reflect on their experiences and write about and present their ideas in articles in our newsletter, Review, and in presentations at local and regional conferences. Eight years ago we also began the Portfolio Project, a longitudinal study of the writing done by a group of students during their 4 years as undergraduates at our university. In the following story about that project, we want to share not only what we are learning by listening to the students in the Portfolio Project, but also the transformations that are occurring in our thinking about writing center work, about our consulting practices, and about the way we articulate our role in the institution.
