The 2007 and 2008 Summer Writing Institutes on St. John’s University’s Rome campus allowed faculty participants to reflect on who they are as writers (individually, in their disciplines, and among their cross-disciplinary colleagues) and who they are as teachers of writing within the disciplines.

All faculty began by meeting over dinner on a Sunday night the day after arrival. The following five days were spent with faculty writing on their own in the mornings, followed by workshops from 10:00 am until 5:30 pm. At least once throughout the week faculty met over dinner to discuss their work. Discussion topics during this week included the following:

* How we define ourselves as writers

* How we respond to our own writing, the writing of our peers, our students' writing

* What we prefer, allow, and prohibit re: student writing

* Collaborating with the St. John’s University Writing Center

* What we value in our own courses

* High vs. low stakes writing; formal vs. informal writing; content vs. style

* Different genres and creative options

* Assessing, evaluating, and commenting on student writing

* Specific needs and concerns within individual departments and disciplines

* Designing writing projects for the upcoming 08-09 academic year

The remainder of the summer program involved touring of the city and additional informal follow-up activities. During the academic year participating faculty give presentations to their colleagues on projects they have designed as a result of the summer institute.

Faculty from the 2007 and 2008 Faculty Summer Writing Institute presented at the Second International Writing and Critical Thinking Conference at The College of Arts and Sciences at Quinnipiac University, Hamden, Conn. (November 21-22, 2008)