Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication
The Studio opened for its first semester in January 2004! Over the course of the spring semester, more than 500 students visited the Studio and worked on communication projects ranging from speeches to digital portfolios to PowerPoint™ presentations. This semester a Pearce research team member took her “regular” English 314 Honors class into the Studio to see how new spaces and new technology change teaching and learning. Kenneth Christensen from Chemistry and Molly Espey from Applied Economics and Statistics have been invited to continue this investigative work in the spring.

Please check the Studio's web site for more information and be sure to open the Pearce Center's Fall 2004 #1 newsletter to find out about our second Semester of Studio.

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Creative Response for Learning 
Art Young, Patti Connor-Greene, Catherine Paul, and Jerry Waldvogel are coordinating the "creative response for learning" (CRL) project Fall semester, 2004. Eighteen faculty representing numerous disciplines ask their students to respond with creative projects (e.g., drawings, posters, multi-media, sculpture) to the subject matter of the course. The idea is provide students with a creative learning and critical thinking opportunity to engage course content and for teachers to use the projects to enhance the classroom as a learning community. This project will continue through Spring semester, 2005, and faculty are welcome to join at any time by contacting Art Young (apyoung@clemson.edu).

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Poetry Across the Curriculum 
Coordinated by Art Young, Patti Connor-Greene, Catherine Paul, and Jerry Waldvogel, the Spring 2004 PAC project was a success with about thirty faculty representing numerous disciplines asking their students to write poetry as part of course requirements. PAC is an ongoing project with the idea not to train students to be poets but rather to provide them with a creative learning and critical thinking opportunity to engage course content and for teachers to use the poems to enhance the classroom as a learning community.

For more information about the PAC project, please contact the Campbell Chair, Art Young (apyoung@clemson.edu). Examples of student poetry from several disciplines are available at http://people.clemson.edu/~apyoung/

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Client-Based Program for Business and Technical Writing Classes
This program matches teachers and classes with interested clients who intend to publish and distribute documents written by students. Read more about the Client-Based Program on the Advanced Writing Program's web site, and contact Summer Taylor for more information.

The following English classes and clients have been matched for the spring 2005 semester:

PROJECT ONE
Faculty: Wes Rochester
Classes: Two technical writing (TTh 9:30-10:45, 11-12:30)
Client: South Carolina Botanical Garden
Project: Interpretive materials

PROJECT TWO
Faculty: Natalia Muska
Classes: Three technical writing (MWF 8-8:55, 9:05-9:55, 11:15-12:05) and possibly one business writing (TTh 11-12:15)
Client: Blue Ridge Field--Michael Neal and Wilene Cohen
Project: Grant proposals, promotional materials, and other materials to support the project

PROJECT THREE
Faculty: Morgan Gresham
Class: One technical writing (TTh 12:30-1:45)
Client: Clemson University Cooper Library Government Documents--Jan Comfort
Project: Tutorials and promotional materials

PROJECT FOUR
Faculty: Summer Taylor
Classes: One honors technical writing (TTh 12:30-1:45)
Client: Clemson University Environmental Health and Safety Office--Robin Newberry
Project: Environmental Management System plans for campus departments (continues Fall 2004 project)

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Guest Speaker Program for Technical Writing
The Guest Speaker Program for business and technical writing classes, coordinated by Dr. Summer Smith Taylor, continues to expand. In the 2002-2003 academic year, speakers visited more than 36 classes to help motivate students to learn writing skills; even more speakers visited classes in the 2003-2004 academic year. The speakers discussed their first-hand experiences with writing in the workplace and explained the importance of effective writing on the job. The speakers included representatives from Fluor Daniel, Duke Energy, Dunlop/Slazinger, Leslie Advertising, and several consulting firms. If you know a local technical or business professional who might be willing to speak to a writing class, please contact Dr. Summer Smith Taylor at slsmith@clemson.edu or 864-656-6689.

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Digital Portfolio Awards
Last spring, the Alumni Association and the Pearce Center teamed up to offer the first annual Digital Portfolio Awards in the categories of Most Creative, Most Original, Most Reflective, and Clemson's Best. To be considered in this university-wide competition, students had to submit their digital portfolios on CD as well as a one-page rationale for their submission to the Pearce Center. The competition was advertised in The Tiger and online. Winners were: Ashley Schuermann for Most Creative, Ashley Schuermann for Most Original, Josh Reynolds for Most Reflective, and Riley Croft for Clemson's Best. The Digital Portfolio Awards will be given out again in the spring of 2005.

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2006 Writing Across the Curriculum Conference
Clemson University has been selected to host the 8th National Writing Across the Curriculum Conference! The Pearce Team is in the process of planning this conference, which will be held May 18-20, 2006. Partnered with the Pearce Center on this project are: the Communication Across the Curriculum Program, the Campbell Chair in Technical Communication, and the Class of 1941 Studio for Student Communication. Please see the conference web site for more information, or contact Dr. Art Young (apyoung@clemson.edu) or Dr. Kathleen Blake Yancey (kyancey@clemson.edu).

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