1 | Katie McWain

KATIE MCWAIN
kmcwain@huskers.unl.edu
(816) 518-6601

101C Andrews Hall

Lincoln, NE 68588

EDUCATION
PhD, Composition and Rhetoric
University of Nebraska, Expected May 2018
Dissertation Title: Learning to Teach on Location: An Ecological Framework for Teacher
Development in a New Composition Landscape
Committee: Drs. Shari Stenberg (chair), Deborah Minter, Stacey Waite, Rachel Azima, Lauren
Gatti
MA, English Language and Literature
University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2012
BA, English and Writing
Drury University, 2010

RESEARCH AND TEACHING SPECIALIZATIONS

Teacher Development, Writing Pedagogy Education, Dual Enrollment Composition, Writing Program
Administration, Writing Center Studies, Community Literacy, Graduate Education

PUBLICATIONS
Works in Progress
Finding Freedom at the Threshold: Liminal Positionality and Political Possibility for Dual Credit College
Instructors. Teaching English in the Two-Year College, May 2018. Proposal accepted.
Positionality and Possibility: Reframing Tactics and Strategies for Graduate Student Community
Engagement. Proposal accepted and manuscript under revision at Michigan Journal of
Community Service Learning, Summer 2017. (Co-author with Adam Hubrig, Marcus Meade, and
Rachael Wendler Shah).
Caring for and with Consultants: Emotional Awareness as an Orientation for Staff Development.
WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Theory. Proposal accepted.

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TEACHING AND TUTORING EXPERIENCE

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
Graduate Teaching Assistant and Instructor of Record, 2013-Present
Writing: Uses of Literacy (ENGL 354, 1 section)
Upper-division course inquiring into the cultural, political, educational, and social contexts for
and implications of literacy theories and practices through primary and secondary research
Writing and Communities (ENGL 254, 5 sections)
Elective composition course investigating writing as a social practice through community action
research and participation in a local community partnership
Writing as Inquiry (ENGL 150, 3 sections)
First-year composition course themed around the rhetoric of values and focused on exploratory
writing, problem-posing, and primary and secondary research skills
Graduate Writing Center Consultant, 2014-Present
Consulting with undergraduate, graduate, and faculty writers; designing and facilitating
interdisciplinary writing workshops; implementing administrative and outreach projects
Writing Consultant, Athletics Department Bridge Program, 2015-2016
Served as an intensive writing tutor for student-athletes in an early college success program
Metropolitan Community College, Kansas City, Missouri
Adjunct Instructor, 2013
Composition and Reading II (ENGL 102, 3 sections)
Second-year composition course focused on argumentative writing and research through the
lenses of genre theory and contemporary political and social issues
Developmental Writing (ENGL 30, 1 section)
First-year composition course introducing students to the processes, conventions, and
expectations of college-level writing with an emphasis on transferable practices
University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri
Graduate Teaching Assistant and Instructor of Record, 2010-2012
Introduction to Research in English (ENGL 225, 1 section)
Second-year composition course emphasizing the practices of cultural critique, engaging with
contemporary debates, exploring multiple media, and developing secondary research skills
Introduction to Academic Prose (ENGL 110, 3 sections)
First-year composition course familiarizing students with the conventions of academic writing
through an emphasis on critical geography and place-based research

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PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
Co-Director, Lincoln Writing Initiative, 2014-Present
Lincoln, Nebraska
Co-directing an independent, student-founded community literacy outreach initiative;
developing curriculum and leading after-school literacy programs at various community
sites; coordinating fundraising, outreach, recruitment, and administrative efforts
Associate Director, Composition Program, 2016-2017
University of Nebraska
Designed and led pre-semester orientation workshop for new TAs; facilitated TA
mentoring groups; organized composition colloquia and teacher development events;
revised department teaching sourcebook for new TAs
Assistant Director, Writing Center, 2016-2017
University of Nebraska
Overseeing day-to-day center and staff operations; assisting in the hiring and training of new
consultants; planning and running staff meetings and development; conducting departmentand university-wide outreach; organizing and facilitating workshops across the disciplines

HONORS AND AWARDS

Robert L. Hough Distinguished Teaching Award, 2016
University of Nebraska
English department honor for exemplary graduate teaching, based on faculty nominations and
teaching portfolio
Joy Currie Graduate Student Travel Fellowships, 2016 and 2014
University of Nebraska
UNL English department award for travel to the 2017 Conference on College Composition and
Communication and 2015 Conference on College Composition and Communication, based on
faculty selection of research applications
Parents Council Teaching Award, 2013
University of Nebraska
Award given for teaching excellence on behalf of the UNL Parents Council
Card Fellowship, 2013
University of Nebraska
Merit-based fellowship award
Presidential Scholarship, 2006-2010
Drury University
Merit-based scholarship award

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SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

2017

A Foot in Both Worlds: Toward a Teacher Development Framework for Dual Enrollment
Composition. College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR.

2017

Ways of Being and Knowing: Using Staff Development to Foster Greater Individual and
Sociocultural Awareness Among Consultants. International Writing Centers Association
Collaborative, Portland, OR.

2016

Caring for and with Consultants: Emotional Awareness as an Orientation for Staff
Development. International Writing Centers Association. Denver CO, 2016.

2015

Making Space for Transformative Experiences: Crafting a 21st-Century Feminist Pedagogy.

Feminisms and Rhetorics. Arizona State University.

2015

Reciprocity and Resilience: Feminist Rhetorical Strategies in Community Literacy

Work. College Composition and Communication. Tampa, FL.

2013

Our Most Authentic Self: Retrospective Self-Construction and Community Preservation in

the Chris Almvig Collection. Feminisms and Rhetorics. Stanford University.

SERVICE
National
Member, WPA-GO Labor Census Task Force, 2017-Present
Soliciting, aggregating, and disseminating information about labor conditions for graduate
writing instructors nationwide
Member, WPA-GO Mentoring Projects Committee, 2017-Present
Creating and distributing a needs assessment for graduate students; helping design,
compose, and distribute ongoing WPA-GO newsletter
College Board AP Language Exam Reader, 2014-Present
Serving as a reader for the Advanced Placement English Language Exam
Community
Facilitator and Site Coordinator, Indian Center Writing Initiative, 2014-Present
Lincoln, Nebraska
Communicating with center staff; recruiting and overseeing volunteers; designing and
implementing weekly writing curriculum for Juvenile Justice program and Mark of Honor youth
lodge; implementing service-learning partnerships with UNL instructors

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Program Facilitator, Clyde Malone Community Center After-School Program, 2013-2014
Lincoln, Nebraska
Planned and facilitated a weekly after-school writing workshop for 4th and 5th grade students

University
Undergraduate Creative Activity and Research Evaluator, 2017-present
University of Nebraska
Reading and assessing undergraduate applications for UCARE research program
Workshop Leader, UNL Honors Program, 2013-2015
University of Nebraska
Designed and led an intensive workshop focused on personal statement writing and graduate
school applications for students in UNLs Honors program
Grader, RooWriter Exam, 2010-2012
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Assessed writing program placement examinations for student writers
DEPARTMENT
Member, Chairs Advisory Committee, 2015-2016
University of Nebraska
Served as elected graduate student representative on faculty committee providing
guidance to the department chair
Vice President of Administration, English Graduate Student Association, 2014-2015
University of Nebraska
Advocated for graduate student interests; led meetings and oversaw department-wide
communications; held committee elections; planned organizational and department events
Contributor, Watershed Critical Theory Blog, 2015-Present
University of Nebraska
Writing and copy-editing posts and reviews; overseeing blog operations and site management
Editorial Assistant, Young Scholars in Writing, Fall 2012
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Indexed Volumes 1-9 of the journal for CompPile database; proofread and edited Volume 10

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC)
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA)
Writing Program Administrators-Graduate Organization (WPA-GO)

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REFERENCES
Dr. Shari Stenberg
Professor of English
University of Nebraska
sstenberg2@unl.edu / (402) 472-1861
Dr. Deborah Minter
Associate Professor of English
University of Nebraska
dminter1@unl.edu / (402) 472-2891
Dr. Stacey Waite
Assistant Professor of English
University of Nebraska
swaite2@unl.edu / (402) 472-3191
Dr. Rachel Azima
Director, UNL Writing Center
Assistant Professor of Practice, English
University of Nebraska
razima2@unl.edu / (402) 472-1826
Dr. Lauren Gatti
Assistant Professor of Teacher Learning, Teaching, and Education
Courtesy Assistant Professor of English
University of Nebraska
lgatti2@unl.edu / (402) 472-6385