Rhetoric and Writing - News - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Wins Award for Open Pedagogy

Mara Crumby — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:02:28 +0000

One of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s newest professors, Dr. Tiffani Tijerina, assistant professor in rhetoric and writing, received an Open Education Award for Excellence for the first book in a series she is editing, Pedagogy Opened: Innovative Theory and Practice.

This award was presented by as part of the Open Education Awards for Excellence in the Open Practices Award category for 2025. Open Education is a movement to help provide free, accessible, and adaptable educational materials and practices to teachers and students.

Pedagogy Opened is a collaboration that promotes equity and innovation to invite students to create and share knowledge with future publics. The recognition came as an exciting surprise for Tijerina, who learned about the award from a previous self-nomination and award in 2022.

“These awards are often self-nominated, and that is the case for this one as well,” Tijerina said, “But it was such a pleasant surprise when I learned the project actually won!”

Tijerina nominated Pedagogy Opened: Innovative Theory and Practice because it embodies the values of open education, through both content and process. Pedagogy Opened offers seven discussions of research, theory, and practice in and around open pedagogy.

Tijerina is already putting her passion for open education into action. She’s working with Ottenheimer Library and other campus partners to build a stronger foundation for open education at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. She hopes her efforts will encourage more faculty to explore these innovative teaching methods in their own classrooms.

Dr. Heidi McCauley, Professor of Rhetoric and Writing and Graduate Coordinator, had the following to say,

“Dr. Tijerina is a fantastic new member of our department,” said Dr. Heidi McCauley, professor of rhetoric and writing and graduate coordinator at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. “This award demonstrates our commitment to making writing education accessible.”

By receiving the award, Tijerina hopes it will encourage others to advocate for recognition of their work, because success is possible at any stage of an academic career.

The post ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Wins Award for Open Pedagogy appeared first on News.

McCauley Honored with Charles Moran Award for Digital Writing and Instruction Research

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 12:45:00 +0000

Dr. Heidi McCauley, professor of rhetoric and writing at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field of Computers and Composition.

Presented during the annual Computers and Writing Conference held May 15 in Athens, Georgia, the award honors exemplary scholarship and service in the evolving field of computers and writing. It was established in 2003 to celebrate the legacy of Charles Moran, a pioneer in digital writing studies.

“I was shocked and honored to receive the award,” said McCauley, a resident of Conway. “I was nominated by my colleagues, and I still feel too young to have ‘distinguished’ next to my name, but I’m incredibly grateful.”

McCauley has been a faculty member at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock for 12 years, where she also serves as graduate coordinator for the Master of Arts in Professional and Technical Writing degree and the graduate certificates in Online Writing Instruction and Business and Professional Writing.

A respected voice in the field, McCauley has published widely on topics related to digital and online writing instruction, with recent work focusing on the intersection of writing and emerging technologies such as AI. Her current research includes a forthcoming article for the academic journal Computers and Composition tracing the history of online writing instruction and its recurring cycles of technological disruption. These include the rise of the internet to the COVID-19 pandemic to today’s rapid integration of generative AI tools.

“We tend to respond to each new technology with a sense of panic,” McCauley said. “That idea goes all the way back to Plato. He thought that writing words down on a stone tablet would ruin people’s memories. It’s been 2,500 years since then, and we still fear new technology.”

McCauley is the lead editor of the “Bedford Bibliography of Research in Online Writing Instruction,” which has served as a foundational resource for scholars in the field. She has also co-authored two recent books with Routledge: “Norman Maclean’s ‘A River Runs Through It’: The Search for Beauty” and “Multimedia in the College Classroom: Improve Learning and Connect with Students in Online and Hybrid Classes.”

Her scholarship has appeared in Computers and Composition, Composition Studies, Communication Design Quarterly, Technical Communication Quarterly, and Research in Online Literacy Education, among others. Through both her research and her teaching, McCauley has shaped national conversations about how writing is taught and practiced in an increasingly digital world.

The post McCauley Honored with Charles Moran Award for Digital Writing and Instruction Research appeared first on News.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Achieves Long-Awaited Master’s Degree and Professional Growth

Sydney Ambrus — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 14:00:44 +0000

After more than a 20-year gap since earning her undergraduate degree, Bobbie Handcock found herself inspired by the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic to return to school and pursue a long-held dream: earning her master’s degree.

Now a first-generation student from Ohio, Handcock will soon graduate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with a Master of Arts in professional and technical writing.

Like many Americans during the pandemic, Handcock reevaluated her career path in 2021 and decided it was time for a change. Landing a job as a web content specialist at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock presented the perfect opportunity to align her professional and academic goals. “Some might say it was kairos — or the opportune time,” Handcock said.

From there, she began to research whether graduate school was the right fit for her. Once she was accepted to the graduate school, Handcock began taking courses online. She also took advantage of student support services at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, including getting a mentor to help her navigate this new phase of learning.

Through the professional and technical writing program, Handcock has been able to gain experience on real-world projects and sharpen her skills.

“One aspect that I love about attending ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is the real-world projects I’ve been able to do and the real-world experiences I’ve had,” Handcock said.

During her time in graduate school, she created a style guide for a Pine Bluff business and completed an independent study, where she worked on a grant writing team at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Her courses also helped her become the volunteer marketing coordinator of the HighEdWeb (now Digital Collegium) Leadership Academy, an online program designed to develop leadership skills for digital professionals working in higher education.

“Pursuing my master’s in professional and technical writing sharpened my skills, making me a more versatile writer, skilled editor, and effective communicator. I’ve had some wonderful professors who helped me expand my expertise in research, editing, document design, grant writing, and writing for social media,” Handcock said.

The Lonoke, Arkansas, resident said the most influential person in her graduate school journey has been her husband, Julius.

“He has supported and encouraged me since day one,” she said. “I could not have done it without him. When I got tired or frustrated, he helped me through it. When I reached a milestone, he celebrated with me.”

To other students who want to pursue a graduate degree, Handcock said, “You’ve got this. If you need help, ��Vlog��ý Little Rock has so many resources available. I had a graduate student mentor, and I attended the Student Success Fest at the beginning of each semester.”

The university has a welcoming environment and is open to students from all walks of life, she said.

“Whether you’re a nontraditional student like me or just coming out of high school, I truly believe there is a place for you here,” Handcock said.

The post ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Graduate Achieves Long-Awaited Master’s Degree and Professional Growth appeared first on News.

Quills & Pixels Accepting Submissions Until Sept. 27

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:20:15 +0000

University of Arkansas Little Rock students, alumni, faculty, and staff are encouraged to submit their nonfiction work to the Rhetoric and Writing Department’s Quills & Pixels journal by Sept. 27.

This is an opportunity to have one’s creative nonfiction, personal and research essays, academic papers, journalistic features, photography, and even technical reports considered for publication.

“Quills & Pixels features writing from students, faculty, and alumni and is edited completely by students,” said Dr. Heidi Harris, professor of rhetoric and writing. “It’s an excellent venue for both showcasing the best writing and editing in our department.”

The Editing for Publication student team for the RHET 4323 class reviews the manuscripts and then corresponds with the authors to assist in bringing the piece into focus by providing support and guidance through peer review.

“Quills & Pixels is created, developed, and produced by students for the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community,” said Dr. Barbara L’Eplattenier, who has overseen the editing team since 2017.

The Production for Editors RHET 4323 class then works on the journal’s design, which allows the team to learn about publishing, using high-end layout and publishing software.

“Quills and Pixels provides hands-on experience with developmental editing, production editing, and Adobe InDesign,” Harris said. “Alumni who have taken this class say it was helpful in building both hard skills in design software as well as experience working with writers in a complex publishing environment.”

Dr. Greg Graham, director of the Little Rock Writing Project, said he’s known numerous colleagues and students who were thrilled to have their work published in Quills & Pixels.

“Each of them could not hide their excitement when telling me the news that their piece of writing had been published,” Graham said. “Quills and Pixels provides a wonderful opportunity for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students, faculty, and alumni to actually get their nonfiction writing published.”

To submit, visit the Quills & Pixels website.

This article was written by Matt McGregor.

The post Quills & Pixels Accepting Submissions Until Sept. 27 appeared first on News.

Dawes Selected for Rhetoric and Writing Chair Position

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 14:25:15 +0000

Dr. Jennifer Dawes has been selected as the next chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, replacing Dr. Joyce Carter, who retired in June after nine years at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock.

Dawes comes to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock from Wichita Falls, Texas, where she served as chair of the Department of English, Humanities, and Philosophy, as well as a professor of English, at Midwestern State University.

Prior to her tenure as department chair, she was an English professor at Henderson State University, a faculty member in the English/Writing program at Eastern Oregon University, and a faculty member in the English department at Idaho State University, as well as the director of the American Studies Program.

Dawes has experience in student and faculty recruitment, retention, and support. She has served on a number of task forces and committees devoted to promoting student success.

Her research has covered popular culture topics, as well as tourism in the American West. She is currently working on a new publication that explores dark tourism in Texas.

Dawes’s pursuit of research, her dedication to student success, and the experience she brings to campus edifies the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock community.

“Dr. Dawes joins us having already completed a successful stint as an external chair,” said Dr. Sarah Beth Estes, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education (CHASSE), where the department is housed. “We are lucky to have her expertise in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing as we continue to modify our composition program to best meet student needs.”

Read more about additional leadership changes in the college.

The post Dawes Selected for Rhetoric and Writing Chair Position appeared first on News.

CHASSE Announces 2024 College-Level Faculty Excellence Winners

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 13:15:07 +0000

The ��Vlog��ý Little Rock College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education (CHASSE) has announced Neveen Shafeek Amin, Edma Delgado-Solórzano, Heidi Skurat Harris, Daryl Tate, and Kiel Thorlton as the 2024 Faculty Excellence winners for the college.

The university-level Faculty Excellence winners will be announced at the April 4 ceremony at 5:30 p.m. in the EIT Auditorium in the Engineering and Information Technology Building.

More information on the CHASSE winners and excerpts from their nomination letters are below:

Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service

Dr. Edma Delgado-Solórzano is an assistant professor of Spanish who is deeply involved in service in her program, at the university, and in our larger community.

In highlighting her work at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, her nomination letter states “she is the heart and soul” of supporting Spanish heritage speakers through recruiting students to the program, supervising Spanish language testing requirements, writing memos to the registrar, and advising and mentoring these students.

“Her years-long work with LULAC, El Zócalo Immigrant Resource Center, Mamas Unidas in Little Rock, the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas in Springdale, and El Centro Hispano in Jonesboro are a testament to a hard-working individual who strongly believes in setting an example for her community,” her nomination letter states. “And these organizations have awarded her efforts with the 2023 Mentor of the Year Prize from Mamas Unidas, as Arkansan of the Day (July 17, 2023) by THV Channel 11 News, and Recognition for Community Service (October 13, 2023) from Univision Arkansas.”

Faculty Excellence Award for Research and Creative Endeavors

Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris is an associate professor and graduate coordinator in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. With a decade of experience at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Harris has made significant impacts in the research field.

“Her three primary research areas involve online instruction… online writing program development and administration, and archival research on the writing and publication process of the novella ‘A River Runs Through It’ by Norman Maclean,” states her letter of nomination.

“In the last five years alone, Dr. Harris has published in four edited collections and book chapters, a bibliography, twelve journal articles, and two co-edited books (Routledge 2024),” her letter continues. “In addition, she collaborated with faculty and students from across disciplines and across the country. Her work appears in seminal books, like “Foundational Practices in Online Writing Instruction” and in some of the top journals in the field, including “Technical Communication Quarterly,” “Computers & Composition,” and “Communication Quarterly.” She has maintained this research pace while simultaneously developing and coordinating the Graduate Certificate for Online Writing Instruction (the only of its kind in the nation and recipient of the CSSC 2017 Curricular Innovation Award) and serving as the graduate coordinator for [the] department.”

Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching

Dr. Neveen Shafeek Amin is the coordinator of the sociology program and an associate professor of sociology who emphasizes mentoring and student-oriented service.

“[Dr. Shafeek Amin] is well versed in scientific teaching and uses evidence-based methods to improve her students’ learning outcomes,” her nomination letter continues. “She uses several pedagogical strategies with her students to encourage active learning, which has been shown to improve students’ retention. For instance, in her Introduction to Sociology classes, she has her students engage in service-learning activities and write reflective papers about the experience (for this work, she was named a Service-Learning Advocate by the College of Social Science and Communications in 2020.)”

Her work in teaching and learning continues outside the School of Human Inquiry as well. Her nomination letter states, “This year she was selected to serve as one of the three co-directors for the Academy of Teaching and Learning (ATLE). [Dr. Shafeek Amin] is extraordinarily well suited to this role. She has regularly attended ATLE programming since she began working at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and has received numerous recognitions from the group, including a curriculum innovation award, numerous teaching fellow awards, and a Lifetime Participation award. Her leadership in this organization demonstrates her commitment to ongoing improvement in teaching, not just for herself, but also for her colleagues. Through this work she is working to improve the classroom experience for all students by providing continuing education for the educators.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Social Justice Award

Dr. Daryl Tate, associate professor in the School of Education, coordinates the Learning System Technology Education Program. He is also ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s inaugural eLearning Fellow.

According to his nomination letter, “[Dr. Tate] has been a much sought-after person to address equity for all in the online environment; he has done so via his publications, scholarly presentations, media interviews, grants, and direct action with students to facilitate programming. On his grants, two of them focused on how to provide open educational resources (OER) to his students as a student retention effort… In essence, his programming has a lasting impact that promotes and defends social justice in the form of access to education.”

Regarding Tate’s entire body of work, his nomination letter goes on to state: “Dr. Tate’s pivotal work to provide educational access using technology and pedagogy innovatively approaches student success. It also exemplifies his commitment to ensuring ��Vlog��ý Little Rock remains relevant in producing student scholars who will function with this same focus on inclusionary access for all to learn.”

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Rising Faculty Award for Excellence

Professor Kiel Thorlton, assistant professor in the School of Mass Communication, joined the university in 2020. Since that time, he has taught 11 different classes in the area of video production.

His nomination letter states: “In addition to his considerable teaching load, Prof. Thorlton also serves as the coordinating producer for ESPN+ in conjunction with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock athletics. In this capacity, he is responsible for all student crews for roughly 100+ broadcasts in an academic year.”

In addition to his service to the university and in the larger community, he also continues to thrive in scholarship/creative activity. “Since 2010, Kiel has been the director, cinematographer, and owner of Falling Leaf Productions, a company that specializes in video production ranging from narrative film to commercial work,” his nomination letter continues. “Perhaps the most notable of the work his company has produced is the feature film ‘A Place Called Home,’” which was released worldwide on Dec. 20, 2022. Thorlton served as the writer, director, and co-producer of the movie.

The post CHASSE Announces 2024 College-Level Faculty Excellence Winners appeared first on News.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Inclusive Gaming Club Back in Action

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 14:04:15 +0000

During a lively Wednesday afternoon on campus, a group of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students, faculty, and alumni who have a passion for gaming gathered to play.

They started out with Townscraper, where users construct an island town by placing and removing colored blocks on an ocean. They next perused options like “It Takes Two,” “Unpacking,” and “Goat Simulator,” before deciding on medieval-themed “Inkulinati.”

After choosing Alewife, who is described as a “strong woman in these difficult times,” as their main character, the group quickly decided to change her name to Qwerty. Dr. Joe Williams, a professor of rhetoric and writing, commented that it can take the group a full hour to decide on the character alone.

While nobody seems to understand the purpose of the game in the beginning, they dig the “Monty Python” vibe of the game. This is a scene from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Inclusive Gaming Club, a place where people can play video games, hang out, and discuss diversity and representation in gaming.

“The primary purpose of the club is to give students a place to play games in a low-stakes, comfortable environment,” said Dr. Londie Martin, associate professor of rhetoric and writing and faculty advisor of the Inclusive Gaming Club. “We want to use this space to build community and give students and anyone on campus who is interested a place to have conversations about video games. We see video games not just as games, but as important cultural artifacts that we can learn from.”

After a strong start in 2018, Martin said the club lapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when classes went online and groups could no longer meet in person. Now the Inclusive Gaming Club is back in action, meeting once a month, and looking to regain momentum.

Martin said she was inspired to start the Inclusive Gaming Club after she felt left out by many of the mainstream games as a child.

“I’ve been gaming since I was a little kid back in the days when you rented games from Blockbuster,” Martin said. “When games shifted to first-person shooter games, it seemed like it wasn’t as open to me as a girl. When I got to college, I started to discover more indie games where there was more diversity. I found a gaming community, and it made me feel like gaming was open to everyone.”

Connor Pearce, a December 2022 graduate, said he joined the club to learn more about diverse video games.

“I studied video games a lot in graduate school,” Pearce said. “I care about the language that is used in games and the representation of games. This is a fun space to just enjoy playing video games and talking about them. You can talk about how games can be more inclusive to more types of people who don’t normally play, as well as the concerns of how different underrepresented groups are portrayed in game narratives.”

The Department of Rhetoric and Writing is full of students and faculty with a love of gaming. Williams, a faculty advisor to the Inclusive Gaming Club and co-founder of the Little Rock Game Designers Group, teaches courses like video game writing and game creation. The department regularly participates in the Global Game Jam, where teams create games in one fast-paced weekend. Prior to the pandemic, the Inclusive Gaming Club held a 24-hour live streamed gaming event where members played games to raise money for Lucie’s Place, a nonprofit that helps LGBTQ+ young adults who are experiencing homelessness.

“This club combines a lot of faculty and student interests, including gaming, social critique, and inclusivity, and it opens us up to exploring different media and modalities,” said Dr. Joyce Carter, chair of the Department of Rhetoric and Writing. “We are exploring the role of games and gamification. Games are hands on, and they can create educational opportunities.”

She points to the video game, “To The Rescue,” as a successful example of how games can help educate people. Two ��Vlog��ý Little Rock graduates, Olivia Dunlap and Tanner Marshall, created the dog rescue shelter simulation game as students to help raise money and awareness for animal shelters.

“Games help us make connections across the university, and this is the kind of club that crosses departments and majors and builds community among faculty, students, and alumni,” Carter said.

If you are interested in learning more about the Inclusive Gaming Club, contact Professor Martin at ltmartin@ualr.edu.

The post ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Inclusive Gaming Club Back in Action appeared first on News.

Rhetoric and Writing - News - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Professor Wins Award for Open Pedagogy