History & Bylaws

In 2010, Writing Program Administrators Graduate Organization (WPA-GO) began as an activist space by founders Cristyn Elder and Megan Schoen who wanted to connect graduate students to one another and to professionals in the field (Elder, Schoen, & Skinnell, 2014). The following year, Elder, Schoen, and Skinnell drew from a national survey with 227 responses, finding that many graduate students in Rhetoric and Composition were interested in Writing Program Administration as a specialization but “did not have access to professional resources'' (p. 17). This signaled a gap in the field: a lack of WPA scholarship, as well as a lack of  guided mentorship in Rhet-Comp graduate programs. The Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) and WPA-GO aimed to address this educational gap by establishing a graduate student presence at the annual conference and by supporting graduate student participation in the organization and its community. Because of dedicated Masters and Doctoral students, WPA-GO has been able to continue the work started by Elder and Schoen. 

WPA-GO has worked on a number of important projects over the last 11 years. These projects include WPA-GO’s statement on Anti-Racist Assessment, a revision of the WPA-GO bylaws to allow for a more inclusive election process, and the development of the Breakfast Buddies program at the CWPA conference (just to name a few). 

As WPA-GO has grown, the organization has supported graduate students through conference workshops, travel grants, and a multitude of opportunities for mentorship and collaboration with one another as well as more seasoned members of the field. 

Historically, WPA-GO has been associated with the Council for Writing Program Administrators as a parent organization. In 2021, WPA-GO became an independent organization following our response to the Call to Boycott CWPA. Since then, WPA-GO has been in conversation with CWPA as their organization undergoes an audit and revisioning. We recognize that change takes time, and as the two organizations work to formalize their relationship, WPA-GO has collaborated with CWPA on their annual Breakfast at CCCC 2022 and their Fall 2022 Colloquium. As part of this ongoing work, WPA-GO is included in CWPA Executive Board meetings and continues to map out a path forward. WPA-GO will continue to work to keep our members updated and involved as we move forward.

Going forward, WPA-GO aims to continue its mission of support for graduate students with specific attention to issues of social justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion, matters which not only deeply affect graduate students but also the field of Writing Program Administration and Writing Studies as a whole. We encourage graduate students and post-docs (as well as allies and advocates for those groups) to help us in that mission by joining WPA-GO, participating in one of our committees, and/or serving on the Leadership Council! 

Past position statements on issues important to WPA-GO