Speakers
Ms. Anna Britt Begnaud
Anna Britt Begnaud is Writing Center Director and English Instructor at Itawamba Community College in Fulton and Tupelo, Mississippi. Her MA in English has a concentration in Composition and Rhetoric from the University of Alabama, and she serves on the executive board of the Mississippi Writing Centers Association. Her work incorporates her research and interest in the uses of New Media in the Composition Classroom, Visual and Digital Rhetorics, and Working with the Net Generation in composition classrooms. Her presentation, “Write Here; Write Now: Quality Enhancement Plans Can Be Good!”, will draw on her recent work as Coordinator of a writing center focused Quality Enhancement Plan at ICC.
Dr. Robert E. Cummings
Robert Cummings serves as Chair of the Department of Writing and Rhetoric and Associate Professor of English at the University of Mississippi. In 2006 he earned the PhD in English from the University of Georgia, with a focus on the connections between rhetoric, composition, and digital technology. His first book was the co-edited volume Wiki Writing: Collaborative Learning in the College Classroom with Matt Barton, (U of Michigan P digitalculturebooks: 2008). In the following year he authored Lazy Virtues: Teaching Writing in the Age of Wikipedia (Vanderbilt UP, 2009), which won the 2009 MLA Mina Shaughnessy award. More recently he has won grants to promote Open Educational Resources and online composition. Similarly, he has served Wikipedia community, Wikimedia Foundation, and Wiki Ed Foundation as a frequent consultant on matters pertaining to higher education. His recent projects have included a Fulbright Specialist Award to support teaching with Wikipedia at University of Sydney, and research on the rhetoric of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Along with Anna Britt-Begnaud, Dr. Cummings’s presentation is titled “Write Here; Write Now: Quality Enhancement Plans Can Be Good!”
Dr. Frances Di Lauro
Dr. Frances Di Lauro is a Lecturer and Coordinator of the Student Writing Fellows Program at the Writing Hub, where she teaches writing and rhetoric. Frances serves as eLearning representative, and is the Academic Integrity Coordinator for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her research interest on the rhetorical features of communication extends to texts relating to food, educational films, advertisements, documentaries, and propaganda films. She incorporates active learning experiences for students by incorporating Wikipedia editing in the courses she coordinates. Frances will speak on “Teaching research and writing across the curriculum at the University of Sydney” and “Writing across Borders in a Digital Age” while here at the Symposium.
Ms. Amber Jensen
Amber Jenson is a National Board Certified high school English teacher, the founding director of the Edison High School Writing Center, and a Ph.D student in Writing and Rhetoric at George Mason University. She serves as the Secondary Schools Representative on the International Writing Centers Association Executive Board, and is currently developing a regional high school writing centers association called Capital Area Peer Tutors Association (CAPTA). Amber will be a Symposium Workshop Leader, which will be “Training Tomorrow’s Tutors Today”. During her workshop, Amber will draw on research she has done as she works on one of her latest papers, which as its focus training tutors for work in online tutoring spaces.
Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Jr.
Dr. Lawrence T. Potter, Jr., served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Jackson State University from 2012 until June 2014. Currently, Potter is a tenured professor in the Department of English and co-directs the M.A. in English. Dr. Potter has been a successful university administrator and tenured professor for more than seventeen years. Potter came to Jackson State University from a dual appointment at DePaul University in Chicago and Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. At DePaul, Potter was special assistant for faculty development and diversity since 2012; and, at Allegheny he was associate dean of the College, chief diversity officer and professor of English at Allegheny College and a member of the President’s Senior Staff since 2010. Dr. Potter is a charter member of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), serves on the Board of Directors for select non-profits in Chicago and Pittsburgh, and he is an active with several academic and professional organizations. Potter graduated magna cum laude with a triple major in English, philosophy, and religion from Stillman College. Dr. Potter will deliver the Symposium’s Keynote address on Friday, October 10, at 1 pm. His address, titled “The Write Stuff: How Inclusive Practices, Intentional Support and Purposeful Planning Yield Student Success,” emphasizes the value of writing in student retention and success.
Mr. Vincent Segalini
Vincent Segalini is Director of English Language Arts with the Mississippi Department of Education. Vincent Segalini currently serves as the director of English and language arts for the Mississippi Department of Education. Vincent has 14 years of classroom experience in all grade levels and various subject areas. He most recently taught English II in Simpson County. At the 2013 Making Connections Conference in Biloxi, Mississippi, Segalini led workshops on the ELA Common Core State Standards, the PARCC Assessment for ELA, the Close Reading of the English Language Arts CCSS and Determining Text Complexity. Mr. Segalini will give his presentation on “Transitioning with Writing and the Common Core State Standards”.