A Chronology of the Missouri S&T Writing & Communication Center

1996–1998 | The Writing Center Takes Shape

The origins of Missouri S&T’s Writing & Communication Center (WCC) lie in the university’s Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program. In 1996, Dr. Elizabeth Cummins, then chair of the English department, hired Dr. Linda Bergmann, a scholar with expertise in the national WAC movement.

At the same time, the Campus Support Facility (CSF) was under construction. During a tour of the unfinished building, Bergmann identified two first-floor classrooms—CSF 113 and 114—as an ideal home for a writing center. One space could accommodate offices, reception, and tutoring; the other could become a computer-equipped writing classroom.

Support from Missouri S&T benefactors Maxwell Weiner and the Moeller family helped provide computers, furniture, and other equipment. These investments established the physical infrastructure for what would become the university’s writing center.

1998–2001 | The Center for Writing Technologies and Moeller Writing Studio

As WAC Director, Bergmann oversaw two interconnected spaces: the Center for Writing Technologies and the Dr. Beverley Bowen Moeller Writing Studio. Located in CSF 113 and 114, the facilities combined individualized writing assistance with access to an up-to-date computer classroom.

This early structure closely connected the emerging writing center with the university’s broader Writing Across the Curriculum mission: supporting students as writers while also strengthening writing instruction throughout the curriculum.

In summer 2001, Bergmann left Missouri S&T to become Director of the Purdue Writing Center.

2000–2014 | Growth Under Kate Drowne

Dr. Kate Drowne began working with the WAC program in 2000 while teaching English courses part-time. She initially served as Assistant WAC Director and then became Interim WAC Director following Bergmann’s departure.

In 2002, Drowne was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor of English with a joint appointment: 50% faculty and 50% WAC Director. During her tenure, she worked with assistant directors including Cynthia Tharp, Dr. Dan Reardon, and Jeanine Bruening.

The center continued to develop its consultation services and its support for writing across academic and professional contexts. It became commonly known as the UMR Writing Center and, following the university’s 2008 name change, the Missouri S&T Writing Center.

2014–2020 | Transition to a Staff Directorship

When Drowne became Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the newly formed College of Arts, Sciences, and Business in late 2014, Jeanine Bruening became Interim Director and subsequently Director of the Writing Center.

This period marked an important administrative transition. The directorship, which under Drowne had been part of a faculty appointment connected to WAC, became a full-time staff position. Brandi Washburn served as the center’s secretary during this period, and the center reported to Vice Provost Dr. Jeff Cawlfield.

The center subsequently continued within the Vice Provost reporting structure, reporting to Dr. Kathy Northcut, Dr. Dan Reardon, and later Assistant Vice Provost Wes Lewis.

During these years, the formal WAC program became less visible as a distinct campus initiative, although the Writing Center continued the broader work of supporting writing and communication across disciplines.

2020–2023 | New Leadership, a New Home, and an Expanded Mission

Dr. Phillip Bode succeeded Bruening as Director in 2020, overseeing the center’s consultations, programming, and campus outreach.

A major physical transition followed. With the Campus Support Facility scheduled for demolition in 2022, the Writing Center left its longtime home in CSF 113 and 114 and moved to Curtis Laws Wilson Library. The move placed the center in a more central and visible location and began an important institutional transition as the center moved toward the university library’s administrative structure.

During this period, the center also increasingly broadened its work beyond traditional writing support to encompass oral, visual, and multimodal communication. Following Bode’s departure, Dr. Wes Lewis served briefly as Interim Director.

2024–Present | The Writing & Communication Center

Dr. Jossalyn Gale was announced as the center’s next permanent director in December 2023 and officially began the role in January 2024. By the time of her arrival, the center had adopted its new name: the Writing & Communication Center (WCC), reflecting an expanded mission encompassing writing, speaking, and multimodal communication.

The directorship also returned to a faculty model. Gale serves simultaneously as Director of the Writing & Communication Center and WAC Director and as an Assistant Professor of English & Technical Communication. Her appointment is divided equally between the WCC/WAC directorship and faculty responsibilities.

Administratively, the WCC completed its transition into the university library structure. Gale was hired by and initially reported to Bella Gerlich, Dean of University Libraries. Following Dr. Gerlich's departure, Gale and the WCC reported to Roger Weaver, Dr. Gerlich's successor.

The return of WAC to the director’s formal title also signals a renewed connection between the Center and its original campus-wide mission. Gale began efforts to reinvigorate Missouri S&T’s Writing Across the Curriculum program in 2025, in collaboration with S&T's Teaching and Learning Center. This work has included revising standards for Writing Intensive (WI) and Communication Intensive (CI) courses, surveying existing WI/CI designations, and preparing for renewed collaboration with departments and faculty across campus.

Nearly three decades after its beginnings in two rooms of the Campus Support Facility, the Writing & Communication Center thus returns in some ways to the mission from which it began: strengthening writing and communication as essential practices across the curriculum and across the university.