Happy New Year!

Author

Kelsey Smith
January 12, 2026

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to a new semester! Add/drop deadlines have just disappeared, and I know you’re in throes of beginning-of-semester chaos. Remember not to add students above the designated limits for WRTG classes (20 for WRTG 150 & 25 for AW classes): stay strong until the add/drop deadline on Wednesday!

This newsletter has many of the same announcements from December, but given the mind warp which happens during the Christmas & New Year holidays (who am I and what is my job again?), I’m guessing it might be helpful to have some reminders 🙂 

We also have some February WTWs (Writing Teacher Workshops) scheduled that include presentations by Meridith Reed and some of our own adjuncts. Please put those on your calendar! (See dates at the end of the newsletter.)

I’m also planning on holding the adjunct book club in March (date TBD). We’ll be reading Doing Small Things with Great Love by Sharon Eubank. I’ll send an email out shortly with the time & place for the book club!

Y Writing Submissions: You could win big!

All adjunct instructors who submit Writing 150 student work for the Y Writing journal will be entered into a drawing! You can submit work from Writing 150 students in any term/semester during 2025. Submit up to two students per category: (1) powerful prose, (2) inquiry and argument, and (3) multimodal projects. The deadline for submissions is January 15, 2026.

January Training & Lunch: Dealing with Disrespectful Students

Thank you to everyone who gave me feedback on November’s survey about their experiences with disrespectful students. We (me & some UWCC members) will be holding a training/discussion about your experiences as well as strategies for managing disrespect, gender bias, etc. on Thursday, January 29th at 11:00 am in 4186/88 JFSB. Lunch will be provided for attendees. Please RSVP by January 15th!

Biennial Adjunct Conference in April

Our biennial adjunct conference is coming up! This conference will have a similar format to the 2024 conference in that prospective presenters can submit proposals on anything that is working in their classroom (an effective lesson plan, a new assignment, a method of teaching a key skill like reflection, etc.) Presenters can choose between giving a 10-minute presentation or a rapid-fire 5-minute “Ignite-style” presentation.

Some details are still TBD, but the conference will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2026, from 9am-1pm. We’ll circulate a call for proposals in the next few weeks, and the deadline for proposals will be March 15, 2026. Happy proposal brainstorming!

Stuff for your calendar

JANUARY

FEBRUARY

  • Thursday, February 12: WTW “Trauma Informed Pedagogy” by Meridith Reed @ 11:00 am in B106 JFSB.

  • Thursday, February 26: WTW Adjunct Greatest Hits Training @ 11:00 am in B106 JFSB

MARCH

  • Saturday, March 15: Biennial Conference Proposal Submission Deadline

  • Adjunct Book Club: Date TBD

APRIL

  • Wednesday, April 15: Last Day of Class

  • Thursday, April 16: Adjunct Biennial Conference @ 9am-1pm @ TBD

  • Tuesday, April 28: Grade Submission Deadline