Hosts for the 2022 MLA Institutes on Reading and Writing Pedagogy
University of Missouri, St. Louis
California State University, Los Angeles
Princeton University
Institute Dates
University of Missouri, St. Louis: June 6, 2022 – June 10, 2022
California State University, Los Angeles: June 27, 2022 – July 1, 2022
Princeton University: July 11, 2022 – July 15, 2022
Purposes and Outcomes of Participation
The MLA was awarded a grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to strengthen the teaching
of English at access-oriented institutions (AOIs) -- community colleges and other colleges that
prioritize access over selectivity in admissions. Between 2019 and 2022, the association will
have organized eight regional summer institutes for those who teach at AOIs and those who
would like to make their teaching careers at them. Applications for fellows who participate in the
regional institutes will be accepted from doctoral students in English and related fields and from
part-time and full-time instructors at access-oriented institutions.
The institutes:
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provide new and future faculty with an understanding of the needs and
circumstances of students at AOIs, who are primarily first-generation collegegoers,
Pell Grant recipients, and students of color
provide new and future faculty with intensive training in pedagogical theory and
practices for the teaching of writing and reading together to improve writing
instruction at AOIs and to nurture the study of the humanities in vocationally
oriented educational settings
develop strategies for locally sustaining the collaborations started by the institutes
renew conversation in the profession about relationships among literature,
composition, and the humanities, and build stronger connections between
introductory writing courses and upper-level humanities courses
Criteria for Application
Applications for participation in the regional institutes will be accepted from doctoral students in
English and related fields and from part-time and full-time instructors at access-oriented
institutions, especially community colleges, within the area of the host institution.
Applications must be submitted through Interfolio and should include:
1. Letter of application that speaks to your interest in and commitment to collaborative inquiry
and how this institute will address your own goals for professional development as a teacher of
the humanities
2. CV
3. Two reference letters that speak to your commitment to the humanities and/or teaching at an
access-oriented institution
4. Statement of teaching philosophy of no more than 500 words. We provide the following
questions for you to use if they are helpful to you:
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What are the key dilemmas that you have faced in teaching students to read and write in
your courses? How have you attempted to address them?
What essential questions about the teaching of reading and writing continue to shape your
approach to teaching, and how might they be related to issues of access in higher
education?
What scholarship in literary and writing studies informs your teaching and/or your
community work?
How would you like this Institute to help you address current issues of access on your
campus in reading/writing pedagogy for the humanities?
Testimonials from Institute Fellows
 It was an incredible experience and will be invaluable to my teaching practices.
 Very helpful in learning practical teaching strategies as well as in discussing pedagogical
theory.
 I loved each second of the experience. I was especially moved by - and learned a great
deal from - my individual conversations with the other attendees and with our incredible
facilitators.
 The institute was incredibly beneficial to me and to the other scholar/teachers
who attended. Please do not abandon this project once the grant money is over - I hope to
be able to help facilitate this same experience for other graduate students and adjunct
faculty working in this field.
 My experience with the institute was wholly positive. It's a rare opportunity for me as
a tenure-track instructor to gather as we did across institutions and positions to delve
into the themes and practices of teaching at a two-year school.
 It was an encouraging, collaborative, and insightful environment. I felt like it was the
grad seminar I never had.
 Having the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers from across institutions was
invaluable. I learned so much from their experiences.
 It was a wonderful career-building conference. I found the content extremely helpful in
my teaching, leading to some new ways to think about WAC and WTL.
 My impression of the institute was an overwhelmingly positive one. I came away from
the institute equipped with new ways of understanding writing and the teaching of
writing as well as a newfound community of colleagues to learn from.
 I found the institute to be hugely rewarding and useful in my teaching. I did not publish
my research, but very much value the opportunity to present it along with the other
participants in Seattle in 2020. I was already teaching at BCC when I participated in the
institute. I will say that this institute was one of the best professional development
opportunities I have been lucky enough to participate in. The sense of community and
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networking was invaluable, and I often turn to the assigned texts and materials when I am
creating or revising materials for use in my classes. The research project also provided
valuable insights into my student’s connections with their writing and with each other in
my classes.
I found the institute to be an incredibly valuable experience. The reflections, insights, and
strategies that were shared have made me a more effective teacher, and I do feel as if it
has helped me better identify students' needs, and to work collaboratively work with
them, particularly on the level of providing effective feedback, and establishing a safe
and inclusive space for classroom discussion. I am still in my PhD program, so I have not
yet gone onto the job market, so no update there. I was really glad to have the opportunity
to present my work at MLA, and all in all am very grateful for my experience with the
institute.
I still use many of the methods shared during the institute in my own teaching. I still refer
to the reading materials I learned about during the institute. I mostly appreciated the
connections I made to other full-time faculty. Attending the conference was affirming. I
am now an MLA delegate, as a result.