Purpose & Values Statement

The International Writing Centers Association (IWCA), a National Council of Teachers of English affiliate founded in 1983, fosters the development of writing center directors,tutors, and staff by sponsoring meetings, publications, and other professional activities; by encouraging scholarship connected to writing center-related fields; and by providing an international forum for writing center concerns. 

To this end, IWCA advocates for expansive and evolving definitions of writing centers, literacy, communication, rhetoric, and writing (including a range of language practices and modalities) that recognize the theoretical, practical, and political value of these activities to empower individuals and communities. IWCA also recognizes that writing centers are situated in broad and diverse social, cultural, institutional, regional, tribal, and national contexts; and operate in relationship to diverse global economies and power dynamics; and is, consequently, committed to facilitating a dynamic and flexible international writing center community.

IWCA is, therefore, committed to:

• Supporting social justice, empowerment, and  transformative scholarship that serves our diverse communities.
• Prioritizing emerging, transformative pedagogies and practices that give underrepresented tutors, directors, and institutions equal voice and opportunities in the decisions that affect the community. 
• Providing support to underrepresented tutors and institutions globally.
• Promoting effective pedagogical and administrative practices and policies among colleagues in and around writing centers, recognizing that writing centers exist across a range of diverse contexts and circumstances.
• Facilitating dialogue and collaboration among and across writing center organizations, individual centers, and practitioners to foster the broader writing center community. 
• Providing ongoing professional development in writing centers to tutors and administrators to support ethical and effective teaching and learning.
• Recognizing and engaging with writing centers within an international context.
• Listening to and engaging with our members and the needs of their writing centers.