NEWCA 2020 Postponed due to COVID-19

Dear NEWCA 2020 conference participants, colleagues, and friends,  

The NEWCA Steering Committee is writing to inform you that the 2020 Northeast Writing Centers Association (NEWCA) conference hosted at the University of New Hampshire is postponed until 2021 due to the potential public health risks associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). In recent days, many of the schools in our region have issued travel bans, and they had begun contacting us about being unable to attend this year’s conference. Although there is still so much uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, our assessment of the possible risks to our NEWCA community, the UNH community, and the broader Durham community, the communities we connect with on our travels, and our home communities led us to decide that postponing for one year would best mitigate these risks. 

In making this decision, we discussed several options and possibilities. We decided that, because the conference is only a few weeks away, holding a virtual conference is not ideal. Our primary goal is to offer an equitable, accessible, and meaningful conference experience for all participants. We understand that retrofitting the conference to be hosted online would not allow us to be as inclusive as we aim to be. Instead, we intend to offer the same theme “Writing Centers as Communities of Practice” in 2021, with Mark Hall as our keynote speaker.  

It was important to us to make and announce this decision as early as possible for those who have already made plans. We still have subsequent decisions to make moving forward, and it is our goal to be as transparent as possible as we do so. To this end, in terms of registration fees, those who have already paid to register will have the option to either:  

1.    receive a refund for your registration or   

2.    transfer your registration to next year’s conference. If you choose to transfer your registration to next year’s conference, you will not be impacted by any potential increases to the registration fee or potential fee increases due to a change in your registration status (e.g., moving from student to faculty rate).  

More details are forthcoming regarding how to communicate your preferences if you paid for this year’s registration as well as awards, sponsorships, and other protocols. We appreciate your patience while we work together to make the most equitable and inclusive decisions we possibly can. 

Thank you for your continued support and understanding. 
The NEWCA Steering Committee 

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NEWCA 2020 Conference

University of New Hampshire, Durham
April 4-5, 2020

Conference Schedule-At-A-Glance: 

Saturday, April 4, 2020 

  • Breakfast and Registration: 7:45-8:45 am
  • Welcome and Keynote Address: 9:00 am – 10:20 am
  • Session A: 10:30 am – 11:40 am
  • Session B: 11:50 am – 1:00 pm
  • Lunch & Awards: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
  • Session C:  2:40 pm – 3:50 pm 
  • Session D: 4:00 pm – 5:10 pm

Sunday, April 5, 2020

  • Session E: Conversation Circles, Extended Workshops, Works-in-Progress: 9:00 am -10:30 am
  • Session F: Conversation Circles, Extended Workshops, Works-in-Progress: 10-45 am – 12:15 pm
  • Full-Morning Workshop: 9:00 am -12:15 pm
  • Brunch: 12:30-1:30 pm

NEWCA 2020 Tentative Conference Presentation: You can access the NEWCA 2020 Conference Program here. Please note that there may still be some changes to the schedule prior to the conference: UPDATED SCHEDULE (3/6/20): NEWCA 2020 Tentative Conference Draft (1)

Conference Registration is now open. You can go here to login and and register.

Call for Proposals

Proposals due December 9, 2019.

Link to submit your proposal is here: https://www.newcamembers.org/index.php

The Northeast Writing Centers Association (NEWCA) is a regional affiliate of the International Writing Centers Association (IWCA), founded in 1983.

Affirmed is its purpose of fostering communication among writing centers and providing a forum for concerns for faculty and peer supporters.