East Central Writing Centers Association 2004 Conference
	The Many Faces of the Writing Center April 2 & 3, 2004 Seton Hill University Greensburg, PA	Check out the Detailed Conference Schedule

Those of us associated with writing centers often focus on the body of theories and practices that we share, rather than on our individual faces. Perhaps this shared experience brings us together as a community; however, in “Solutions and Trade-Offs in Writing Center Administration,” Muriel Harris reminds us “that writing centers cannot all function in similar ways or adopt rigid policies and approaches and that writing centers aren’t for those who crave absolute answers.”

Our many differences in who and what we are as writing centers certainly influence our work, and are thus worthy of our consideration. Our theme, The Many Faces of the Writing Center, invites participants to reflect upon our diversity and its effect on our work. This year's East Central Writing Centers Association conference includes sessions that consider:

• Who is our staff? Do we have just undergraduate writing consultants, or do graduate students, professional tutors, or faculty work in the center? Are those running the writing center faculty or not?
• Who is our clientele? Do we work mainly with students at certain skill levels? Do we primarily serve students from a certain discipline? How much do ESL students use our centers?
• Where do we fit in our institutions? Are we located in the English department, in academic support, or somewhere else? What is our relationship with writing across the curriculum programs? Where is our space?
• What is our experience level? Is our center recently formed, or long established? Does the director have a background in writing center theory and practice, or is he or she new to the field?
• How do these factors influence our writing centers?

Faculty, administrators, and students have submitted proposals for a variety of session formats: workshops, panel discussions, training sessions, roundtable discussions, research forums, service projects, or poster sessions.