Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

It is hard to acknowledge all of the people who have influenced our professional work, writing, and thinking over the years. Jacob began considering the role of WAC and writing centers while he was studying and presenting with colleagues at University of Nevada-Reno in 1993. Pam started her study of WAC and writing centers by partnering with other secondary school and university people in 1981 through Northeastern University. However, we began collaborating at the 1997 IWCA conference in Park City, UT, while Jacob and Bob Barnett were editing Writing Centers and Writing Across the Curriculum Programs: Building Interdisciplinary Partnerships. Pam was writing a chapter for the book, and we met in the makeshift writing center in the lobby of the conference hotel to work on her revisions. So, over the years we have had the opportunity to work with a variety of people in multiple settings who have influenced our belief in the importance of partnerships among secondary schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions.

We wish to acknowledge all of those who have shared their experiences with partnerships and ideas from their own research and presentations at conferences, questioned what we were doing, attended workshops and presentations we have given, and supported what we have attempted to do through many missteps and revisions. We also wish to voice our appreciation to our students in diverse settings who inspire us and teach us.

Sometimes we overlook the obvious; it is the volunteer professional organizations that have enabled us to continue to do what we love and come in contact with one another—NCTE, IWAC, IWCA, CCCC, as well as all the state and regional groups. We have met or learned about our authors in this collection through these connections, and they have made us intellectually richer in the process. We would also like to thank our home institutions that have allowed us to pursue our research interests and supported our work. And we would like to thank Nancy Grigg for her editing prowess helping whip the book into shape, and Malcolm Childers for his vision that became our cover drawing and his poem, “Serenade in a Kansas Wind.”

Outside of our professional work, we must acknowledge and thank our families for their support. Their encouragement, patience, and understanding make the work possible. Jacob first and foremost thanks his wife, Helen, who has been the rock of the family, supporting Jacob as he burned the midnight oil on this project. He also wants to thank his three sons, Jonas, Micah, and Eli for inspiring this work and making it more meaningful. And finally he thanks his whole family for dragging him outside to ride a bike or go fishing when they know he needs fresh air and to feel unfiltered sunlight. Pam thanks her husband Malcolm for his love, support, and partnership on writing projects and presentations, as well as in life. She also wishes to thank her parents for their love and work ethic, her family and friends who challenge her thinking and actions daily, and her former students from whom she continues to learn. Pam’s work with Mesa Land Trust has given her an opportunity to help conserve our environment and its riches for future generations.

Finally, we wish to thank Sue McLeod and Mike Palmquist for their support throughout this project. The WAC Clearinghouse, an international storehouse of professional volunteerism, offers everyone open-access materials, journals and books. What a gift to our profession.