Howe Center for Writing Excellence at Miami University

10/07/2026

Our second podcast episode of the season is here and today we are diving into the Miami University Archives with archivist Ani Karagianis!

Archives aren't just quiet basements for old paperwork—they are living sites of power, public memory, and active writing. Today, we welcome Miami's new University Archivist (and former writing tutor!), Ani Karagianis, to discuss how archives shape institutional history, practical strategies for bringing archival research into classroom writing assignments, and a feature of our very own Roger and Joyce Howe Center for Writing Excellence Digital Collection.

To listen check the link in our bio!

Miami University Libraries

09/25/2026

The Howe Center for Writing Excellence held a remarkable symposium today bringing together participants in our AI-Informed Writing Pedagogy Certificate program to share with the broader community how we can each uniquely approach AI according to our personal principles.

Participants explored assignment design to address AI, thought about AI Policies, heard first-hand student perspectives on the subject, and toured some of the data we've collected over the years running our AI-Informed Pedagogy Certificate Program.

We are grateful to everyone who attended, thank you for sharing your afternoon and your perspectives with us!

09/24/2026

Season 2 of our podcast is here and we're kicking things off with a brand-new format: Mandy on the Street!

For our first episode host Mandy Olejnik hit the sidewalks across campus to interview students, faculty about their favorite writing tools.

Check our story for the episode link, or find us wherever you get your podcasts!

09/23/2026

Howe Writing Center director Lizzie Hutton published a wonderful opinion piece today on the importance of writing centers in the age of AI.

From the piece:

"What accomplished writers know, and what the consultants at my writing center work to help writers to realize, is that we learn by writing, writing some more, and then talking about what we write. We learn by seeing what we write sometimes flourish and sometimes fail. We learn to write by fiddling with old and new words, by experimenting with just how to put an idea. We learn to write when we see, to our amazement and frustration, how our writing can make different kinds of sense to different kinds of readers, despite our best efforts at some perfect expression."

Read the full op-ed here! (Use incognito mode to get past the paywall)

Opinion: AI can generate words. College students still need to learn how to write.

09/21/2026

AI-Informed Writing Pedagogy Symposium This Week!

Are you looking to learn more about artificial intelligence (AI) and how it's impacting writing instruction? Do you want to hear not only from us, but also from your faculty colleagues and students themselves?

Come join us this Friday, September 25th to learn from HCWE staff, disciplinary faculty members, and students about their experiences with AI and the teaching and learning of writing. You can choose between multiple different events:

12n Opening Lunch: AI-Informed Writing Pedagogy and Principles, with Dr. Mandy Olejnik in King 134 (AIS Room)

1pm Track A: AI-Proof or AI-Enhanced? Rethinking Assignment Design for the Writing Classroom, with Drs. Janice Kinghorn (Economics), Kevin Reuning (Political Science), and Briana von Mizener (Educational Psychology) in King 134 (AIS Room)

1pm Track B: Setting the Boundaries: Crafting Meaningful AI Policies for Your Syllabus, with Drs. Brenda Quaye (Academic Integrity) and Jennifer Bulanda (Sociology) in King 110

2pm Track A: Hearing from the Source: A Panel Discussion with Miami Undergraduate and Graduate Students, with HWAC Graduate Assistant Director Emma Bapst and HWC Writing Consultants Jack Weinberg and Brooke Davis in King 134 AIS room

2pm Track B: By the Numbers: Miami Student AI Data and Institutional Implications, with Dr. Mandy Olejnik and Emma Boddy in King 110

Sign up for just one event, or attend multiple! If you attend 2 or more events, we will send you a certificate of completion that you can keep for your records.

Come and join us for this exciting event where we all can learn together about AI and writing!

Please RSVP here or by scanning the QR Code in the below graphics.
https://hcwe.formstack.com/forms/registration_ai_informed_symposium

09/18/2026

On Monday we took a deep look at Miami students' attitudes and impressions of AI, including students' experiences with our newly developed student AI modules. By exploring some of the data we have collected over the years we were able to dig into some fascinating issues around this fast-evolving subject.

Next week we have two great events coming up.

On Monday 9/21 at 10:05 am join us to explore strategies for student feedback in an interactive workshop. We will demonstrate how to strategically respond to student writing and describe an array of methods and modalities for giving feedback at critical times.

And then on Friday 9/25 at noon join us for a mini-symposium addressing AI and the teaching of writing. All faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to attend as we help each other navigate an "AI-informed" classroom that utilizes writing for learning and thinking. Sessions are at 12, 1, and 2, and participants are free to attend just one session or stay for several.

RSVP Here for either event: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/4tv3gn/d67db79de817f5b2533065f7b642710a

08/27/2026

We are excited this semester to host our first AI-Informed Writing Pedagogy Symposium, building off of the certificate we have offered over the past two years.

Join our certificate alumni and the broader Miami community to extend our AI-Informed discussions in an interactive, knowledge-sharing mini-symposium that addresses AI and the teaching of writing.

All Miami faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to attend as we help each other navigate an "AI-informed" classroom that utilizes writing for learning and thinking. Whether you’re looking for a concrete syllabus policy, curious about how students are actually using AI in their writing, or wanting to discuss the ethics of AI use in the classroom, this is the event for you!

The symposium takes place Friday, September 25th, 12:00—3:00 pm, with sessions at 12, 1, and 2. Drop by to attend an individual session or stay for the full event!

Register here:
https://hcwe.formstack.com/forms/registration_ai_informed_symposium

08/21/2026

Help us spread the word!

Our Fall 2026 Recruitment for new graduate student writing consultants will take place NEXT WEEK!

Interested graduate students should come to one of our drop in information tables, held in our main space in the HCWE in King Library (first floor):

Monday 8/24: 9 am-12 pm
Tuesday 8/25: 12-3 pm
Thursday 8/27: 3-5 pm

No RSVP required; students should expect to spend about 15 minutes talking to us!

08/14/2026

The HCWE is excited to help support MILO! We have lots of relevant programming on the way, including working groups on ePortfolios beginning in September. More information here: https://hcwe.formstack.com/forms/portfolio_working_groups

https://miamioh.edu/news/2026/08/milo-will-serve-as-connector-for-miamis-new-general-education-plan.html

The Miami Integrated Learning Experience (MILE) to launch for incoming students in fall 2027

05/27/2026

We are thrilled to share that Bad Ideas about AI and Writing, a brand-new anthology from WAC Clearinghouse, is officially published and available via open access!

Huge congratulations to our own Mandy Olejnik, who served as an editor for the book and co-authored Chapter 26: “AI Can Write Like an Expert in Any Discipline ✨ AI Can Help You Understand How Experts Use Writing”

The collection is chock full of ways to transform "bad ideas" into 'generative' ideas about GenAI and writing, ideas that spur creative new directions in the education and practice of writing.

Featuring of 48 "micro chapters," the book is intended to be accessible to students, and many of the chapters might make for an engaging in-class discussion.

Read the full text here!

https://wacclearinghouse.org/books/perspectives/bad/