{"id":30268,"date":"2025-09-02T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/letters-science\/?p=30268"},"modified":"2025-09-02T19:37:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T00:37:53","slug":"department-update-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/letters-science\/in-focus-2025\/department-update-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Department update from English: 51ÁÔÆæ hosts access-oriented MLA conference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>UW-Milwaukee is unique among the universities in Wisconsin: It is a top-tier research university with an access mission \u2013 a stated goal of helping all students, especially those from underrepresented minorities, receive a college education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That made 51ÁÔÆæ an ideal location for one of this year\u2019s Modern Language Association\u2019s summer research institutes. From June 15-20, the 51ÁÔÆæ College of Letters &amp; Science, in conjunction with Madison College, co-hosted 30 educators from Access-Orientation Institutions (AOIs) from Wisconsin, Illinois, and surrounding areas for a week-long <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mla.org\/Resources\/Career\/MLA-Institutes-on-Reading-and-Writing-Pedagogy\">Summer Institute on Reading and Writing Pedagogy<\/a>. The workshop was organized and co-facilitated by 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Associate Professor of English Shevaun Watson, who also serves as the Director of Composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each year, the MLA hosts several summer institutes aimed at bolstering and enhancing teaching of reading and writing at AOIs. The MLA received funding from the Mellon Foundation to offer competitive grants of $20,000 each to pairs of 2- and 4-year colleges that are committed access institutions. The 2025 grants went to 51ÁÔÆæ and Madison College, University of Utah and Salt Lake Community College, and Georgia State University and Georgia Highlands College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What made the Milwaukee institute unique was its focus on generative AI in relation to college students&#8217; reading and writing. The workshop sought to improve teachers&#8217; use of AI in the classroom through a critical AI literacy curriculum. Watson has already become a leader in integrating artificial intelligence in <a href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/letters-science\/in-focus-2025\/uwm-fashions-strategies-for-artificial-intelligence-in-the-classroom\/\">51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s English 101 courses<\/a>, and she used the same know-how this summer during the institute\u2019s panels, workshops, and mentoring opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I was honored and energized to co-lead this important event,&#8221; Watson said afterwards. &#8220;We were able to provide transformative professional development for a fantastic group of teachers at AOIs. I&#8217;m especially happy that we deepened people&#8217;s understanding of AI and learning.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Institute was a success, thanks in large parts to its facilitators. In addition to Watson, Madison College Writing Center Director and Chair of English Sarah Johnson served as a host. The event was supported by individuals in 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Department of English, and 11 51ÁÔÆæ faculty and graduate teaching assistants attended as participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>By Sarah Vickery, College of Letters &amp; Science<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UW-Milwaukee is unique among the universities in Wisconsin: It is a top-tier research university with an access mission \u2013 a stated goal of helping all students, especially those from underrepresented minorities, receive a college education. That made 51ÁÔÆæ an ideal &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":785,"featured_media":30269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[1648,1956],"tags":[1859],"class_list":["post-30268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-focus","category-in-focus-2025","tag-september"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Letters &amp; Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/letters-science\/in-focus-2025\/department-update-english\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Department update from English: 51ÁÔÆæ hosts access-oriented MLA conference\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UW-Milwaukee is unique among the universities in Wisconsin: It is a top-tier research university with an access mission \u2013 a stated goal of helping all students, especially those from underrepresented minorities, receive a college education. 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