About Conference
CWPA 2026 Keynote Speakers
John Trimbur: “How to Remember the Wyoming Resolution: A Personal History”
My intention, as we gather to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Wyoming Resolution, is to look at how we remember that pivotal event and what these memories might unlock. Memory, of course, is a tricky thing, so I’m going to draw primarily on my own recollections of the emotional modalities of that historic moment in 1986 and its legacy in the years that followed: the anger and frustration about underemployment and the working conditions of rank and file writing teachers; the lure of rising expectations over the status of composition as an academic field; the feelings of abandonment and betrayal by the professional associations; the felt need expressed in the 2016 Indianapolis Resolution to understand the political economy of composition work in the neoliberal university; the disturbing recognition of the contradictions that grow out of the division of labor in writing programs.
I plan to use the dilemmas revealed by the Wyoming Resolution and its aftermath to examine some of the ways sectors of US college composition have responded—through divorce from English departments, with free-standing programs, majors and minors; abolition of first-year writing requirements; writing-about-writing courses; calls for unionization, and so on. For me, the question that lingers from Wyoming concerns how, given the institutional mandates and constraints writing programs face in the current period, we might draw nonetheless on the capacities, interests, and visions of a variably employed staff of writing teachers to make sense of composition work, of what is given and what might be.
Biography
John Trimbur is Professor Emeritus at Emerson College, where he directed the Writing Studies program (which was awarded the CCCC Writing Program Certificate of Excellence in 2013) and helped develop a range of community writing and professional development projects. He has published widely on writing theory, receiving the Richard Braddock Award for Outstanding Article (2003), with Bruce Horner, for “English Only and U.S. College Composition”; the James L. Kinneavy Award (2000) for “Agency and the Death of the Author: A Partial Defense of Modernism”; and the CCCC Outstanding Book Award (1993), with Rich Bullock, for The Politics of Writing Instruction: Postsecondary. Between 2001 and 2015, Trimbur spent extended periods of time in South Africa, where he was a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Higher Education Development at the University of Cape Town and worked with village-based activists in the former asbestos mining districts in the Northern Cape. This resulted in his latest book Grassroots Literacy and the Written Record: A Textual History of Asbestos Activism in South Africa (2020).
Mark Blaauw-Hara: "A Hierarchy of Care for Writing Program Administrators"
Reading through this year's conference call and its cited documents, I was struck by how strongly they evinced care, and for how many constituents. For example, the Wyoming Resolution was written from a place of profound care for post-secondary writing teachers, their working conditions, the quality of classroom teaching and learning, and the status of the profession. This thread of care runs through subsequent position statements from CCCC, MLA, and CWPA, and through a significant body of WPA scholarship. We write about mentoring other WPAs (Moore, 2018), navigating the disappointments of the job (Micciche, 2002), making our emotional labor visible (Wooten et al., 2020), grappling with justified anger (Janangelo, 2020), advocating for racial justice (Carter-Tod & Sano-Franchini, 2021), experiencing the exhaustion of collaboration (Gillam, 2003), and much more. CWPA's "Renewing Our Vows" statement and the Cultural Assessment Report that underpins it exemplify this same deep care, both for the organization and for the WPAs it serves.
As WPAs, we care a lot, and all this caring can be exhausting. In this plenary, I propose a hierarchy of care for writing program administrators: a structure that can help us organize our many competing cares.
References
Adams Wooten, C., Babb, J., Murray Costello, K., & Navickas, K. (Eds.). (2020). The things we carry: Strategies for recognizing and negotiating emotional labor in writing program administration. Utah State University Press.
Carter-Tod, S., & Sano-Franchini, J. (Eds.). (2021). Special issue: Black Lives Matter and anti-racist projects in writing program administration. WPA: Writing Program Administration, 44(3).
Gillam, A. (2003). Collaboration, ethics, and the emotional labor of WPAs. In D. Jacobs & L. R. Micciche (Eds.), A way to move: Rhetorics of emotion & composition studies (pp. 113-124). Boynton/Cook.
Janangelo, J. (2020). It gets bitter: Considering Andy Warhol and harboring anger as a gay WPA. In C. Adams Wooten, J. Babb, K. Murray Costello, & K. Navickas (Eds.), The things we carry: Strategies for recognizing and negotiating emotional labor in writing program administration (pp. 215-236). Utah State University Press.
Micciche, L. R. (2002). More than a feeling: Disappointment and WPA work. College English, 64(4), 432–458.
Moore, C. (2018). Mentoring WPAs for the long term: The promise of mindfulness. WPA. Writing Program Administration, 42(1), 89-106.
Biography
Mark Blaauw-Hara is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, at the Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy within the University of Toronto Mississauga. He teaches undergraduate courses on writing, disciplinary enculturation, and pedagogy, and he has coordinated the university’s first-year writing program. As an Associate Faculty Member in Leadership, Higher, and Adult Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, he teaches courses on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and pedagogy, as well as serving on doctoral committees. Prior to the University of Toronto, Mark was a Professor of English at North Central Michigan College, a rural community college, where he served as Writing Program Coordinator for nearly twenty years. This program won a Diana Hacker TYCA Outstanding Programs in English award. Mark's first book, From Military to Academy: The Writing and Learning Transitions of Student-Veterans, takes a strength-based approach to understanding and supporting military-affiliated students. Understanding WPA Readiness and Renewal, co-edited with Joe Janangelo, explores the challenges and possibilities WPAs experience at different stages of their careers. His writing has also appeared in a wide variety of journals and edited collections, and he has presented at many professional conferences in the United States and Canada. Mark has served as Treasurer of the Canadian Writing Centres Association and President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators.
CWPA 2026 Conference Site
Join us at the University of Wyoming!
The University of Wyoming is a picturesque campus founded in 1886 with both state-of-the-art facilities and historic 19th century buildings. We are the state’s land grant and only 4-year university, and our stunning Rocky Mountain location attracts those who love exploring the outdoors. Join us, and you can enjoy our campus and amazing location along the way.
Our conference will be held in the University of Wyoming College of Business, which is just steps from dorm housing options and a 1-mile flat walk to our featured hotels (due east of UW) or downtown (due west of UW). While on campus, take time to visit the heart of the university, Prexy’s Pasture, and the adjacent Geological Dinosaur Museum. We also recommend the UW Art Museum and American Heritage Center, filled with great exhibits and one of the largest non-governmental archives in the US. Also, don’t miss historic downtown Laramie, where you can find fun honkytonks and great local dining options. Find out more at VisitLaramie.org.
Conference Transportation
DIA and LAR Airports: The closest major airport is Denver International Airport (DIA), which serves all major cities and carriers. You may also fly directly to Laramie (LAR) via United Airlines. There are typically two LAR flights daily, and as of April 1, this will add about $150 to the price of your ticket.
Shuttle Van Service: If you prefer to fly to and from Denver to save money, we are organizing University of Wyoming shuttle vans to and from DIA, with a roundtrip shuttle price of $75.00. Travel time to Laramie is approximately 2 hours and we will have limited shuttle availability on Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday (July 19, 22, 25, 26) only, so schedule your flights early so we can organize your shuttle service no later than June 10. If you don’t register for the shuttle service by the deadline, you will either need to rent a car from DIA or fly into Laramie.
Conference Housing
University Dorm Housing: UW has brand new, state-of-the-art dorms at super low prices (just $85 per day) that include the cost of three meals and bedding. Dorm reservations are required by June 10, 2026. Register early to ensure a single room; double rooms will also be available. All dorm rooms have a sink in the room, with one-person, private bathrooms in the common area that include a shower and toilet. The dorms are three-star hotel grade, though again, one-person bathrooms with shower and toilet outside the dorm room itself.
Local Hotel Room Blocks: We have secured discounted blocks at two hotels for single or double occupancy. Register for your hotel no later than June 10, 2026 to guarantee the block rate, which is expected to be $204 per night plus taxes. Call the hotel and reserve the CWPA rate today.
- Hilton Garden Inn Laramie: 2229 Grand Ave. Laramie, WY, 82070. Direct Hotel Phone: 307-745-5500. The hotel is .9 miles from College of Business conference site on the corner of 15th and Ivinson. Free parking and a free shuttle from Laramie Airport, and limited shuttle availability to and from campus conference site. Limited dining on site and several restaurants adjacent. Ridley’s Supermarket .5 miles away. Direct Hotel Phone: 307-399-5500. Remember to ask for the CWPA rate!
- Holiday Inn Laramie: 204 30th Street, Laramie, WY, US, 82070. 1.3 miles from College of Business conference site on the corner of 15th and Ivinson. Free parking but no Laramie Airport shuttle or campus shuttle service. Limited dining on site and several restaurants adjacent. Ridley’s Supermarket .3 miles away. Direct Hotel Phone: 307-721-9000. Remember to ask for the CWPA rate!
Other Housing Options: There are a range of other hotel and home rental options throughout Laramie, though they sell out fast and may be a distance from the conference site.
Conference Social Events
We’re still ironing out details for our social events, but here’s a preview of what’s in store. All events are part of registration costs, with complementary food included.
- Thursday Night Welcome Reception: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Wyoming Resolution at the historic Cooper House (a vacation spot for Ernest Hemingway) on campus at 1411 Grand Avenue in Laramie. Light refreshments and limited drinks while they last. Hosted by University of Wyoming Department of English, Honors College, and the Bridge/Learning Resource Network.
- Friday Evening Hike and Pizza Party: We’ll have free transportation to take a hike in the beautiful Snowy Range—this is a classic Rocky Mountain beginner’s hike. We may see moose, so bring your hiking shoes and join us! After, there will be great pizza at a local establishment. Food is included in registration, but drinks are on your own.
- Saturday Afternoon Excursion: After the conference ends, travel to nearby and gorgeous Vedauwoo Recreation Area as part of your conference registration. There is an extended hike that is moderate, or a short one for beginners. Enjoy this breathtaking 1.4-billion-year-old Sherman Granite formation with otherworldly rocks sculpted by natural forces—including an ancient ocean—over eons of time.
About Laramie . . . in summer, we call it Laradise
Those of us who live in our small, cowboy-hippie town know that summers are a beautiful time of year, with average highs between 80-85 degrees and lows 50-55 degrees. Bring your jacket and your sunscreen: we’re in a high plains desert with low humidity but hot, hot sun. Also, note that we are at 7,200 feet, which is a half mile higher than Denver! You will need to stay hydrated prior to and during your stay, and if you are elevation sensitive you may feel winded or lightheaded while here.
While the University of Wyoming may dominate Laramie culture, we have an amazing historic downtown area with offbeat shops, Mom and Pop eateries, and swinging honkytonks—attractions that often get us ranked as one of the Best Small College Towns in the US. Questions? Contact local host Kelly Kinney at kkinney3@uwyo.edu.
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