THE WPA AS RESEARCHER AND ARCHIVIST

When writing program administrators (WPAs) describe their work, what do they say it entails? Certainly, most WPAs would include curriculum development, staffing and staff development, and assessment. Many would include budgeting, establishing interdisciplinary relationships, and representing the writing program on various committees. All would mention the day-to-day troubleshooting and problem solving that makes it often impossible to anticipate what one will accomplish at the office on a particular day. But too often programmatic research and the development of program archives are not activities that WPAs consider as integral to their positions. We believe that WPAs who do not include these activities as conscious parts of their jobs are underestimating the value of their work and perhaps making that work harder and less satisfying than it might otherwise be.