Mission and History

Mission Statement:

The Oakland University Writing Center (OUWC) serves as the literal and conceptual “Write Space” for all members of the OU community at any stage of the composing process. To use the jargon of our field:  We provide rhetorically-informed, genre-aware, and data-supported consultations, presentations, and resources: 1) to advance the specific purposes of individual writers and 2) to facilitate a rich culture of writing across campus. To put it more simply, we are outside experts, familiar with the complexities of writing across different fields and for audiences, who help writers fulfill their purposes.

In our context,

• “Writing” is defined broadly to include multimodal compositions, such as infographics, posters, and documentaries.
• “The OU Community” consists of undergraduate, graduate, visiting and non-degree students; faculty and visiting scholars; administrators and support staff, and recent graduates, all who compose within specific disciplines and settings. 

History:

Established in January 2006, The Oakland University Writing Center was made possible with seed money from the Mitzelfeld family and with a founding grant from Joan Rosen, professor emerita of English, and her husband, Robert. The Joan Rosen Writing Studio was dedicated at 212 Kresge Library on October 23, 2006.

To learn about two Writing Center programs made possible by the generosity of our benefactors, Joan and Bob Rosen, read this OU Magazine article.