Pearce Center for Professional Communication
The Pearce Center promotes effective communication as an integral part of the Clemson educational experience. It offers undergraduate client-based internships, professional development for graduate teaching assistants and faculty writing workshops. More than 6,000 students have been served since the Pearce Center opened its doors in 1989, continually honoring the legacy of Roy Pearce ’41.
Clemson Writing Lab hits major milestone
By the Numbers
The Clemson Writing Lab marked its 40th anniversary in September 2023 with a celebration in Cooper Library. The Department of English established the Writing Lab in 1983 as a program designed to support students in their ENGL 1030 courses, also known as first-year composition. Since then, it has expanded its services to support undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty writers across the full breadth of courses and disciplines offered at Clemson University. As the Writing Lab grew over the years, it also changed locations from its original home in Daniel Hall to the Academic Success Center in 2012, to the third floor of Cooper Library in August 2022. The new space is the largest the lab has ever had, allowing it to host workshops, write-ins and more student appointments. Both space and technology have helped the Writing Lab increase its impact, as it now supports writers with a combination of in-person and Zoom appointments, along with email feedback.
Over the past decade, the Writing Lab has hosted over 26,000 appointments and supported over 10,000 writers. During the 2023-24 school year, the lab held a total of 1,449 student appointments and supported 850 undergraduate and graduate student writers representing every undergraduate program at Clemson and eight graduate programs. A survey of students who used the Writing Lab indicated that 96 percent would return. In August 2023, the Writing Lab received Center Recognition and Certification of Excellence from the Southeastern Writing Center Association. This certification was crafted for writing centers by writing centers and evaluates writing support based on a series of factors including appointments, programming, professional development and community impact. In 2023, Writing Lab Director Chelsea Murdock developed a new strategic plan, “Constellate,” to align its future with Clemson Elevate.
Visual Information Design (VID) Eight VID interns provided peer tutoring for visual- and design-based projects, partnering with Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, CU Navigate, Cultivate San Antonio, Office of Global Engagement and South Carolina Watermedia Society. Client-Based Program The Client-Based Program is a partnership between classes and community partners that helps students build communication skills through real-world projects. In 2023-2024, the CBP grew from four to ten faculty members with around 400 students participating. Writing Across the Curriculum The Graduate Writing Across the Curriculum Fellows and Practicum Fellows enrolled 36 graduate students from 19 departments, and five graduate students completed the WAC practicum. In Summer 2023, Clemson University hosted the International Writing Across the Curriculum (IWAC) Conference, organized by Pearce Center Director Cameron Bushnell. IWAC is a biennial conference for scholars from the United States and abroad to gather together and continue conversations around how writing and language impact student learning, with a strong emphasis on second-language learners. For IWAC 2023, 261 attendees from eight different countries participated. Of that total, 174 were in person and the remaining 87 were virtual.
8
Visual Information Design Interns
undergraduate students received experiential learning opportunities through internships, service-learning and client-based classes
432
community and university clients 39
168,610 41
graduate students from 24 departments earned Graduate Writing Fellowships
edited words for faculty and student publications
Pearce Internships Twenty-five undergraduate interns provided design, website and social media support to community and Clemson University clients this year, including Blue Ridge Innovation Entrepreneurship Foundation (BRIEF), College of Arts and Humanities, Pearce Center, EmersonRose Heart Foundation, Office of Experiential Learning, Clemson Free Clinic, Pickens County Habitat for Humanity, Pickens County Humane Society, Office of Global Engagement, Ripple of One, Tiger Tales, UPIC, Writer’s Harvest and Young Voices of the Foothills.
Undergraduate Support
Graduate Support
Impact
1,449 777 1,200
162 73 21
Appointments
Appointments
852%
Undergraduate Writers
Graduate Writers
increase in usage since last year
New Writer Registrations
Graduate Programs Served
No. 1 Student Experience
No. 1 Student Experience
10
11
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