January Fulbright Fellow from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to Collaborate with NUI Galway on International Symposium

Dr Georganne Nordstrom from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to work and conduct research at NUI Galway’s Academic Writing Centre and to teach in the School of Humanities from January 2019.

An expert in Composition and Rhetoric, Dr Nordstrom directs the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Writing Center. Her research and teaching focuses on writing centre studies, critical and place-based pedagogy, and examinations of Indigenous and minority rhetorics, with a specific focus on Hawaiʻi’s Creole, Pidgin.

Dr Nordstrom’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity in teaching is reflected in the international symposium on Writing and Well-being, which will be held at NUI Galway in April 2019. Co-organised by Dr Nordstrom and Dr Irina Ruppo, NUI Galway’s Academic Writing Centre, the symposium is set to attract experts on Composition and Writing from across Ireland, Europe and the US. The symposium will address such issues as the impact of writing on students’ stress levels, interventions to nurture and support well-being during the writing process, the role of writing centres and other pedagogical initiatives in facilitating student well-being, as well as the intersections between well-being and marginalised identity markers and inclusivity efforts. 

Inclusivity and the teaching of academic writing will also be addressed at a unique workshop conducted by academic tutors from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Writing Center and funded by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Project Fund which will take place on Tuesday, 29 January. This workshop, organised ahead of Dr Nordstrom’s arrival, is the first instance of the many ways in which Dr Nordstom’s expertise is set to benefit the NUI Galway community.

Niall McSweeney, Head of Research and Learning, James Hardiman Library, NUI Galway, said: “I would like to congratulate Dr Nordstrom on her appointment and look forward to welcoming her here shortly. It is the start of a great collaborative opportunity for both the Academic Writing Centre and the School of Humanities. I am sure Dr Nordstrom’s expertise will provide a truly international perspective too.”