Contact
Ms. Cheryl Slocumb, Director
W.L. Adams Center for Writing
419 Reed Hall
P.O. Box 297700
Texas Christian University
Fort Worth, Texas 76129
Phone: 817.257.7221
OUR HISTORY
TCU’s writing center first opened its doors on August 1, 1988, after the Union Pacific Foundation pledged $240,000 toward its creation. The CEO of Union Pacific, William L. Adams, a legendary oil man and geologist, was a supporter of numerous civic, corporate, and philanthropic causes. Through the creation of the writing center, Adams sought to improve the writing of students interested in business careers. In 1993, the center received a new name—the William L. Adams Center for Writing—in honor of his commitment to our center and to the development of student writing at TCU. We have one of the oldest and most successful writing centers in America. We are happy to report that we serve TCU writers across all disciplines and colleges.
The Center has had only four directors in more than thirty years of service to TCU writers:
- Christina Murphy (1988-1996) (founding director)
- Jeanette Harris (1997-2002)
- Steve Sherwood (2002-2022)
- Cheryl Slocumb (2022- )
Along with the director, three full-time professional staff and several part-time professionals work as writing consultants. Professional staff teach courses in composition, creative writing, literature, women’s studies, and art history, as well as for TCU’s Master of Liberal Arts program. In addition to teaching and consulting with student and faculty writers, the Center’s staff members have a proud tradition of scholarship and creative activity.
In 2006, the Center expanded its mission by creating the Graduate Writing Center, which assists graduate students and faculty from all disciplines on long projects such as articles, theses, dissertations, and books. With the Graduate Studies Office, we conduct an annual Dissertation Boot Camp before each fall semester. Every Tuesday afternoon we offer a graduate writing support group, Write Now, for students engaged in writing dissertations and theses. In 2009 we assumed administration of TCU’s Writing Associates program, originally funded under a Vision in Action grant. Through this program, we are able to embed tutors across disciplines in courses that emphasize writing. The COVID-19 pandemic brought synchronous Zoom tutorials into our repertoire of writing consultations.
What does the future hold for us? Stay tuned. . . we’ll keep you posted.