Michael J. Cripps, Ph.D.

Curriculum Vitae

Current Position

Associate Professor, Department of English
York College, The City University of New York
Jamaica, New York 11451

return to top

Administrative Experience

Coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum Program
York College, The City University of New York
Spring 2007-Present
Responsibilities include articulation of vision for WAC and WID at York College, program planning, faculty development, consultation with department chairs and other faculty members, and budgeting. Coordinator reports to Provost and Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Chairs the WAC Course Coordinating Committee and WAC Steering Committee, and provides college leadership on writing-related matters.
Writing Fellows Co-Coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum Program
York College, The City University of New York
2008-09
Work with co-coordinator and CUNY Writing Fellows (doctoral candidates at The CUNY Graduate Center) to provide effective writing resources for faculty teaching both Writing Enhanced and Writing Intensive courses. Responsibilities include supervision and professional development for Writing Fellows, participation in oversight and administration of York College's WAC Program, and interaction with WAC Coordinators at CUNY's 18 colleges.
Coordinator, College-Wide Writing Program
York College, The City University of New York
2006-Present
Responsibilities include program, curriculum and faculty development, staffing, and budgeting. The College-Wide Writing Program Coordinator reports to the Provost and Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and works closely with the Coordinator for Introduction to College Writing, York College's First Year Composition course, the Writing Across the Curriculum Program, and various student support services on campus.
Writing Fellows Coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum Program
York College, The City University of New York
2004-2007
Work with other WAC Program Coordinators and CUNY Writing Fellows (doctoral candidates at The CUNY Graduate Center) to provide effective writing resources for faculty teaching both Writing Enhanced and Writing Intensive courses. Responsibilities include supervision and professional development for Writing Fellows, participation in oversight and administration of York College's WAC Program, and interaction with WAC Coordinators at CUNY's 18 colleges.
Coordinator, General Education Learning Communities
York College, The City University of New York
2003-2006
Collaborated with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, academic departments, and student support services to create, schedule, and staff pairs of linked courses in the General Education program.
Coordinator for WAC and Assistant Director of Composition, Writing Program
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
2000-2003
Responsibilities included curriculum development in Research in the Disciplines, collaborative administration of a writing program with annual enrollment of 10,000 students in 500 sections, from ESL instruction through business and technical writing courses, and professional development for writing program faculty.

return to top

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (January 2003)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Political Science
Master of Arts (January 2000)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Political Science
Bachelor of Arts
The University of Connecticut (May 1991)
Major in Philosophy
Summa Cum Laude
University Scholar
Bachelor of Science
The University of Connecticut (May 1991)
Major in Business Management
Summa Cum Laude
University Scholar

return to top

Professional Service & Memberships

Assistant Editor
Across the Disciplines: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Language, Learning, and Writing < http://wac.colostate.edu/atd> (link opens in new browser window)
May 2007-Present
Member
Council of Writing Program Administrators
National Council of Teachers of English
Conference on College Composition and Communication

return to top

Active Research Interest

Seeding WAC: Do Interdisciplinary Writing Programs Prepare Emerging Faculty for Writing Across the Curriculum?
Since the late 1970s, colleges and universities in the US have used Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) as a mechanism to improve both student learning and writing. WAC success depends on faculty across the disciplines implementing these practices, faculty development initiatives. I am interested in the possibility that a select group of writing programs with an interdisciplinary teaching pool of emerging and recent PhDs form an alternative to WAC workshops. The principal hypothesis is that these interdisciplinary writing programs seed WAC by exposing future faculty in the disciplines to WAC pedagogies at a formative period in their own development as college instructors.

return to top

Current Projects

Cripps, Michael J. "Interface Literacy, Video Podcasting, and Project-based Learning." (Work in Progress)
A study of student learning that explores the nexus of reading and writing within Graphical User Interfaces. The project is grounded in the idea that GUIs are texts that must be read if one is to write in digital environments. The project explores two specific aspects of the reading/writing nexus: the possibility that interface literacy is more than the sum of GUIs one encounters as one works in digital writing environments, and the potential value of the screencast tutorials as a mode of software or interface instruction.
Cripps, Michael J. "Code Switching, Hypertext Skins, and (Inter)Active Audiences." (Work in Progress)
This paper explores the potential for externally linked Cascading Stylesheets (CSS) to enable hypertext authors to engage principles of visual rhetoric while simultaneously inviting reader involvement in the construction of meaning. In an extension of my previously published work on new media, this paper looks at ways that CSS enables the author to configure meaning, alter the logic of space, and adjust for audience stance, hybridity, and transparency. A version of this new media project was presented at the 2007 Conference on College Composition and Communication, New York.
Cripps, Michael J. "(Re)Writing Fellow Roles: WAC as Professional Development for Advanced Graduate Students" (Work in Progress)
The Writing Fellow role within WAC takes two principal forms at colleges and universities, the curriculum-based peer tutor and the writing-intensive course teaching assistant. While the former model is focused specifically on student support, and the latter is focused on faculty support, both models, by positioning fellows in a support/assistant capacity, fail to fully explore the potential for a writing fellowship to function as professional development for future faculty. This paper explores ways that one Writing Fellows Program is reconceptualizing writing fellow work in ways that matter for WAC Coordinators and graduate programs alike.

return to top


Publications

Refereed Publications
Miller, Richard E., and Michael J. Cripps. "Minimum Qualifications: On Local Solutions to General Staffing Problems." Discord and Direction: The Postmodern Writing Program Administrator. Ed. Carolyn Handa and Sharon McGee. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2005.
Cripps, Michael J. "#FFFFFF, #000000, & #808080: Hypertext Theory and WebDev in the Composition Classroom." Computers & Composition Online. (Spring 2004): <http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/cripps/index.html>. (Winner, 2004-2005 Kairos Best Webtext Award.)
Cripps, Michael J. "Writing Between the Lines." Instructor’s Resource Manual for The New Humanities Reader. Ed. Kurt Spellmeyer and Richard E. Miller. Boston: Houghton, 2003. 54-62.
Cripps, Michael J. "Between Linearity and Nonlinearity: The Research Essay as Hypertext." Enculturation, 4:2 (Fall 2002): <http://enculturation.gmu.edu/4_2/cripps>.
Other Publications
Cripps, Michael J., and Karin Wolf. "Introduction to Volume 5, Issue 2." The York Scholar 5:2 (2009): iv-vii: <http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/>.
Cripps, Michael J., and Karin Wolf. "Introduction to Volume 5, Issue 1." The York Scholar 5:1 (2008): iv-vii: <http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/>.
Cripps, Michael J., and Karin Wolf. "Introduction to Volume 4." The York Scholar 4 (2007): vii-xi: <http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/>.
Cripps, Michael J., and Cynthia Haller. "Introduction to Volume 3." The York Scholar 3 (2006): vii-xi: <http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/>.
Cripps, Michael J., and Cynthia Haller. "Introduction to Volume 2." The York Scholar 2 (2005): vi-ix: <http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/>.
Cripps, Michael J., and Cynthia Haller. "Introduction to Volume 1." The York Scholar 1 (2004): vi-viii: <http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar/>.
Cripps, Michael J. "Editor’s Introduction." Dialogues@RU: A Journal of Undergraduate Research 2 (2003): ix-xii.<http://dialogues.rutgers.edu>.
Cripps, Michael J. "Editor’s Introduction." Dialogues@RU: A Journal of Undergraduate Research 1 (2002): x-xv. <http://dialogues.rutgers.edu>.

return to top


Conference Papers

Robinson, Heather, Michael J. Cripps, and Michael Broder. "Reimagining Writing Center-WAC Collaborations." Presented at the 20th Annual Mid-Atlantic Writing Center Association (MAWCA) Conference. York College of Pennsylvania, York, Pennsylvania, March 2009.
Cripps, Michael J. "Waving at WI or Making Waves? WI Requirements, Institutional Fragility, and WAC/WID Renewal." Presented at the 2009 Conference on College Composition and Communication. San Francisco, March 2009.
Cripps, Michael J., and Heather Robinson. "Basic Writing in a Vacuum: Supporting Developmental Writers in a Post-Remediation World." Presented at Basic Composition in the Works. Felician College, Lodi, New Jersey, February 2009.
Cripps, Michael J., Rafael Nunez, and Eric S. Tyrer II. "The Content Management System as Catalyst: A Case Study." Presented at the 2008 CUNY Information Technology Conference. John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, December 2008.
Cripps, Michael J. "Crossing Borders and Collaborating with Stakeholders." Presented at the 2008 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. Austin, Texas, May 2008.
Cripps, Michael J. "Changing Realities and Creating WAC Synergies Through Film: A Case Study of Institutional Embeddedness in Multiple Media." Presented at the 2008 Conference on College Composition and Communication. New Orleans, March 2008.
Cripps, Michael J. "Code Switching, Hypertext Skins, and (Inter)Active Audiences." Presented at the 2007 Conference on College Composition and Communication.New York, March 2007.
Cripps, Michael, J. "Collaborating across the Curriculum: Peaks and Pitfalls." Presented at the 2006 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. Clemson, S.C., May 2006.
Cripps, Michael J. "Assessing our Community: Common Ground & Difference." Presented at the 2006 Conference on College Composition and Communication. Chicago, March 2006.
Cripps, Michael J. "Seeding WAC: Project Report." Poster Presentation at the 2005 Council of Writing Program Administrators Breakfast. San Francisco, March 2005.
Cripps, Michael J. "TA Talk: What TAs in Interdisciplinary Writing Programs Learn by Teaching Writing." Presented at the 2005 Conference on College Composition and Communication. San Francisco, March 2005.
Cripps, Michael J. and Richard E. Miller. "Minimum Qualifications: On Local Solutions to General Staffing Problems." Presented at the 2004 Thomas R. Watson Conference on Composition and Rhetoric. Louisville, October 2004.
Cripps, Michael J. "Writing Institutions at the Periphery: The City University of New York’s Senior Colleges Respond to the CUNY Proficiency Exam." Presented at the 2004 Thomas R. Watson Conference on Composition and Rhetoric. Louisville, October 2004.
Cripps, Michael J. "Diversity amid Uniformity: Senior College Responses to the CPE." presented at the 2004 Writing Across the Curriculum Conference. St. Louis, May 2004.
Cripps, Michael J. "Seeding WAC: How Writing Programs at Research Universities Seed WAC Through TA Training." Presented at the Conference on College Composition and Communication. San Antonio, March 2004.
Cripps, Michael J. "A Copernican Revolution in Composition: How a Composition Reader can Drive Writing Program Institutional Change." Conference on College Composition and Communication. New York, March 2003.
Cripps, Michael J. "Between Linearity and Nonlinearity: The Hypertextual Research Essay." Conference on College Composition and Communication. Chicago, March 2002.
Cripps, Michael J. "Me and U: Students of Color, Identity, and Success in the University." The Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition. Louisville, October 2002.

return to top

Workshops & Presentations (selected)

Mapping WAC Program Structures, The City University of New York
Fall 2007
As part of CUNY's Writing Fellow Professional Education Series, led an interactive comparative analysis of the institutional structures for WAC programs at CUNY's 18 schools. Data for the analysis came from a program activities assessment conducted in Spring 2007.
WAC Faculty Seminar
York College, The City University of New York
Spring 2006
Led semester-long seminar for faculty teaching Writing Intensive-designated courses. Seminar included engagement with scholarship on WAC, composition, assessment, and portfolios, as well as a sharing of assignments, exercises, and teaching practices. Nine faculty participated in seminar.
General Education Literacies Initiative
York College, The City University of New York
Fall 2005
As part of a major WAC initiative on literacies and General Education, led a collaborative learning exercise on incorporating specific literacies (critical thinking, visual literacy, quantitative literacy, information literacy) into particular courses in York College’s General Education curriculum. Nearly 100 faculty and administrators attended event; 35 participated in collaborative learning workshop.
Representing Writing Fellow Work on the Job Market
The City University of New York
Fall 2005
As part of CUNY’s Writing Fellow Professional Education Series, delivered a talk about ways Writing Fellows in diverse academic disciplines might effectively represent their experiences in their academic job searches. Appeared on a panel with faculty from several different colleges in the CUNY system. Over 100 faculty and Writing Fellows attended event.
Writing Fellow Work at CUNY - A Cross-Campus Perspective
The City University of New York
Fall 2005
As part of CUNY’s Writing Fellow Professional Education Series, participated in a panel discussion of various Writing Fellow roles within The City University of New York. Appeared on a panel with faculty from several different colleges in the CUNY system. Over 100 faculty and Writing Fellows attended discussion.
Plagiarism and Assignment Design
York College, The City University of New York
Spring 2005
As part of a WAC initiative on writing assignments and academic integrity, led a workshop on assignment designs that discourage willful plagiarism. Over 100 students, faculty, and administrators attended event.
Integrating Writing Assignments and Course Goals
York College, The City University of New York
Fall 2004
A WAC workshop designed for instructors teaching Writing Intensive-designated courses, but open to all faculty.
Commenting on Student Writing
York College, The City University of New York
Fall 2004
A WAC workshop for instructors teaching Writing Intensive-designated courses, but open to all faculty.

return to top

Teaching Experience

York College, The City University of New York
Teaching Practicum - Graduate Seminar for New Composition Teachers - Fall 2008; Fall 2007
Writing for Electronic Media (English 384) - Spring 2009; Spring 2008; Fall 2006
Research and Writing for Professional Programs (Writing 303) - Fall 2004; Spring 2004; Fall 2003
Introduction to College Writing (English 125) - Spring 2005; Spring 2004; Fall 2003
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Web Authoring (English 425) - 2001-2003
Research in the Disciplines (English 201) - 1999-2002
Expository Writing (English 101) - 1996-2002

return to top

Grants & Awards

Interface Literacy, Video Podcasting, and Project Based Learning
2008-2009
Recipient of a Title III Faculty Grant Award offered through The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at York College. The three-stage grant project (incubation, implementation, dissemination) encourages faculty to engage in intellectual inquiry into teaching practice, and is informed by the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.
Winner, Kairos Best Webtext Award
Spring 2005
Recipient of the 2005 Kairos Best Webtext Award for "#FFFFFF, #000000, & #808080: Hypertext Theory and WebDev in the Composition Classroom." (Computers & Composition Online, Spring 2004).<http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/cripps/index.html> (links open in new browser window)
Seeding WAC: Do Interdisciplinary Writing Programs Prepare Emerging Faculty for Writing Across the Curriculum?
2005-2006
A PSC-CUNY 36 Research Award to continue "Seeding WAC" by extending the work to a second research site.
Seeding WAC: Do Interdisciplinary Writing Programs Prepare Emerging Faculty for Writing Across the Curriculum?
2004-2005
A Research Grant from the National Council of Writing Program Administrators to help fund the cost of focus groups and data analysis for part of "Seeding WAC" project.
Seeding WAC: Do Interdisciplinary Writing Programs Prepare Emerging Faculty for Writing Across the Curriculum?
2004-2005
A PSC-CUNY 35 Research Award to develop and administer a national survey of over 200 former instructors from across the academic disciplines who taught freshman composition at Rutgers University since 1988.
Publishing Research Writing by York Students
2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; 2004
A series of York College Auxiliary Enterprises Corporation awards to help publish a collection of essays written in the College-Wide Writing Program at York College of The City University of New York. This grant has covered printing costs for The York Scholar. The online version of the journal is available at http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar. (link opens in new browser window)
Finalist, Kairos Best Webtext Award (2002-2003)
Spring 2003
Finalist for 2003 Kairos Best Webtext Award for "Between Linear and Nonlinear: The Research Essay as Hypertext" (Enculturation, Fall 2002) <http://enculturation.gmu.edu/4_2/cripps>. (links open in new browser window)
Africa Across the Curriculum Grant
2002
Awarded a $5000 grant to develop a Research in the Disciplines course focused on the African continent. A U.S. State Department Grant administered by the Rutgers Center for African Studies.
Rutgers University Dialogues Grant to Improve the Education of Undergraduates
2002-3003; 2001-2002
Awarded a $7500 grant to improve the education of undergraduates. Awarded on the basis of a proposal to publish Dialogues@RU, a peer-reviewed journal of undergraduate research writing. The first volume of Dialogues@RU was published in June 2002. The Dialogues Grants are targeted at curricular initiatives that have a signficant potential to enhance the undergraduate educational experience.

return to top

Departmental Service (York College, CUNY)

Personnel & Budget Committee
2009-2010; 2008-2009; 2007-2008
Webmaster, English Department
<http://www.york.cuny.edu/english> (link opens in new browser window)
2005-2009
Composition Search Committee
2007-2008; 2006-2007; 2005-2006
Academic Integrity Committee
2006-Present
First-Year Composition Textbook Committee
2004-2005
Co-Webmaster, English Department
<http://www.york.cuny.edu/english> (link opens in new browser window)
2003-2005

return to top

College Service (York College, CUNY)

RFP Review Committee, Online/Hybrid Development Program
Spring 2009
Title III Faculty Grant Proposal Review Committee, The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Spring 2009; Spring 2007
Advisory Board for The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
2008-2009; 2007-2008
Faculty Development Committee
2008-2009; 2007-2008
Chair, Writing Intensive Advisory Committee
2007-Present
Chair, WAC Course Coordinating Committee
Spring 2007-Present
Co-Chair, Leadership & Governance Subcommittee, Middle States Accreditation Committee
Spring 2006-Spring 2008
Committee for Coordinated Undergradauate Education
2005-Present
Planning Task Force, The Center for Teaching & Learning
Spring 2007
BEAMS (Building Educational Attainment for Minority Students)Committee
Spring 2007
English Department Liaison to Information Technology
2006-Present
Webmaster, WAC Program
<http://www.york.cuny.edu/wac> (link opens in new browser window)
2004-Present
Webmaster, The York Scholar
<http://www.york.cuny.edu/yorkscholar> (link opens in new browser window)
2004-Present
York College CUNY Proficiency Exam Council
2003-2006

return to top

University Service (York College, CUNY)

CUNY Writing Fellows Professional Education Committee
2008-2009; 2007-2008; 2006-2007
Co-Liaison to CUNY Writing Across the Curriculum Committee
2004-Present
CUNY WAC Assessment Subcommittee
2004-2005
CUNY Online Writing Intensive (OWI) Initiative
2005; 2004

return to top

Political Science - Teaching Experience

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Introduction to American Government
The Nature of Politics (Introduction to Political Thought)
Capitalism, Socialism & Democracy
Government and Business
Introduction to International Relations
Politics and Culture
Change in Latin America (Latin American Politics)

return to top

Political Science - Publications & Papers

Cripps, Michael J. "Postmodernity in Advanced Industrial Society?" The Review of Politics, 61, No. 2 (1998).
A review of Ronald Inglehart, Modernity and Postmodernity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997)
Cripps, Michael J. "Making Democracy at Work."
Presented at the 1997 American Political Science Association annual meeting.
Cripps, Michael J. and Andrea Chronister. "Party Government Strength and Weakness in Clingon's 1993 Budget Vote: The Case of Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky."
Presented at the 1996 Midwest Political Science Association annual meeting.
Cripps, Michael J. "The Public Irony of Richard Rorty and Abraham Lincoln."
Presented at the 1996 American Political Science Association annual meeting.
Cripps, Michael J. "Race, Ethnicity, and Participation: Towards a Conceptual Model."
Presented at the 1995 Rutgers University Political Science Graduate Students Association annual conference.
Cripps, Michael J. "The Levellers and Religious Liberty."
Presented at the 1994 Northeastern Political Science Association annual meeting.

return to top

Political Science - Professional Activities

Facilitator, Training for Team-Based Work Systems
1997-1999
Employed action research methods by facilitating training in union-management cooperation. Trained company and union at pharmaceutical plant in team processes and problem solving.
Coordinator, Local Union Conference on Co-Management
1997-1999
Researched and organized all aspects of conference on local unions' experience with innovative forms of work organization. Drafted report on learning at the conference.
Steering Committee Member - Rutgers University Political Science Graduate Students Association
1996-1998
Chaired meetings, coordinated activities, and represented graduate student interests to the department. Initiated graduate student brown bag speaker series.
Assistant Coordinator - Emerging Trends Seminar Series
1995-1997
Responsible for logistics around speaker visits, arranging discussants, and financial reimbursement.
Research Assistant
1994-1995
Stephan Haggard and Robert R. Kaufman, The Political Economy of Democratic Transitions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995).
Research Assistant
1992-1994
Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy, Measuring Citizenship Project. Under direction of Dr. Benjamin R. Barber.

return to top

Choose a Style