UC problem-solving workshop encourages innovative collaboration
Professional Writing Board brings together students, faculty and administrators for annual workshop highlighting creative teamwork
Critical thinking. Risk awareness. Ingenuity. Communication skill.
These were just some of the qualities put in play at the third annual event launching another year of collaboration between the University of Cincinnati English department’s professional writing program and its advisory board. Students, faculty, and board members met in McMicken Hall on Friday, Oct. 5, to meet, eat and solve challenging communication problems.
“We wanted workplace professionals, students, and faculty to use their collective wisdom to handle difficult situations,” said Professor Kathy Rentz, who spearheaded the creation of the Professional Writing Advisory Board in 2016. “The scenarios were unique, but they exemplified various communication situations that can arise on the job. We wanted our students to practice applying what they’d learned in the classroom—and to learn that good judgment will be essential to their effectiveness as writers and editors.”
Advisory board members, faculty and students puzzle over tough communication scenarios.
The evening’s program began with an update from Associate Professor Educator Laura Wilson, who shared information about new courses in the program and its graduates’ success on the job market. Then, after brief introductions of the board members, the attendees divided into groups and got down to business.
Each group was assigned one of four problem-solving scenarios written by board members. One group had to determine how to handle communication on social media and other outlets when an act of violence had occurred in the company. Another had to figure out how a writer in a company could extract information from higher-ranking employees over whom they had no leverage, while another had to develop arguments to persuade company executives, in a lean financial period, to hire more editors. The fourth group had to deal with an irate client who had caught several errors in an important document. After their deliberations, the groups shared their reflections with each other, sometimes proposing solutions and sometimes generating more questions.
"These cases were wildly beneficial,” said board member Will Sikes, chief operating officer of Game Day Communications and a 2005 graduate of the professional writing master’s program. “How else can you experience such situations and get to hear from people who have lived them first hand?”
Rich Walburg, communications director for the Cincinnati USA Chamber, agreed, adding that these “real-world challenges exemplified how solutions can be found when we innovate through collaboration.”
Advisor Board members in attendance were (from left): Will Sikes (Game Day Communications), Tricia Bath (LPK), Nick Kelly (Kroger), Julia Mace (UC Foundation), Rich Walburg (Cincinnati USA Chamber), Dennis Breen (regulatory and medical-writing consulting), Stephanie Hendrixson (Gardner Business Media), and Kathryn Lee (TiER1 Performance Solutions).
Ron Cole, a first-year graduate student in the program, was encouraged “to see how well the graduates of the program have done” and “impressed that so many of our alumni maintain a connection to the program.”
Sikes also commented on the value of students’ “seeing an engaged board attending after-hours events, which means that the alums truly care about the program and its continuing success.” Other board members who were graduates of other programs or schools contributed as well. “Helping to grow, and learn from, the next generation of Cincinnati Bearcats is an honor,” said Walburg (College-Conservatory of Music, ‘88).
Faculty member Laura Wilson updates advisory board members on the professional writing program.
During the academic year, board members will be interviewed by students and give guest lectures in classes. They’ll also share internship opportunities and help faculty find clients for experiential-learning projects.
“Our 13 board members represent a wide range of professional-writing work—from marketing and development to science and medical writing to instructional design,” said Rentz. “We’re serious about ‘keeping it real’ in our program, and our board plays an important role in that. Plus, they model good-humored professionalism for our students. They show that you can be serious about your work and still have a lot of fun.”
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