Doubling Our Chances: Co-Directing a Writing Program

"Which one of you wants to chair the writing department?" These were some of the first words that each of us heard from a somewhat apologetic dean only days after we were hired as assistant professors at Metropolitan State University. The university had just undergone a large expansion of the full-time faculty because of an enrollment bulge; as a result, many brand new faculty were called upon to run departments and act in other administrative roles. When we heard that we were two of the lucky candidates for such a role, our reaction was mixed. On the one hand, we were thrilled that our new university home was about to create a bonafide department of writing, separate from the English Department and as autonomous as any \ll1it in the college. On the other hand, we were skeptical about the prospect of walking into an administrative job as untenured faculty. We had both done administrative work as graduate students, and we knew that writing program administrators, whether department chairs or program directors, face enormous political and professional challenges. In short, neither of us wanted the job. We quickly conferred with each other and with tenured. faculty whom we trusted and decided. that the only solution was to co-chair the department. At the time, we thought of this as a temporary arrangement that would evolve into a more traditional administrative structure as we accustomed ourselves to the institution. Almost five years later, however, our co-chairing structure not only endures, but thrives. In fact, by sharing the duties of writing program administrator, we have been able to avoid or overcome many of the political quagmires and professional pitfalls that plague WPAs.