A New Look for Writing and Communication at Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech’s writing program has a fresh look this Fall. 

To better serve the needs of the Georgia Tech community, the Writing and Communication Program (WCP), in partnership with the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC) and the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts, is broadening the mission of the Naugle Communication Center and changing the program’s organizational structure. 

The communication center will now be known as the Naugle Writing and Communication Center and expand its services to faculty and staff, in addition to its traditional student audience. 

The program will also now function as its own department within LMC — highlighting the crucial role of writing and communication in educating tomorrow’s leaders. 

While the program will retain its academic ties to the School, it will now report directly to the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts’ dean’s office on administrative and operational matters, such as faculty affairs, finance, human resources, facilities, and information technology. 

The program will also gradually transition several Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow positions to full-time lecturer positions. That change should help improve continuity and provide for better mentorship opportunities, said Melissa Ianetta, Class of 1958 Professor in Communication and executive director of writing and communication.

“These changes reflect our commitment to fostering a culture of strong communication across the Institute, affirm the vital role of writing and communication in the liberal arts, and position the program to further contribute to College and Institute-wide initiatives,” Ianetta said. 

The Writing and Communication Program offers courses, faculty training, and support services to help members of the Georgia Tech community communicate clearly and effectively in any setting. It is also the home of approximately 45 Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellows — instructors who teach many of the first-year writing courses at Georgia Tech. 

The Communication Center provides drop-in support for students — and now faculty and staff — seeking to improve their writing, polish presentations, or learn ways to ease the anxiety of public speaking engagements. 

LMC Chair Kelly Ritter said the changes will help elevate the profile of writing instruction at Georgia Tech at a crucial time, with students and faculty alike navigating with the promise and peril of communicating in the age of AI. 

“This transition will bring greater attention to writing research and pedagogy in the WCP as it benefits students of all majors at the Institute, and also faculty teaching writing in their own courses,” Ritter said. “It also will allow the expert faculty in the WCP a stronger collective voice in shared governance, including the advent of any future initiatives to help sustain and grow writing-related efforts across campus.” 

The changes follow an update to the program’s curriculum for first-year students rolled out last year. Those changes emphasized more research, idea synthesis, and revised writing.