Writing Center
English
Parenzo Hall Room 46
Catherine Savini
Biography
In addition to teaching courses in the English Department, Catherine Savini runs the Writing Center and the Writing Across the Curriculum Program. She enjoys designing and leading professional development workshops at Westfield State and beyond on topics including WAC fundamentals, linguistic bias, rhetorical flexibility, digital storytelling, and generative AI.
Education
Ph.D., Department of English, New York University, May 2006
M.A., Department of English, New York University, May 2001
B.A., Department of English, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, May 1995
Courses Taught
ENGL 101: Composition 1
ENGL 109: Digital Storytelling
ENGL 301: Tutoring Writing
Areas of Research
Writing Center Studies
Writing Across the Curriculum
Publications
“We Can’t Ban AI, but We Can Friction Fix It.” Inside Higher Ed, 16 July 2025, InsideHigherEd.com, https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/teaching/2025/07/16/we-cant-ban-generative-ai-we-can-friction-fix-it-opinion. (Inside Higher Ed)
“Guest Feature: ‘Yes, and…’” AFTD Help & Hope, 27 Sept. 2024, https://www.theaftd.org/posts/help-and-hope/guest-feature-catherine-savini/
A Discipline Brief for Equity in English Composition. Research Review, Every Learner Everywhere, 1 June 2021, https://www.everylearnereverywhere.org/resources/a-discipline-brief-for-equity-in-english-composition.
“10 Ways to Tackle Linguistic Bias in Our Classrooms.” Inside Higher Ed, 26 Jan. 2021, https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2021/01/27/how-professors-can-and-should-combat-linguistic-prejudice-their-classes-opinion.
“From a Service-Learning to a Social-Change Model: Radically Rethinking Tutor Education.” Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, vol. 17, no. 1, 2019, https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/d9c47b18-0e12-4763-9cec-4bf1833a62e8/content. (University of Texas Repositories)
“Are You Being Rigorous or Just Intolerant? How to Promote Mental Health in the College Classroom.” The Chronicle of Higher Education, 4 May 2016, https://www.chronicle.com/article/are-you-being-rigorous-or-just-intolerant.
“How My Son Helps Me Hold Onto My Mom as Dementia Steals Her Away.” HuffPost Parents, 3 Mar. 2016, www.huffpost.com/entry/how-my-son-helps-me-hold-onto-my-mom-as-dementia-steals-her-away_56927fe9e4b0e4be2f2bdca5
“A Writing Retreat at the Intersection of WAC and Civic Engagement.” Community Literacy Journal, vol. 11, no. 1, 2016, pp. 157–63, https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/communityliteracy/vol11/iss1/16.
“An Alternative Approach to Bridging Disciplinary Divides.” WAC Clearinghouse / WAC Newsletter, 2011, https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/wln/v35/35.7-8.pdf.
“Looking for Trouble: Finding Your Way Into a Writing Assignment.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press/WAC Clearinghouse, 2011, pp. 52–70, https://open.library.okstate.edu/writingspacesatosu/chapter/catherine-savinis-looking-for-trouble-finding-your-way-in-to-a-writing-assignment.
