Mike Palmquist

Emeritus Professor of English

About

Biography

Mike Palmquist: Brief Description

Mike Palmquist is Emeritus Professor of English, Emeritus Associate Provost, and Emeritus University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Colorado State University. He joined the faculty at Colorado State University in 1990 and retired in 2024. Prior to returning to his role as a faculty member in the 2020-’21 academic year, he served for fourteen years in various university leadership roles, including founding director of the Institute for Learning and Teaching (TILT), director of CSU Online (CSU’s Division of Continuing Education), and Associate Provost for Instructional Innovation. His scholarly interests include writing across the curriculum, the effects of computer and network technologies on writing instruction, and new approaches to scholarly publishing.

His work has appeared in journals including College English, College Composition and Communication, ADE Bulletin, Computers and Composition, Kairos, Written Communication, Across the Disciplines, The WAC Journal, Journal of Writing Analytics, Writing Program Administration, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, and Social Forces, as well as in numerous edited collections. Since 1992, he has coordinated the development of Writing@CSU (writing.colostate.edu). Since 1997, he has served as founding editor and publisher of the WAC Clearinghouse (https://wac.colostate.edu), a publishing collaborative that provides open-access to more than 200 open-access scholarly books, more than 20 refereed journals, and a wide range of instructional and professional resources.

Palmquist is the author of several books, including the textbooks In Conversation, Joining the Conversation: Writing in College and Beyond, The Bedford Researcher, and Designing Writing, all published by Bedford/St. Martin's. He is co-author, with Kate Kiefer, Jake Hartvigsen, and Barbara Godlew, of Transitions: Teaching Writing in Computer-Supported and Traditional Classrooms, published in 1998 by Ablex, and co-author, with Don Zimmerman, of Writing with a Computer, published in 1999 by Allyn and Bacon.

Palmquist served as member-at-large of the executive board of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum from 2018 to 2021. He served as a trustee of the University Press of Colorado from 2015 to 2023 and as a member of the editorial boards of several journals. He served as chair of the National Council of Teachers of English College Section Steering Committee and as a member of the NCTE Executive Committee from 2009 to 2011. He served as chair of the NCTE College Section Steering Committee Working Group on the Status and Working Conditions of Contingent Faculty, whose policy statement and recommendations were endorsed by the NCTE Executive Committee and published on the NCTE website in 2010.

In 2024, he was named the Conference on College Composition and Communication's Exemplar, an award that honors an individual whose “years of service as an exemplar for our organization represent the highest ideals of scholarship, teaching, and service to the entire profession” (see an article in CSU's Source). In 2021, he was named Distinguished Fellow of the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum. In 2006, he was named Outstanding Technology Innovator by the CCCC Committee on Computers in Composition and Communication. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Charles Moran Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Field, awarded by Computers and Composition. And in 2000, he was named University Distinguished Teaching Scholar by Colorado State University.

Publications

Selected Recent Publications

Palmquist, M. (2024). The Bedford Researcher, 8th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin's. (7th edition 2021, 6th edition 2018, 5th edition, 2015; 4th edition, 2012; 3rd edition, 2009; 2nd edition, 2006; 1st edition, 2003) https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/product/The-Bedford-Researcher/p/1319245072

Mike Palmquist & Barbara Wallraff. (2023). Joining the Conversation: A Guide and Handbook for Writers, 5th Edition. Bedford/St. Martin's. (4th edition, 2020; 3rd edition, 2017; 2nd edition, 2015; 1st edition, 2010) https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/product/Joining-the-Conversation-A-Guide-and-Handbook-for-Writers/p/1319334946

Mike Palmquist & Barbara Wallraff. (2023). In Conversation: A Writer’s Guidebook, 3rd Edition. Bedford/St. Martin's.  (2nd edition, 2020; 1st edition, 2018) https://www.macmillanlearning.com/college/us/product/In-Conversation/p/1319157777

Mike Palmquist. (2023). Opening Up: Writing Studies’ Turn to Open-Access Book Publishing. In Paul M. Rogers, David R. Russell, Paula Carlino, & Jonathan M. Marine (Eds.), Writing as a Human Activity: Implications and Applications of the Work of Charles Bazerman (pp. 195-226). The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2023.1800.2.08

Mike Palmquist. (2022). Mike Rose: Insights from the Classroom. WPA: Writing Program Administration, 45(2), 105-111. https://wpacouncil.org/aws/CWPA/asset_manager/get_file/724421?ver=1

Mike Palmquist. (2022). Opening a New Chapter: Open-Access Publishing in Writing Studies. In Greg Giberson, Megan Schoen, & Christian Weisser (Eds.), Behind the Curtain of Scholarly Publishing: Editors in Writing Studies (pp. 118–138). Utah State University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2j86bfj.14

Mike Palmquist. (2021). WAC and Critical Thinking: Exploring Productive Relationships. In Bruce Morrison, Julia Chen, Linda Lin, & Alan Urmston (Eds.). English Across the Curriculum: Voices from Around the World (pp. 207-222). The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/INT-B.2021.1220.2.11

Martha A. Townsend, Terry Myers Zawacki, Mike Palmquist, & Julia Chen. (2021). The (Transnational) Past, Present, and Future of the Writing Across the Curriculum Movement. In Bruce Morrison, Julia Chen, Linda Lin, & Alan Urmston (Eds.). English Across the Curriculum: Voices from Around the World (pp. 311-329). The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.37514/INT-B.2021.1220.2.17

Mike Palmquist. (2020). A Middle Way for WAC: Writing to Engage. The WAC Journal, 31, 7-22. https://doi.org/10.37514/WAC-J.2020.31.1.01

Palmquist, Mike, Pam Childers, Elaine Maimon, Joan Mullin, Rich Rice, Alisa Russell, & David R. Russell. (2020). Fifty years of WAC: Where have we been? Where are we going? Across the Disciplines, 17(3/4), 5-45. https://doi.org/10.37514/ATD-J.2020.17.3.01

Palmquist, M. (2020). Learning Analytics in Writing Instruction: Implications for Writing Across the Curriculum. In Lesley Erin Bartlett, Sandra L. Tarabochia, Andrea R. Olinger, & Margaret J. Marshall (Eds.), Diverse Approaches to Teaching, Learning, and Writing Across the Curriculum: IWAC at 25 (pp. 53-70). The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado. https://wac.colostate.edu/books/perspectives/iwac2018

Palmquist, M. (2019). Directions in Writing Analytics: Some Suggestions. Journal of Writing Analytics, 3, 1-12. https://wac.colostate.edu/docs/jwa/vol3/palmquist.pdf

Palmquist, M. (2019). Open or Closed: Observations on Open-Access Publishers. In John R. Gallagher and Danielle Nicolle Devoss (Eds.), Explanation Points: Publishing in Rhetoric and Composition (pp. 199-205). Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press. https://upcolorado.com/utah-state-university-press/item/3701-explanation-points

Recent Keynote Addresses and Conference Presentations

“Writing to Engage: Using Writing Activities and Assignments to Support Student Learning, Engagement, and Critical Thinking.” Writing & Thinking Institute Conference at San Antonio College. San Antonio College. April 12, 2024.

“Writing to Engage.” Inaugural Shug Jordan Lecture. Auburn University, October 20, 2022.

“Coming together: Past and Present Efforts to Establish Professional Connections in WAC and EAC.” Opening plenary session. Presented at the 3rd International Conference on English Across the Curriculum, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, May 20, 2021. With Marty Townsend, Terry Myers Zawacki, and Julia Chen.

Palmquist, M. “Are We There Yet? Models for Open-Access Publishing and Open Education Resources in Writing Studies.” 18th Annual Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies Landmark Lecture. San Diego State University, October 10, 2019.

“Using Writing to Improve Student Learning, Critical Thinking, and Professional Skills.” Singapore Institute of Technology Faculty Retreat 2019: Communication in the Professions. Singapore, May 3, 2019. Keynote address.

“Engaging with WAC: Linking Writing, Critical Thinking, and Student Engagement.” North Carolina State University Campus Writing and Speaking Program, March 28, 2019.

“Writing, Engagement, and Critical Thinking: Using Writing to Enhance Student Learning.” University of Georgia, February 13, 2019.

“Pragmatics, Possibilities, and Potential Ethical Pitfalls: The Promise and Perils of Learning Analytics Writ Large.” 7th International Conference on Writing Analytics, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, January 26, 2019. Featured Address.

“Writing Across the Curriculum: Futures.” Hong Kong Polytechnic University. December 5, 2018. Closing plenary session with Marty Townsend, Terry Myers Zawacki, and Julia Chen.

“WAC and Critical Thinking: Exploring Productive Relationships.” 2nd International Conference on English Across the Curriculum. Hong Kong Polytechnic University. December 4, 2018. Opening Keynote.

“WAC and Critical Thinking: Enhancing Student Learning through Writing.” Valencia College Reading and Writing Conference 2017. Orlando, Florida. September 23, 2017. Keynote.