GOOD NEWS: CofC offers new digital writing program, more

Staff reports  |  The College of Charleston’s English department recently introduced a new minor and concentration in Writing, Rhetoric and Publication (WRP) to guide students on how to write in the digital age.

“Writing is at the center of professional, public and everyday life,” said English professor Jacob Craig, who directs the new program.  “We use our phones to write for our own purposes and audiences. And in doing so, we produce writing in alphabetic text, yes, but we also make and share texts that include visuals, sound and moving images, too. And we share those texts publicly and even globally with networked audiences. That’s why today’s writers must be both practiced and flexible, able to adapt to the demands of different writing media, different writing environments and the expectations of different audiences.”

Courses included in the WRP minor and concentration address three areas of study: writing and rhetorical studies; digital and technical writing; and editing, style, and production. Through these areas of study, WRP students will gain experience doing everything from document design to editing to writing to designing for the web to search engine optimization to sound, image and video editing, and much more.

“Regardless of the field a student anticipates working in, clear, persuasive written communication is a tremendously valuable skill, and depending on your particular field, persuasive written communication can look and function differently than the writing people normally do for school or at home,” Craig said in a press release. “That’s why WRP focuses on the study and practice of writing to give students the knowledge and skills they need to write in unfamiliar or even unrealized contexts.”

Craig cited studies indicating that 75 percent of employers report looking for employees with strong written communication skills. Those same studies say that employers rank writing as the third most desirable skill behind leadership and collaboration.

“Our program will help students develop engaging content for audiences,” Craig said, “including audio, video and photographic elements as well as text. In addition, they’ll learn to work fluently in data visualization, creating infographics, diagrams, flow charts and more. One of the most desirable skills in the workplace at the moment is designing for the user interface, which includes knowing the most effective ways to display information on devices and in print.”

To help raise awareness about this new program, Craig maintains a blog and social media accounts for the program. Additional information and details about the kinds of jobs and internships that the WRP minor and concentration prepare students to compete for can be found on the blog page and the WRP program web page.

In more recent Good News:

Big gift.  Hats off to Nucor Corp. for its $2.5 million pledge – half in cash and half as an in-kind donation of steel – to go toward construction of the new International African American Museum in Charleston.  “We are proud to play a role in creating the International African American Museum, which will bring people together and forge compassion, empathy and understanding across people of all races and ethnicities,” said John Ferriola, Nucor’s chairman, CEO and president.  “With this gift, we hope to help the museum build a bridge between the past and the future by presenting critical chapters of American history.”

Homestead exemption campaign.  The office of County Auditor Peter Tecklenburg is contacting citizens who are eligible for a homestead tax exemption who don’t appear to be enrolled.  Some 4,000 county residents may not be taking advantage of the tax-saving opportunity.  “We believe we are one of the first counties in the state to take on this challenge,” Tecklenburg said. “I often speak with citizens who don’t know what tax saving potential is available to them and we decide it’s time to contact people directly.” To learn more, check out the homestead exemption form here.

Hat tip to Fisher.  Congratulations to Holly Fisher, CEO and founder of Fisher Creative, for being named 2019 Marketer of the Year at the American Marketing Association’s Charleston Spark Awards earlier this month.  “I’ve been so fortunate to work with incredible clients and colleagues over the years. I’m grateful to AMA Charleston for recognizing my efforts with this amazing award,” she said.

Offshore drilling halted indefinitely. The Trump Administration is backing off its plan to open Atlantic waters to offshore oil and gas testing after facing a setback in court over opening drilling in the Arctic. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told The Wall Street Journal this week that the plans are sidelined indefinitely. The move earned praise from Republicans and Democrats alike in South Carolina — but U.S. Rep.  Joe Cunningham, D-Charleston, tweeted that the “fight is far from over.” He is pushing for a law to enforce a ban in exploring and drilling for oil in the Atlantic. Read more. Coastal Conservation League Executive Director Laura Cantral said Thursday: “Let’s settle this debate once and for all. Congress should move quickly to pass Representative Joe Cunningham’s permanent ban on dangerous offshore drilling in Atlantic waters and off South Carolina’s coast.”