As discussed in the July 24, 2026, communication, NCTE’s Executive Committee authorized a CCCC Transition Team (CTT, previously named as the Transition Team for Writing Studies and Rhetoric) to provide support in the context of de-chartering CCCC. The originating document shared below has been agreed upon by the NCTE Presidential Team, the NCTE Executive Director, and the chair of the CTT. This is the first of ongoing updates regarding the Transition Team’s work. As the Transition Team’s work moves forward, future updates will be provided on this webpage.
Transition Update #1 August 2026
The NCTE Executive Committee voted on July 24 to de-charter the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), a conference of the larger organization. This is a challenging point in time for members of the Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies (WRCS) community. Because CCCC does not have independent financial or legal standing, the de-chartering essentially dissolved the conference and its associated governance structures. The work of the CTT is focused on providing a dedicated and time-bound group to support next steps for members of the WRCS community, both external and internal to NCTE. This update provides information about the future activities of the CTT, the scope and timeline of its activities, and goals for the work.
As chair of the CTT, my responsibility is to lead the group in cataloging the resources and materials produced during the long history of CCCC in order to identify what will continue to exist within NCTE and what can find a new, future home, including with other professional organizations and institutions or a new professional group that forms to provide an independent home for writing studies. The CTT’s scope, priorities, and goals can be reviewed in the originating document.
Work will begin immediately and conclude at the end of June 2027, unless further tasks are identified. We acknowledge how CCCC has functioned as our professional home. Our first priority will be to help provide answers and pathways for CCCC members who are feeling the urgency of next steps in their teaching, research, and service. Over the course of the specified period, members of the team will catalog resources and create a proposal process for new organizational homes for those that no longer fall under the scope of continued WRCS programming within NCTE. The CTT will also document outstanding member commitments and identify how to meet those commitments that can be fulfilled and document any that cannot. These are described in more detail in the originating document.
Transition Team members, listed below, have agreed to participate in this demanding and consequential work to help the field make sense of the implications of CCCC’s dissolution for the WRCS community. I am grateful to the colleagues who have agreed to provide leadership in service to the larger community in this moment of disciplinary uncertainty. They will serve as liaisons—with other organizations, with CCCC member groups, and with members of the profession. Some team members will also work to identify which activities or structures within NCTE might support professional programming that serves the majority of college writing teachers, offers pedagogical and career support, and benefits earlier career faculty.
Sincerely,
Holly Hassel, Professor and Director of First-Year Writing, Michigan Tech University (Team Chair)
Transition Team members
- Joanne Giordano, Assistant Associate Dean/WPA, Salt Lake Community College (TYCA Chair)
- David Green, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Writing, Howard University
- Erin Lehman, Professor of English, Ivy Tech Community College
- Teresa Lopez, Professor and Career Engagement Coordinator, Pellissippi State Community College
- Annie Mendenhall, Director of First-Year Composition, Kennesaw State University
- Emily Suh, Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Texas State University
- Shane Wood, Associate Professor and Director of First-Year Composition, Department of Writing and Rhetoric, University of Central Florida
- Staff Liaison: Kristen Ritchie, NCTE