Dear Colleagues,
The Consortium of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition (CDPRC) invites graduate students, faculty, program directors, and others invested in doctoral education to join our fall open meeting on Tuesday, November 17, at 7:00 p.m. CST.
Graduate Pedagogy and Doctoral Education in a Time of Transition
Tuesday, November 17, 2026
7:00–8:30 p.m. Central
Zoom: https://tcu.zoom.us/j/95938020598
As rhetoric, composition, and writing studies navigate changes to our disciplinary organizations and professional infrastructure, the CDPRC is continuing its work to strengthen doctoral education and support graduate students across programs and institutions. Our September Statement of Continuity and Commitment identified a central question to guide this work: What do doctoral programs and graduate students most need CDPRC to preserve, provide, or advocate for during this transition?
Our November meeting will take up this question through an open conversation about graduate pedagogy, mentoring, and professional preparation. We are especially interested in how doctoral programs are preparing graduate students for teaching and professional life; what opportunities for collaboration, professional development, and networking students need; and how changing institutional conditions are affecting graduate education.
We want to hear directly from graduate students as well as the faculty and administrators who work with them. The conversation will help establish CDPRC’s priorities for the coming year and identify opportunities for collaboration across programs.
Please share this invitation with graduate students and colleagues in your programs. All are welcome!
With kindest regards,
Executive Committee, Consortium of Doctoral Programs in Rhetoric and Composition
Brad Lucas, Chair, Texas Christian University
Dundee Lackey, Associate Chair, Texas Woman’s University
Lucía Durá, Assistant Chair, The University of Texas at El Paso
Alex Evans, At-Large Member, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College
Christie Toth, At-Large Member, The University of Utah
Louise Phelps, Cross-Generational Liaison, Old Dominion University
Tristan Beach, Graduate Student Representative, University of Nevada, Reno
Brad E. LucasAssociate Dean of Research & Graduate Studies
Professor of Rhetoric and Composition
TCU AddRan College of Liberal Arts