National Group Honors UTEP Educator for Impactful Book
Last Updated on April 04, 2021 at 12:00 AM
Originally published April 04, 2021
By Daniel Perez
UTEP Communications
The Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) announced recently that The University of Texas at El Paso’s Isabel Baca, Ph.D., had earned a 2021 CCCC Advancement of Knowledge Award for a book she edited that advanced writing studies.
Baca, an associate professor of English, received the honor for her work on “Bordered Writers: Latinx Identities and Literacy Practices at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.” The book explores how writing program faculty and administrators at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have transformed how writing is taught to be more inclusive and to foster Latinx student success.
The award honors an empirical research publication printed in the previous two years that advances writing studies. SUNY (State University of New York) Press issued the book in July 2019.
The CCCC, the major scholarly organization in the field of rhetoric and composition, will recognize Baca during the organization’s annual convention April 7-10, 2021. This year’s event will be virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is one of two people to receive this national award this year.
Baca said that this recognition comes at a very important point in her life as a scholar and professor of writing.
“To have my scholarship be recognized for advancing knowledge in the field of Rhetoric and Writing Studies confirms the validity of my work, its impact and its value,” Baca said. “I also hope this award represents how scholars in the field recognize the need to transform the teaching of writing to be more inclusive in order to foster Latinx student success.”
The UTEP educator said this book was significant because it addressed the need to transform how writing should be taught to be more inclusive to foster Latinx student success, and provided examples of how it can be done. She added that the award acknowledged the need and importance of such transformation, particularly at HSIs such as UTEP where 80% of its students are Latinx.
“This award represents the fight against the confined or restrictive, monolinguistic ideologies that continue to guide the teaching of writing and exist in the writing classrooms in higher education,” Baca said.
Brian Yothers, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of English, said that it was very exciting to see Baca be recognized by the CCCC.
“We in the Department of English are delighted to see her receive this prestigious recognition,” Yothers said.
Baca’s co-editors were Yndalecio Isaac Hinojosa, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, and Susan Wolff Murphy, Ph.D., associate professor of English. Both teach at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi.
The CCCC has a membership of more than 4,000 that supports and promotes the teaching and study of rhetoric, composition and communication skills in higher education. It is a constituent organization within the National Council of Teachers of English.
