PAU’s New Writing Studio Offers Services to Students, Faculty and Staff

  PAU welcomes Robert Randolph, Jr., PhD, the director of the new campus Writing Studio. The studio provides services and resources to PAU students, faculty and staff designed to support their unique writing needs both academically and professionally in the fields of counseling and psychology.   Randolph comes to PAU with more than 20 years of experience in administering university writing centers. He has held appointments at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, American University, Shaw University and most recently at North Carolina A&T State University.      In developing the PAU Writing Studio, Randolph’s vision is to help cultivate a culture of literacy and writing and all the aspects therein. His goal is to create a studio atmosphere that promotes creativity, collaboration, conversation, and experimentation.    “When it comes to writing, the studio is very much a space of collaboration and experimentation,” says Randolph. He plans to have open dialogues about what writing is, how we develop and progress as writers, and what’s on the horizon. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) has very much entered the conversation. “We must explore how this will impact the campus, and how it impacts writing instruction and pedagogy,” says Randolph.   The Writing Studio will have a physical presence in the campus library and will be staffed by student and faculty writing coaches. Randolph is in the process of recruiting and training primarily second and third-year PAU students to serve as coaches.     While coaching services will be available both on-line and in person, the first academic year will focus on providing services to students. Individuals will be able to schedule an initial 30-minute consultation to discuss one’s writing habits, practices, and attitudes.   “My experience is that initially a lot of students express anxiety about coming to the task of writing,” says Randolph. “Writing can appear to be a very high stakes task.  So, we will deal with this anxiety and where it comes from. I believe this is appropriate for a university that focuses on psychology and counseling,”   For more information about the studio, its programs, and services or to book an appointment visit The Writers Studio webpage.