Jenny Spinner, PhD
Professor of English
Director of the Writing Center
Merion 114
610-660-3272
About
Mission
The Writing Center offers free assistance to writers in the Saint Joseph’s community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Our goal is to meet writers where they are in their writing journey, wherever they are, and to help them where they want to go, wherever that may be. We are big-picture people, more focused on that journey than on a single writing moment, though we take seriously those moments, those papers and poems and Powerpoint presentations and personal statements, with which writers entrust us along the way.
Because we are a Writing Center at a Jesuit institution, we are also guided by ideals of the Jesuit liberal arts education in general, and the Jesuit rhetorical tradition in particular. Together, cura personalis (“care for the whole person”), eloquentia perfecta (“perfect eloquence”), and social justice form the backbone of our service to the Saint Joseph’s University writing community. We promise to treat our writers with care and respect, to help them identify the best strategies to achieve rhetorical success, while also honoring language rights, and to commit ourselves fully to those we serve in our work as writing center administrators, tutors, and reception staff.
We recognize that writing is a life-long adventure, unique to each writer, including those who are learning to write in two or more languages, who face physical disabilities or learning challenges, who are plagued by perfectionism, malaise, frustrations, anxieties, and/or pressures that may be invisible to others. We welcome all, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion.
Anti-Racism Statement
Dedicated to a mission of social justice, and in line with the university’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,, the Writing Center strives to foster an inclusive environment free from discrimination. As a community that values solidarity, the Writing Center welcomes and supports all writers.
Writing Center staff provide assistance that does not tolerate bigotry or hate speech in any form of writing or conversation. We train tutors in anti-racist writing pedagogies in order to create a safe and comfortable environment for all students, especially people of the global majority. We encourage one another to acknowledge our biases and those ingrained in institutions of higher learning—which are historically designed to favor their most privileged members—and to speak up and out about injustices.
While we offer writing feedback according to the expectations of the university’s academic environment, we do not regard Standard Academic English as the only acceptable mode of discourse and support writers using their own language and voice in their writing.
All writers we work with have something to teach us, as both a writer and as an individual. We are listening.
Hours and Locations
Our online scheduler shows our full availability, including finals week.
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Monday - Thursday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Friday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.Our main center, located in room 162, is tucked into an alcove near the vending machines on the first floor of Merion Hall. We’re near a set of doors that lead into the atrium, the elevator, and the Merion Hall print station.
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Tuesday - Thursday 5 - 8 p.m.
Our UCity location is in the ARC, to the left of the reception desk near the back entrance to the building. The Writing Center shares a central check-in area with HawkHUB in room 206. Writers meet with tutors in room 207.
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Sunday - Thursday 5 - 8 p.m
In our Post Learning Commons satellite location, we greet writers in room 128, then send them out with their tutors to tables in the nearby cafe. Room 128 is just to the left, near the computers, as you enter through the gates.
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Saturday 12 - 2 p.m.
Our location at the Wynnefield Library serves walk-in appointments only and is open to all members of the St. Joe’s community and surrounding neighborhoods. It is located at 5325 Overbrook Ave., across from Hagan Arena, on the corner of Overbrook Ave. and 54th St.
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Sunday - Saturday
Submit a writing assignment and receive asynchronous feedback within 24 hours.
Employment
Are you interested in working at the Writing Center? We offer a variety of positions from tutoring to reception for students looking for an on campus job whether they are eligible for Federal Work Study or not.
Meet the Staff
Meet the staff members that make up the Writing Center.
Contact Us
For assistance with appointments or for general information, please contact the Writing Center during business hours.
Main Center:
Merion 162
Phone: (610) 660-1341
PLC Satellite:
Post Learning Commons 128
Phone: (610) 660-1920
You can also send an email to writingcentersju@gmail.com, but please note that for urgent matters, it is best to call.
For all other inquiries, please contact the director.