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About the Center for Academic Excellence & Writing Center

Our Mission

Our faculty teach students to think critically about their writing and learning. Through individualized consultation, supplemental instruction, and the humanities, we foster collaborative learning and effective, compassionate communication.

Our Faculty & Staff

Jennie Ariail, PhD

Professor Emerita
ariailjc@musc.edu

Interests: teaching adult learners; role of affect in writing and learning; preparing students for certifying/national board exams; writing instruction; scientific and technical communication

Tom G. Smith, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Center for Academic Excellence & Writing Center
Professor

Phone: 843-792-2790
smithtg@musc.edu

Interests: science and technical writing; high-stakes certifying and board exams; genre studies; writing and interprofessional identity; composition; rhetoric; writing and healing; health education specialist role

Lisa Kerr, Ph.D.

Director, Office of Humanities
Professor
kerli@musc.edu

Interests: health humanities; narrative medicine; writing and health; literature and medicine; patients as educators

Kasey Larson, MA

Director, Supplemental Instruction
Instructor
larsokas@musc.edu

Interests: Learning strategy development for future health professionals; (Near) peer-to-peer learning; Generative AI for education; English for health professionals; Professional development in health education

Michelle Cohen, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
cohenmi@musc.edu

Interests: Writing pedagogy; multimodal composition; visual rhetoric & design; writing style; writing center theory

Natalie Rose Thompson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
thonatal@musc.edu

Interests:  Writing center theory and practice; scientific communication and academic genres; overcoming writing resistance; motivation, learning habits, & the writing process; narrative theory.

Ismaeil Fazel, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
fazel@musc.edu

Interests: Scholarly writing & communication; Rhetorical & linguistic genre analysis; Implications of Generative AI for academic writing; Evidence synthesis; Educational assessment & measurement

Christy Huggins

Business Manager and Administrative Coordinator

Ph: 843-792-6390
hugginsc@musc.edu

Tara Edwards

Program Coordinator and Data & Operations Specialist

Phone: 843-792-8071
edwardsh@musc.edu

Contact the Center for Academic Excellence & Writing Center

James W. Colbert Education Center & Library
171 Ashley Ave, Rm 408
PO Box 250172
Charleston, SC 29425-8908

Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:00 pm

Phone: 843-792-6390

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