When I arrived at Urbana Champaign in 1990, Gail took me over to, I think it was the Student Union. And I think after we had lunch, she brought me in front of a terminal, and as I recall it was a Unix-based email system. And she sat down and began to compose an email. And I watched her and she said, "Watch me do this, Joe." And at one point she said, "OK, now I'm going to send it." And she hit a button. And I looked at the screen, and as I recall, the email was still on the screen in that system. It's a fuzzy recollection, it's been 20 years. And I said "Where is it, Gail?" And she goes, "I sent it." I said, "But Gail, where is it?" And she laughed. And I think I've been dealing with that particular metaphysical quandary now for two decades :"Where am I? Where is it?" Well earned. Congratulations, for your retirement, Gail. And honestly, I don't see you as a person who can possibly rest on your many laurels. So keep on keeping on.

Hello, my name is Dickie Selfe, and I hate doing these talking head videos. But I'll do almost anything for Gail. So I've known Gail since about 1980 when she started working with my wife. And she's always been the most supportive person in my academic world, really. And that's mainly because she's just very interested your work. And she'll ask you about it and talk about it, and she's very smart, so she pays attention and gives great suggestions. So I love her for that. She's also a builder. She's just—next to Cindy—those two are just incredible community-builders. The best that I know of. And one thing I want to talk about today is how adventurous she is. Because with Cindy, she'll go out and find conferences for us and to attend. And then she'll invite me and her wonderful husband Tom, who's a ceramics engineer, along with them, and we'll go off to various places to give talks. Like we're just back from St. Petersburg in Russia. We've been to Sydney, Australia; Beijing, China; Nottingham, England and even Cairo, Egypt. So I would be much less of a knowledgable or international person if it hadn't been for Gail.

Gail, we have to talk. This is no time for retirement.

Congratulations, Gail, on this occasion. May your retirement prove to be every bit as rewarding as you deserve. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your generous manner, for sort of your kindness, and really for your leadership, for being someone who has really just made a profound impact on the field. For that I'm tremendously grateful. While I've got you here, Gail, do you happen to know where the settings are in Photobooth for restoring defaults? I messed around with the special effects, and I can't seem to get things back to the way they should be.

Hi Gail. It's Hugh Burns. I'd like to introduce you to Nubby. He's our mascot at Texas Woman's University, for the work we do in literacy in our Writing Center. He's based on lots of things that you taught us over the years about writing, about computing. So, happy retirement from deep in our hearts in Texas. We'll be watching you, Nubby and I and all the women here. God speed.

You know I could talk about the influence Gail Hawisher's work has had on my own work, the role it played in my dissertation, several of my publications, or the fact that I teach probably at least one of her articles every year in one of my graduate semiars. But I think the memory that's going to stick with me the most was at the Watson Conference, must have been 2002 or 2004. It was the end of the conference, at the dance, and I don't even know how this happened, but somehow it came out that I know how to swing dance, and Gail knew how to swing dance. And next thing I know, I am swinging with Gail Hawisher. It was like dancing with the stars. It was one of my favorite memories of any conference, and it was a very special moment for me. Made me feel like I was really entering a community of scholars, and it was a lot of fun for me. So Gail, I hope you have a wonderful retirement, and thank you for all the work you've done, and the impact you've had on people like me. And thanks for the dance. If you're ever ready to cut a rug, I'm down in Florida. Look me up.

Thank you Gail, for influencing how I think about technology and writing. And I especially thank you for being a major influence early on in my career. In about 2002 you accepted Writing about Cool, an early piece I wrote for Computers and Composition, and obviously that was the beginning of a train of thinking that eventually led to some other publications and a book of mine. And I know that I would not have happened without your influence and ability to reach out to a graduate student trying to work out some ideas. I'm glad to know you and I wish you all the best.

Well, first of all Gail Hawisher was my dissertation director when I was a graduate student at the University of Illinois, 1998-2002. And I don't think I was her star pupil, but I think that she took a bemused and compassionate interest in my scholarly endeavor. But in general, Gail was an excellent role model for me, and I credit her for teaching me what it means to be feminist teacher-scholar. And I had an opportunity to think about this a little bit more, because last February I was in Champaign, to give a talk, and it was freezing cold, very pleasant day for a walk, but nevertheless, I went for a walk and I was walking around Champaign, and I was extremely nostalgic, and I was actually thinking that my four years in Champaign were some of the best in my life. which seems a little dorky, since I was in graduate school, but I really think that what made it great is the way that Gail nurtured us but she also allowed us to be creative. And if anyone who knows me, I'm kind of an ambivalent scholar and the idea of not having fun while I write, or not experimenting when I write was starting to turning me off from the abstract of academe. So Gail taught me that I didn't need to compromise myself as a teacher or a scholar. I could be myself, and it was the best advice she gave me. So I think that academe will be all the poorer when she leaves, but I hope that she can be happy to know that she taught us well and we'll carry the torch. So good luck Gail, and I hope to see you around. And I hope that you don't leave the field entirely and you continue on in the projects that you're passionate about.

Gail Hawisher is inventive. I first met Gail, I think, when we were at University of Illinois, and I was a graduate student and Gail was a graduate student. But she was a much more advanced graduate student, I was at the beginning of my graduate student career, and she was finishing her PhD. And apparently, the University of Illinois got all these IBM computers, and nobody knew what to do with them. Well, that didn't stop Gail. She very quickly figured out something to do with them, and I was very grateful she asked me to be involved in the pilot. We were already teaching a summer bridge, so we were able to take and use those computers with that group of students. And that was really exciting, because usually what happens in a pilot is all the quote "gifted" or "honors" students have the first shot at something new, and at the University of Illinois it happened in a quite different way, and we have Gail to thank for that.

Hi Gail, Stuart Selber here. I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate you on your retirement, and to thank you for everything you've done for me and for the field. Really, I mean, where would we be without you? So enjoy your retirement, which I'm sure will involve computers and writing and the 4 C's and a lot more scholarship. But thanks again for everything, and congratulations.

Hi Gail, it's Jonathan Alexander here, wishing you the very best in your retirement. It's been a real privilege to know and to work with you over the past several years. I certainly remember the first time we sat down together, many years ago, I think it was at the Computers and Writing Conference when it was in Normal, Illinois, and I wanted to talk with you and Cindy about my a book project, Digital Youth. You were very encouraging, though I distinctly remember you asking "Have you migrated to this field?" Somehow you knew that I had made the transition from being a literary theorist to compositionist, but were no less welcoming, and I appreciate that. Again, take care, a real pleasure to have worked with you, and I hope you stay in touch.

Gail and I were both hired at the University of Illinois in 1990, and we worked together and collaborated together for the better part of nine years that I was there. She was a wonderful mentor and a great colleague. But one of the things that I think that people perhaps don't know about Gail's contribution to my early professional career is the role that she played in getting me started working with the journal Across the Disciplines. I remember that it was 1993 that Gail came into my office and said that she'd been contacted by a woman by the name of Sharon Quiroz, who was one of the directors of the Writing Program at the University of Michigan. Sharon wanted to start a brand new journal devoted to writing across the curriculum, and Gail, of course, was very heavily invested with the journal Computers and Composition and couldn't be involved perhaps as much as she would have wanted to under other circumstances. But she came into my office, and since she and I had been working on a writing across the curriculum program at Illinois, she said that she thought I should contact Sharon, and the two of us should work together collaboratively to get this journal started. And as many of you know, this was something we did succesfully, initially as a print journal--the first issue came out in 1994-- and it's continued as an online journal all the way up until the present time. And if it hadn't been for Gail coming into my office that day and actively mentoring me and telling me that I should get involved, I never would have gotten involved in starting this journal and continuing as its editor. So I want to thank you Gail, for that, as well as for many other things. The times you volunteered articles that you'd asked to write and suggested that the two of us work collaboratively. I thought that was a very generous offer. And for all the many professional aspects of support that you've given me and personal ways that you've supported me over the years, and especially for your friendship, Gail. Thank you for that, and have a happy retirement.

Hi Gail, and greetings from Michelle Sidler in Auburn, Alabama. First, much thanks for creating such a welcoming community that you've been a big leader and a part of. The computers and writing community has been my professional home for over ten years, and I couldn't ask for more supportive and warm colleagues and friends. I especially want to thank you for the mentorship and kindness you you've given me in my own research. You and Cindy were role models and facilitators, especially when I came to you with a crazy scheme to create a computers and writing anthology. That helpfulness and that kindness made that project happen. I want to wish you good luck in your retirement and I hope you enjoy it. Take care.

I applied to the PhD program at the University of Illinois because I had read and admired Gail's work and I wanted the opportunity to learn from one of the leading scholars in the field. However, it wasn't until I asked her to direct my dissertation project that I realized that I wasn't just gaining a fabulous teacher, but also a dedicated and really caring mentor. One moment in particular stands out in my memory and sums up, I think, what Gail's meant to so many graduate students over the course of her career. Let's just say mine was not the easiest dissertation to direct. I suffered from great writing anxiety and I second-guessed my project at several points throughout the process, and needed a lot of reassurance. During one of our many meetings, I was probably at a really low point. I was in the middle of job applications, and I was worried about what I was doing to my family, whether it was the right thing to drag my husband across the country for a job, whether or not it was a good thing for me to be moving so far away from my parents who were going to need me more and more as they got older. I was really focused on these things, and Gail was able to refocus my energies back on my project. And she assured me that I needed to focus on the fact that I had something important to offer the field, and I shouldn't lose sight of that. And at the end of the meeting, as I stood and gathered my things to leave, she stepped forward and she hugged me, the way that a concerned family member would. And Gail, you might not remember that moment, but I always will remember that moment. You always treated those of us in the writing studies program like family. You supported us when we needed it, you never doubted our abilities to succeed, and you weren't afraid to give us a kick in the ass when we needed it either. Your scholarship and your caring has opened the door for so many women to enter the field of computers and composition. And the spirit of the field has been increased a hundred fold by your great work, and and we are very lucky.

I met you Gail during one of those serendipitous moments that happen at 4C's. I was in line for lunch, alone. Unusual. Got to the front of the line, the hostess said "I can seat you more quickly if you're willing to have lunch with the people who are in line behind you." So I turned around, asked, and met you. I can't remember who you were with. You'll probably remember. But in any case, we had a wonderful lunch. And at the end of that lunch, I knew not only that I loved your work from the early issues of Computers and Composition, but also that you would be a force in the field. When Cindy asked me, I think it was about a year later, if you would be a good choice to replace me as editor or co-editor of Computers and Comp, I was delighted. I thought it was a great plan. And you have really proved that to be true. Your work has been absolutely influential in terms of expanding the readership of the journal, of giving us international presence, bringing in really great new people to the field, especially with the invited editors for special issues, It's been truly remarkable, and I felt wonderful about leaving the journal in such good hands.

(laughter)

I don't know. Nothing left. It's all about assessment. Nothing funny right now. This has been such a wonderful institute. And of course we've had wonderful teachers. But I like to think that we're getting better and better at this every year. I remember on the interview night, or afternoon, I was so nervous. But once we sat around the table and introduced ourselves, Gail spoke up right away about sports. Well, as you can see, I'm a big sports nut, so I knew I'd be right at home, even though I was elementary, I would be at home in this class. And I sure have felt it and I felt like we've become a family. So thank you Gail.

Not only am I a writer, but I'm a mom. I'm a writer too. Oh, I can't. Not only am I a writer. I'm also a student.

I first met Gail when I came to interview for the Writing Project. And I was late, and I parked in the wrong parking garage, and it was pouring down rain, and I came in soaking wet, and the only chair was right next to Gail. And when I sat down, she said "Oh, we have water over there." And I said, "I think I've had enough."

(music)

One of my memories about Gail is attending my first Computers and Writing Conference. And as I walked around, people would be like, "Oh there's Gail," and it was just amazing, like I kind of thought, 'I know her.' And it felt really good to know her and I'm really glad that I've had the chance to know her. She's such an amazing mentor, really. I remember two things about this year at the institute together with Gail. One is that we had to take very serious instructions about snacks. Snacks were very important, and she made it clear to everybody that she really liked nuts.

(laughter)

One of the things that I really appreciate about you Gail is that not only do you possess a tremendous amount of knowledge about the subject of writing, but you are so able to bring all of us in and make sure all of us are a part of it and really warm and welcoming. And that has been really a positive thing for me, being a non-writer, not part of something like this before. So, thank you very much. Gail, you know that I was always interested in the Writing Project and how enthusiastic I was to come in. I'm glad that there was a short time period between when I found out I was in the Writing Project and I actually met you, because if you've learned anything about me the last three years is that if I learn a name wrong I say it wrong time. So you would still be Gail HAwisher. You're not the only one though, I did say, I would say DecaTUR for a very long time until my father explained to me that it was DeCAtur. He said "For Pete's sake, Judy, it's DeCAtur." I also wanted to thank you for being an English major because I love talking to English majors, and you're a great one to talk to. I also really love your parentheticals (says Judy missing you already).

We couldn't have done any of this without Gail. This is something that Gail has wanted to do for a long time and we're finally able to put it all together and pull it off. And I think if there's anything that you're a little bit concerned about, it's just keeping things going over the years. within the university and making it work for all these wonderful teachers.

I'm a writer. Hi, my name is Patty, and I'm a writer. And I'm a Spanish teacher, and I'm a friend of a bunch of great new people. Gail, I can't believe my luck in getting you as a mentor this year the Writing Program. Your spirit and your spunk truly adds to the Program. You have been a fabulous Iron Chef to study under, and me as a sous writer have been lucky that you've left some lasting memories with me. Thank you very much. The thing I remember and admire most about Gail is how supportive she's been to everyone in the Project, especially after all my technical difficulties in my presentation. She found the time to stop by and said I did a great job, helped me feel a little bit better about my feelings.

Hi Gail, thank you so much for being my dissertation committee, and looking forward to your nice words, and I guess I will see you around next year, and hopefully you can come back after that. Gail is just the most wonderful person. I have never heard her say anything that wasn't nice. She's very positive when she gives you a recommendation.

Anyone who can organize this fantastic program is obviously a wonderful person just for doing that. I just felt so welcome at the Writing Project and I'm just glad that I've gotten to know her and hope that I continue to know her even after she's retired. So, don't be a stranger.

My favorite Gail moment of the Institute actually happened on the first day when we did the visual reperesentation of writing processes and two of the four people that came to the front used images and technology in their presentation. And I thought, 'This is going to be a good group for Gail's last Institute.' Jen was telling a story tonight about how we were in some classroom, and Gail said to her "Oh yeah, you used to sit right here." And she and Stephanie were talking about just how many little things she remembered of them from that class. And I think that Gail is a big part of why the Summer Insitute works so well is that she remembers so many little things about people. She always asks about Cattle Man. And she just makes it fun. There were too many Gail moments to narrow them down to just one or two. But I remember also we had our first group discussion with the whole group, and someone turned the book over and said "Oh look, Gail is cited here." And Gail just said "Oh stop, you make me feel silly."

Gail, my strongest recollection and best recollection of the whole experience that I've had here had to do with you and how warm you were the first day, how inviting you were. I felt somewhat like a foreigner as a science teacher, and the fact that you were warm so inviting, and the fact that you remember I was from Green Bay really sticks out in my mind.

Hi Gail. One of the best memories I have of you during this institute is meeting you in the bathroom every day, more than once a day. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I thought that was really interesting, how we always met in the bathroom at the sime time, almost every single day, a few times a day. So you and I had some good laughs about that, so that's one of the best memories I have. Gail my favorite moment with you, besides having you as a teacher in my undergrad at U of I, actually came not during the Institute, but right before the Institute, when I was interviewing. And I didn't think I was a writer, and I'm still not sure if I'm a writer, but you remembered me in your class, and even though you had all these other students. And it meant a lot, and I was very excited going to the Institute. And then of course, all throughout the institute, you were wonderful as well.

One of the earliest memories I have of Gail is during the interview process she went around and she had everyone introduce themselves and talk about where they were from. And it just so happened that Patrick and I were sitting next to each other, and made the New York connection. And I'm like, "Oh there's someone who actually pays attention to what someone is saying and validates your feelings by recognizing where you're from." So that was one of the things that you know, made me think, 'Wow, here is this person who is really cool and really validates your experiences.' Gail, thank you much for being part of the summer insitute. It was been a wonderful experience, and I've enjoyed being able to work with you. I remember not being sure if the summer institute was something that I really wanted to do. And then I went to the interview and was sitting there, and not only did you remember my name, but you also remembered what class I took with you and where I sat. I knew that I wanted to be part of a program where someone took so much time and care to kind of know her students. So thanks again, and congratulations on your retirement. We always say that writing is social, but this institute has shown me just how social writing can really be. And Gail, it's been a pleasure being on Tweet-deck with you. Well, when you're out and about and having all your adventures, when you run into some Columbians, make sure to Twitter so that I can come find you.

NANCY BARRON: Did we bring Gail to the Crater? SYBELLE GRUBER: I don't think we did. We went to the Grand Canyon and to Sedona. NB: I think she'd like it here. SG: I think so too. It's actually days like this when I remember that I owe it all to Gail. She convinced me not to do literature. NB: African American literature. SG: African American literature, where I would never have gotten a job anywhere. And now I'm here in this beautiful place. NB: Wasn't it Gail that got you to see that Americans weren't just one big blob. SG: That is actually so true. She made sure that I would understand U.S. diversity. CLEOPATRA MARIE: You often come up during table conversations. NB: And when I asked Sybille, "Give me one word that describes Gail." SG: Mighty. TADAO: So who's that lady you were talking about? SG: She's about like this, but she's mighty. She was my dissertation advisor. T: When did you meet her? SG: Well, I met her when I worked in the computer lab. She let me work there. T: You know what computers are? T: She sounds like an awesome person. T (under his breath): Sure thing. LORENA: Is she a Navajo, or? SG & CM: No, Navajos always think that the mighty are Navajo. SG: She probably is in her heart. T: Hope someday I can meet Gail. L: Short and mighty. SG & NB: Congratulations Gail! SG: And thanks for everything. NB: Here's hoping that your future paths lead you back to Flagstaff. SG: See you soon.

Unknown Voice (calling distantly): Help... help me... help me Mighty Mouse... (music fades in) Black Lodge Singers (sung): Is it a bird? No! Is it a plane? No! Oh my gosh it's Mighty Mouse! (vocal singing) Black Lodge Singers (sung): Is it a bird? No! Is it a plane? No! Oh my gosh it's Mighty Mouse! (vocal singing, fades out)

So I first met Gail when I was a young graduate student at Michigan Tech. I was helping with the summer instititue CWIC, and I knew she was coming. At that point, having read just one year's worth of grad school scholarship, most people I read that I really respected were rock stars to me, until I met them, at which point they became sadly human. Gail, whose work I greatly admired, was a rock star, and I was about to meet her. I still remember the first time I saw her. She was walking down the hallway of the Walker Building at Michigan Tech, and she had the best posture and she had the best clothes. And I quickly hid in a classroom to avoid introducing myself to her because I was that shy and because I respected her that much. Later that day, still having successfully avoided introducing myself, I was giving a workshop on HTML, and you'll never guess who came. Gail Hawisher came to my session. And she stayed the whole time. And afterward she came up to me, said I did a great job, and introduced herself. Since that time, Gail Hawisher has remained a rock star to me, but an accessible and encouraging one. When I see her at conferences --and this meant a lot when I was a graduate student-- she always remembered my name, she always gives me hug, and she always has incredibly encouraging words that kind of make me feel like I can keep going at this gig. So while I'm going to deeply miss Gail's active presence in our field, and while I to this day miss Gail making us break out of CWIC sessions in order to do yoga, --she's quite good at it, by the way-- Gail, I am certain, will remain a rock star in our field. Thank you so much Gail.

Kathy Yancey: Hi. Kristie Fleckenstein: Hi. KY: So this is Kristie Fleckenstein. KF: And this is Kathy Yancey. KY: And we're here of course to talk about Gail, Gail Hawisher that is. How did you know Gail? KF: I met Gail in the summer of 1988 when I took my first class with her and my first class in technology. And both were eye-opening experiences. KY: From which you've never recovered. KF: Never recovered. (laughter) KF: In true fan-girl fashion, when I met Gail I decided, This is exactly what I wanted to be when I (laughter) grew up, which is funny because I'm older than Gail. (laughter) But she gave me a mark to strive for and while my reach might have exceded my grasp, she always encouraged me. She was on my dissertation committee, and I cannot begin to count the number of ways in which she has supported my career. And how did you meet Gail? KY: I actually, this is really funny, because we didn't know each other then, you and I, and I knew Gail just after you did. And I was finished, but I was a staffer at Purdue, and Gail had joined us, and she was just there for one year actually, but she was so gracious to me, and not everybody always was, given the status that I did or did not have. And she just was very kind and very helpful, and then a couple of years later, she and Cindy were both very kind and helpful, because they were editing Computers and Composition, and Brian Huot and I were founding Assessing Writing, and we were all publishing with ABLEX, and there are many stories there, none of which we can tell right now. (laughter) And then since then she and Cindy asked me to edit Computers and Composition, and it's just been, sometimes it's planned, when I get to see Gail, and sometimes it's spontaneous, but it's always wonderful. And what we wanted to say together is that we're delighted to help celebrate Gail's career. We're sorry to see that she's leaving teaching, we imagine that her students are especially sorry, but we're delighted that she's not leaving the field. And so we'll look forward to seeing her. Congratulations on your retirement, Gail. Although retirement is the wrong word because, knowing you, you'll be just as busy as ever with your leadership and your scholarship in writing studies and in the field of computers and writing Thank you for all of your incredible work, for what you've done to establish the computers and writing community to provide foundational and cutting-edge scholarship that has helped all of us grow and learn in the field. Just grabbing from my shelves works like this. And this. And this. And also for your editing of the New Directions and the New Dimensions series. Glad that now it'll continue online with Computers and Composition Digital Press. But this is an amazing number of people that you touched and will continue to touch with all the work that you've done. And thank you for the years of editing Computers and Composition. This journal is, I think, the life-blood of our field, and really editing is the wrong word, because you are also such a mentor, welcoming and supporting new scholars and new voices in the field, and also pushing experienced scholars to keep learning and growing to try new things. So for everything that you've done, and everything that you do and are going to continue to do, thank you.

Scott DeWitt here, at Ohio State University. You know, I was on my way to work today it was kind of gloomy, and I found myself drifting back to the 80s, 1987 actually. I don't have any great video from 1987 or any photographs. I did wear a really cool 80s-inspired tie today, as I was thinking about 1987 actually wore some of my 80s-inspired kicks. I rather like this pair, I think they're kind of fun. But there's a reason why I was thinking about 1987. That was the year that I met Gail Hawisher. This is my opportunity to say thank you to Gail Hawisher. Take a look at what I found today. This is a packet of readings for "Topics in English" for English 495, taught by Dr. Gail Hawisher. And the date on the inside cover is Summer 1987. This was the first graduate seminar I took in computers and composition. I was a nubie. I was a first year graduate student. In fact, I had only finished a semester of coursework and took Gail's class. Gail really turned me on to teaching with computers and research about computers and composition. Here's some of my favorite things about this packet as I was flipping through them today. Look at this: "A Brief Introduction to WordStar. A Menu is an on-screen list of commands." This tells you a little bit where I was starting in 1987. Had never used a word processor before. Gail's class was amazing, and I had asked Gail to direct my thesis, and she left us, but she went on to great things. Her introduction to computers and composition let a lot of us go on to great things too. This is in appreciation to you Gail. Thank you for all of your hard work. Thank you for caring and inspiring. We're going to miss you, but I am going to expect that we will still be hearing from you and seeing you at conferences, and I wish you the best of luck in your retirement.

So I want to say thanks to Gail. One of the things that I really remember and recall as somewhere in the mid-point of my path, looking at the piece that Gail wrote with Charlie Moran about using email to transform teaching, and it was really a revelation for me because it showed me new ways of approaching what I do. I was kind of at a mid-point, trying to figure out just how hard to push at these cold chiseled edges with technology, and it showed me a different way to translate it into a lot of the work that I've pursued and a lot of what's happpened in my classrooms. It was really important and I'm obviously very grateful.

Well, like a lot of people, I would guess I have to thank Gail for really what I do now. So we're sitting here in the WIDE Research Center, the Writing in Digital Environments Research Center, where we study the intersection of computers and writing. And in the American academy at least that wouldn't be possible without the work of Gail Hawisher and her colleague and collaborator Cindy Selfe. Like many people, I probably met Gail first through her work. So I knew who she was and was, using that outstanding scholarship to argue for why I felt that I could study this thing that I now make a living studying. And so it was just a pleasant surprise I think when I finally had a chance to meet Gail face-to-face and realized that she was a generous, giving really fantastic person. She's always been that way. You'll hear hundreds of people say the same thing, I suspect, in this little tribute that everbody's doing. And so, that's the thing that we ought to perhaps do most directly is to say "Thank you, Gail," for giving us all a chance to study in a field that you helped to create and for giving the world all of the fantastic people who you've been a mentor to and a teacher to all these years.

Our story begins here. The place: Rapid City, South Dakota. The setting: The South Dakota School of Mines. The year: 1998. In 1998, I went to my first Computers and Writing Conference. I was in my PhD program at Michigan Tech for just over a semester. I entered the program really interested in ways in which gender shapes the development and adoption of computer technologies. At that Computers and Writing, I had my first chance to see and meet some of the scholars whose work had so influenced me, including Dene Grigar, Michael Day, Becky Rickly, Nick Carbone, and of course, one of my long-time heroes. That would be you, Gail Hawisher. I had read your work and it was absolutely foundational to me during my Masters program. I was so delighted and excited to hear you talk. At the conference, you presented on the work you were doing on women's identity building and representation on the Web, which was, frankly, still frontier-esque in 97-98. At one point in your talk during the discussion component, you threw your arms up and said something along the lines of "And these women, putting naked pictures of themselves online! What are they doing?" And synapses fired in my brain and I thought, 'What are they doing?' About three years later, you were on my dissertation committee, reviewing a document that essentially began that very moment in 1998. I could tell about a hundred more stories about the moments and ways you supported me as a human, a thinker, a teacher, and more through your writing, your work, your support, and your kind words. Congratulations on your retirement Gail. I can't believe you're retiring. You're retiring way too young. But be that as it may, congratulations.

So just a quick note from my perspective. One of the things that I tell graduate students at Michigan State about you in particular, and Cindy as well, is that you consistently took a chance on publishing my work at a time in which the audience response to that work was mixed at best. So what I tell graduate students is simply this, that you were one of the people who consistently took a chance on me early in my career. And for that, I will never forget the chance that you took, and I will always be grateful of the chance that you took. And so a lot of the early publication work that I did, and in fact, through the present day, I really give you a lot of credit for, taking the time to read my work carefully, to understand where it was going, and to publish it. So I owe you a lot, and I will try and repay what I owe you to colleagues and students over the next few years before I retire way too early. Congratulations Gail. And I think Gail is very responsible for that, for a whole field that is very much built around this collegiality, and this foundational notion of support, and that rather than see it as a proving ground or a gate-keeping kind of space, it's a space of mentoring and development and nurturing and welcoming people into the discipline. There was never a moment in this Center for Writing Studies or at Computers and Writing when I ever felt like I wasn't welcomed and that I wasn't being taken seriously, even though certainly early in the program I was not really sure about what does it mean to be part of this discipline and what the kind of work that I can do and that I can accomplish within this. But I always felt that, and I think that Gail is so responsible for that, and that carries into the work of the journal, and that carries into that leadership for the program, so it certainly provides a model I think that it's easy to take for granted.

Hi Gail. I'll never forget the warm welcome you gave me at my first Computers and Writing Conference in 1991 in Biloxi. You and Charlie Moran invited me out to dinner and you were asking me about what I was interested in, what I was doing, and you introduced me to the Computers and Writing community. And that was lovely. And you were a great model for the kind of mentor I try to be now, both as a writing program director here at Northern Illinois University and as a veteran of many 4C's, Computers and Writing, and WPA Conferences. I wish you the best in retirement, and I know that I'll see you very soon. So take care, and happy retirement.

I mean I think the thing that Gail does so well is shapes and encourages how you know what's good and what's useful about your own work. So when she introduces you to somebody, she'll say something about your work, and then that always taught me sort of what was interesting about my own work. And then she would just give you little comments all the time that was like "You should look at this, and maybe you should do that." And when I was first starting out I didn't always take those comments as instructions, but more as suggestions, and I didn't always follow through with them. But then later as I did start to follow through with them, I found that they were always useful, so then I have started to tell people to essentially just to do everything that Gail says. (laughter) It'll always work out good in the end. It's always the right thing. And with Gail, there's not much time to figure that out. And she's doing it the way that she and Cindy have always worked together, as I see it. Gail has always been the calm one, where Cindy has been the more exuberant one. I think everybody would agree with me on that statement. And so in Gail's way, she's stepping out of her role, she's not stepping out of her role of leaving the field, but she says she's stepping out of that sort of everyday academia role. Quietly, and calmly, and without fuss. And that's exactly the way that she would want it. And yet, kicking and screaming, I suppose we have to let her do it.

(laughter) Hi Gail, from your friends at Bowling Green State University doctoral program. We're here today to tell you how much we appreciate you and how much you've influenced not only us, but the many students we've had in common. The signs we hold up now are the number of students we've taught. 1133 204 525 222 120 201 113 210 80 hundreds, no thousands 179

[00:00:00.00]
[00:00:06.02] When I arrived at Urbana Champaign in 1990,
[00:00:08.04] Gail took me over to, I think it was the Student Union.
[00:00:13.07] And I think after we had lunch, she brought me in front of
[00:00:16.08] a terminal, and as I recall it was a Unix-based email system.
[00:00:20.09] And she sat down and began to compose an email.
[00:00:23.10] And I watched her and she said, "Watch me do this, Joe."
[00:00:26.00] And at one point she said, "OK, now I'm going to send it." And she hit a button.
[00:00:32.12] And I looked at the screen, and as I recall, the email was still on the screen in that system.
[00:00:38.14] It's a fuzzy recollection, it's been 20 years.
[00:00:40.15] And I said "Where is it, Gail?" And she goes, "I sent it."
[00:00:44.17] I said, "But Gail, where is it?" And she laughed.
[00:00:49.18] And I think I've been dealing with that particular metaphysical quandary now for two decades
[00:00:56.20] :"Where am I? Where is it?"
[00:00:59.01] Well earned. Congratulations, for your retirement, Gail.
[00:01:02.22] And honestly, I don't see you as a person who can possibly
[00:01:07.04] rest on your many laurels. So keep on keeping on.
[00:01:11.00]
[00:01:13.27] Hello, my name is Dickie Selfe, and I hate doing these talking head videos.
[00:01:18.29] But I'll do almost anything for Gail.
[00:01:22.31] So I've known Gail since about 1980 when she started working with my wife.
[00:01:24.34] And she's always been the most supportive person in my academic world, really.
[00:01:34.38] And that's mainly because she's just very interested your work.
[00:01:38.39] And she'll ask you about it and talk about it, and she's very smart,
[00:01:41.41] so she pays attention and gives great suggestions. So I love her for that.
[00:01:46.42] She's also a builder. She's just--next to Cindy--
[00:01:48.44] those two are just incredible community-builders. The best that I know of.
[00:01:55.46] And one thing I want to talk about today is how adventurous she is.
[00:02:00.00] Because with Cindy, she'll go out and find conferences for us and to attend.
[00:02:10.00] And then she'll invite me and her wonderful husband Tom, who's a ceramics engineer,
[00:02:17.61] along with them, and we'll go off to various places to give talks. Like we just back from St. Petersburg in Russia.
[00:02:27.15] We've been to Sydney, Australia; Beijing, China; Nottingham, England and even Cairo, Egypt.
[00:02:36.69] So I would be much less of a knowledgable or international person if it hadn't been for Gail.
[00:02:44.00]
[00:02:48.00] Gail, we have to talk. This is no time for retirement.
[00:02:53.00]
[00:02:56.00] Congratulations, Gail, on this occasion.
[00:03:00.00] May your retirement prove to be every bit as rewarding as you deserve.
[00:03:06.83] From the bottom of my heart I thank you for your generous manner, for sort of your kindness, and really for your leadership,
[00:03:19.00] for being someone who has really just made a profound impact on the field. For that I'm tremendously grateful.
[00:03:30.00] While I've got you here, Gail, do you happen to know where the settings are in Photobooth for restoring defaults?
[00:03:38.98] I messed around with the special effects, and I can't seem to get things back to the way they should be.
[00:03:47.00]
[00:03:51.05] Hi Gail. It's Hugh Burns.
[00:03:53.06] I'd like to introduce you to Nubby. He's our mascot at Texas Woman's University,
[00:03:57.07] for the work we do in literacy in our Writing Center.
[00:04:00.09] He's based on lots of things that you taught us over the years about writing, about computing.
[00:04:06.00] So, happy retirement from deep in our hearts in Texas.
[00:04:10.00] We'll be watching you, Nubby and I and all the women here. God speed.
[00:04:16.00]
[00:04:19.13] You know I could talk about the influence Gail Hawisher's work has had on my own work,
[00:04:22.50] the role it played in my dissertation, several of my publications,
[00:04:25.50] or the fact that I teach probably at least one of her articles every year in one of my graduate semiars.
[00:04:32.16] But I think the memory that's going to stick with me the most was at the Watson Conference, must have been 2002 or 2004.
[00:04:39.18] It was the end of the conference, at the dance,
[00:04:41.19] and I don't even know how this happened, but somehow it came out
[00:04:44.20] that I know how to swing dance, and Gail knew how to swing dance.
[00:04:47.72] And next thing I know, I am swinging with Gail Hawisher. It was like dancing with the stars.
[00:04:53.25] It was one of my favorite memories of any conference, and it was a very special moment for me.
[00:04:57.26] Made me feel like I was really entering a community of scholars, and it was a lot of fun for me.
[00:05:04.29] So Gail, I hope you have a wonderful retirement,
[00:05:06.80] and thank you for all the work you've done, and the impact you've had on people like me.
[00:05:12.32] And thanks for the dance. If you're ever ready to cut a rug, I'm down in Florida. Look me up.
[00:05:16.00]
[00:05:19.00] Thank you Gail, for influencing how I think about technology and writing.
[00:05:24.00] And I especially thank you for being a major influence early on in my career.
[00:05:31.41] In about 2002 you accepted Writing about Cool, an early piece I wrote for Computers and Composition,
[00:05:39.42] and obviously that was the beginning of a train of thinking that eventually led to some other publications and a book of mine.
[00:05:48.00] And I know that I would not have happened without your influence
[00:05:53.00] and ability to reach out to a graduate student trying to work out some ideas.
[00:05:59.00] I'm glad to know you and I wish you all the best.
[00:06:03.00]
[00:06:12.00] Well, first of all Gail Hawisher was my dissertation director
[00:06:16.99] when I was a graduate student at the University of Illinois, 1998-2002.
[00:06:23.00] And I don't think I was her star pupil, but I think that she took a bemused
[00:06:28.00] and compassionate interest in my scholarly endeavor.
[00:06:31.00] But in general, Gail was an excellent role model for me, and I credit her
[00:06:37.70] for teaching me what it means to be feminist teacher-scholar.
[00:06:43.00] And I had an opportunity to think about this a little bit more,
[00:06:46.00] because last February I was in Champaign, to give a talk, and it was freezing cold,
[00:06:53.00] very pleasant day for a walk, but nevertheless, I went for a walk and I was walking around Champaign,
[00:06:58.00] and I was extremely nostalgic, and I was actually
[00:07:01.84] thinking that my four years in Champaign were some of the best in my life.
[00:07:05.87] which seems a little dorky, since I was in graduate school, but
[00:07:09.90] I really think that what made it great is the way that Gail nurtured us but she also allowed us to be creative.
[00:07:18.00] And if anyone who knows me, I'm kind of an ambivalent scholar
[00:07:21.96] and the idea of not having fun while I write, or not experimenting when I write
[00:07:28.00] was starting to turning me off from the abstract of academe.
[00:07:31.01] So Gail taught me that I didn't need to compromise myself as a teacher or a scholar.
[00:07:36.02] I could be myself, and it was the best advice she gave me.
[00:07:40.04] So I think that academe will be all the poorer when she leaves,
[00:07:46.08] but I hope that she can be happy to know that she taught us well and we'll carry the torch.
[00:07:50.09] So good luck Gail, and I hope to see you around.
[00:07:54.10] And I hope that you don't leave the field entirely and you continue on in the projects that you're passionate about.
[00:08:02.13]
[00:08:04.00] Gail Hawisher is inventive.
[00:08:07.00] I first met Gail, I think, when we were at University of Illinois, and I was a graduate student and Gail was a graduate student.
[00:08:15.00] But she was a much more advanced graduate student,
[00:08:16.18] I was at the beginning of my graduate student career, and she was finishing her PhD.
[00:08:22.20] And apparently, the University of Illinois got all these IBM computers, and nobody knew what to do with them.
[00:08:28.24] Well, that didn't stop Gail. She very quickly figured out something to do with them,
[00:08:34.26] and I was very grateful she asked me to be involved in the pilot.
[00:08:36.27] We were already teaching a summer bridge, so we were able to take and use those computers with that group of students.
[00:08:45.75] And that was really exciting, because usually what happens in a pilot is
[00:08:50.31] all the quote "gifted" or "honors" students have the first shot at something new,
[00:08:56.34] and at the University of Illinois it happened in a quite different way, and we have Gail to thank for that.
[00:09:01.36]
[00:09:05.00] Hi Gail, Stuart Selber here.
[00:09:06.37] I just wanted to take a minute to congratulate you on your retirement,
[00:09:10.39] and to thank you for everything you've done for me and for the field.
[00:09:15.00] Really, I mean, where would we be without you?
[00:09:18.00] So enjoy your retirement, which I'm sure will involve computers and writing and the 4 C's and a lot more scholarship.
[00:09:28.00] But thanks again for everything, and congratulations.
[00:09:33.47]
[00:09:35.00] Hi Gail, it's Jonathan Alexander here, wishing you the very best in your retirement.
[00:09:38.75] It's been a real privilege to know and to work with you over the past several years.
[00:09:43.00] I certainly remember the first time we sat down together, many years ago,
[00:09:47.00] I think it was at the Computers and Writing Conference when it was in Normal, Illinois,
[00:09:52.00] and I wanted to talk with you and Cindy about my a book project, Digital Youth.
[00:09:56.00] You were very encouraging, though I distinctly remember you asking "Have you migrated to this field?"
[00:10:04.00] Somehow you knew that I had made the transition from being a literary theorist to compositionist,
[00:10:09.82] but were no less welcoming, and I appreciate that.
[00:10:13.00] Again, take care, a real pleasure to have worked with you, and I hope you stay in touch.
[00:10:17.50]
[00:10:19.00] Gail and I were both hired at the University of Illinois in 1990,
[00:10:22.92] and we worked together and collaborated together for the better part of nine years that I was there.
[00:10:27.00] She was a wonderful mentor and a great colleague.
[00:10:33.00] But one of the things that I think that people perhaps don't know about Gail's contribution to my early professional career
[00:10:40.00] is the role that she played in getting me started working with the journal Across the Disciplines.
[00:10:45.02] I remember that it was 1993 that Gail came into my office and said that she'd been contacted by a woman by the name of Sharon Quiroz,
[00:10:54.00] who was one of the directors of the Writing Program at the University of Michigan.
[00:10:58.08] Sharon wanted to start a brand new journal devoted to writing across the curriculum,
[00:11:02.80] and Gail, of course, was very heavily invested with the journal Computers and Composition and
[00:11:07.12] couldn't be involved perhaps as much as she would have wanted to under other circumstances.
[00:11:12.00] But she came into my office, and since she and I had been working on a writing across the curriculum program at Illinois,
[00:11:18.00] she said that she thought I should contact Sharon, and the two of us should work together collaboratively to get this journal started.
[00:11:25.00] And as many of you know, this was something we did succesfully, initially as a print journal--the first issue came out in 1994--
[00:11:33.20] and it's continued as an online journal all the way up until the present time.
[00:11:37.20] And if it hadn't been for Gail coming into my office that day and actively mentoring me and telling me that I should get involved,
[00:11:45.00] I never would have gotten involved in starting this journal and continuing as its editor.
[00:11:49.00] So I want to thank you Gail, for that, as well as for many other things.
[00:11:54.00] The times you volunteered articles that you'd asked to write and suggested that the two of us work collaboratively.
[00:12:01.29] I thought that was a very generous offer.
[00:12:04.00] And for all the many professional aspects of support that you've given me
[00:12:09.31] and personal ways that you've supported me over the years, and especially for your friendship, Gail.
[00:12:13.34] Thank you for that, and have a happy retirement.
[00:12:16.25]
[00:12:18.00] Hi Gail, and greetings from Michelle Sidler in Auburn, Alabama.
[00:12:21.38] First, much thanks for creating such a welcoming community that you've been a big leader and a part of.
[00:12:28.00] The computers and writing community has been my professional home for over ten years,
[00:12:32.00] and I couldn't ask for more supportive and warm colleagues and friends.
[00:12:36.00] I especially want to thank you for the mentorship and kindness you you've given me in my own research.
[00:12:41.00] You and Cindy were role models and facilitators,
[00:12:44.00] especially when I came to you with a crazy scheme to create a computers and writing anthology.
[00:12:49.48] That helpfulness and that kindness made that project happen.
[00:12:54.00] I want to wish you good luck in your retirement and I hope you enjoy it. Take care.
[00:12:58.00]
[00:12:59.49] I applied to the PhD program at the University of Illinois because I had read and admired Gail's work
[00:13:03.00] and I wanted the opportunity to learn from one of the leading scholars in the field.
[00:13:08.00] However, it wasn't until I asked her to direct my dissertation project that I realized that I wasn't just gaining
[00:13:15.62] a fabulous teacher, but also a dedicated and really caring mentor.
[00:13:21.30] One moment in particular stands out in my memory and sums up, I think,
[00:13:27.69] what Gail's meant to so many graduate students over the course of her career.
[00:13:34.00] Let's just say mine was not the easiest dissertation to direct.
[00:13:38.30] I suffered from great writing anxiety and I second-guessed my project
[00:13:45.00] at several points throughout the process, and needed a lot of reassurance.
[00:13:53.00] During one of our many meetings, I was probably at a really low point.
[00:14:03.88] I was in the middle of job applications, and I was worried about what I was doing to my family,
[00:14:11.93] whether it was the right thing to drag my husband across the country for a job,
[00:14:17.00] whether or not it was a good thing for me to be moving so far away from my parents
[00:14:22.05] who were going to need me more and more as they got older.
[00:14:25.02] I was really focused on these things, and Gail was able to refocus my energies back on my project.
[00:14:32.08] And she assured me that I needed to focus on the fact that I had something important to offer the field, and I shouldn't lose sight of that.
[00:14:42.00] And at the end of the meeting, as I stood and gathered my things to leave,
[00:14:49.00] she stepped forward and she hugged me, the way that a concerned family member would.
[00:14:59.00] And Gail, you might not remember that moment, but I always will remember that moment.
[00:15:06.77] You always treated those of us in the writing studies program like family.
[00:15:15.00] You supported us when we needed it, you never doubted our abilities to succeed,
[00:15:21.00] and you weren't afraid to give us a kick in the ass when we needed it either.
[00:15:26.00] Your scholarship and your caring has opened the door for so many women to enter the field of computers and composition.
[00:15:34.00] And the spirit of the field has been increased a hundred fold by your great work, and and we are very lucky.
[00:15:41.31]
[00:15:42.00] I met you Gail during one of those serendipitous moments that happen at 4C's.
[00:15:48.32] I was in line for lunch, alone. Unusual. Got to the front of the line, the hostess said
[00:15:55.34] "I can seat you more quickly if you're willing to have lunch with the people who are in line behind you."
[00:16:00.36] So I turned around, asked, and met you.
[00:16:03.37] I can't remember who you were with. You'll probably remember.
[00:16:07.00] But in any case, we had a wonderful lunch. And at the end of that lunch, I knew not only that I loved your work
[00:16:14.40] from the early issues of Computers and Composition, but also that you would be a force in the field.
[00:16:21.00] When Cindy asked me, I think it was about a year later, if you would be a good choice
[00:16:28.00] to replace me as editor or co-editor of Computers and Comp, I was delighted. I thought it was a great plan.
[00:16:34.47] And you have really proved that to be true. Your work has been absolutely influential
[00:16:40.00] in terms of expanding the readership of the journal, of giving us international presence,
[00:16:48.00] bringing in really great new people to the field, especially with the invited editors for special issues,
[00:16:56.56] It's been truly remarkable, and I felt wonderful about leaving the journal in such good hands.
[00:17:01.71]
[00:17:04.61] (laughter)
[00:17:10.00] I don't know. Nothing left. It's all about assessment. Nothing funny right now.
[00:17:16.00] This has been such a wonderful institute. And of course we've had wonderful teachers.
[00:17:22.00] But I like to think that we're getting better and better at this every year.
[00:17:26.00] I remember on the interview night, or afternoon, I was so nervous.
[00:17:32.00] But once we sat around the table and introduced ourselves, Gail spoke up right away about sports.
[00:17:34.74] Well, as you can see, I'm a big sports nut, so I knew I'd be right at home,
[00:17:44.00] even though I was elementary, I would be at home in this class.
[00:17:48.00] And I sure have felt it and I felt like we've become a family. So thank you Gail.
[00:17:51.00]
[00:17:55.82] Not only am I a writer, but I'm a mom.
[00:17:59.00] I'm a writer too.
[00:18:00.86] Oh, I can't.
[00:18:02.95] Not only am I a writer. I'm also a student.
[00:18:08.00]
[00:18:09.00] I first met Gail when I came to interview for the Writing Project.
[00:18:15.93] And I was late, and I parked in the wrong parking garage, and it was pouring down rain,
[00:18:23.00] and I came in soaking wet, and the only chair was right next to Gail.
[00:18:27.02] And when I sat down, she said "Oh, we have water over there." And I said, "I think I've had enough."
[00:18:33.06] (music)
[00:18:48.14] One of my memories about Gail is attending my first Computers and Writing Conference.
[00:18:57.17] And as I walked around, people would be like, "Oh there's Gail," and it was just amazing, like I kind of thought, 'I know her.'
[00:19:07.20] And it felt really good to know her and I'm really glad that I've had the chance to know her.
[00:19:13.00] She's such an amazing mentor, really.
[00:19:16.00] I remember two things about this year at the institute together with Gail.
[00:19:19.00] One is that we had to take very serious instructions about snacks.
[00:19:25.00] Snacks were very important, and she made it clear to everybody that she really liked nuts.
[00:19:29.00] (laughter)
[00:19:31.00] One of the things that I really appreciate about you Gail is that not only do you possess a tremendous
[00:19:37.33] amount of knowledge about the subject of writing, but you are so able to bring all of us in
[00:19:45.37] and make sure all of us are a part of it and really warm and welcoming.
[00:19:51.39] And that has been really a positive thing for me, being a non-writer, not part of something like this before.
[00:19:59.42] So, thank you very much.
[00:20:01.00] Gail, you know that I was always interested in the Writing Project and how enthusiastic I was to come in.
[00:20:07.00] I'm glad that there was a short time period between when I found out I was in the Writing Project and I actually met you,
[00:20:13.00] because if you've learned anything about me the last three years is that
[00:20:17.49] if I learn a name wrong I say it wrong all the time. So you would still be Gail HAwisher.
[00:20:23.51] You're not the only one though, I did say, I would say DecaTUR for a very long time
[00:20:27.53] until my father explained to me that it was DeCAtur. He said "For Pete's sake, Judy, it's DeCAtur."
[00:20:33.00] I also wanted to thank you for being an English major because I love talking to English majors, and you're a great one to talk to.
[00:20:42.00] I also really love your parentheticals (says Judy missing you already).
[00:20:50.00] We couldn't have done any of this without Gail.
[00:20:53.67] This is something that Gail has wanted to do for a long time and we're finally able to put it all together and pull it off.
[00:21:01.70] And I think if there's anything that you're a little bit concerned about, it's just keeping things going over the years.
[00:21:17.78] within the university and making it work for all these wonderful teachers.
[00:21:23.50] I'm a writer.
[00:21:24.00] Hi, my name is Patty, and I'm a writer. And I'm a Spanish teacher, and I'm a friend of a bunch of great new people.
[00:21:30.00] Gail, I can't believe my luck in getting you as a mentor this year the Writing Program.
[00:21:35.87] Your spirit and your spunk truly adds to the Program. You have been a fabulous Iron Chef to study under,
[00:21:43.00] and me as a sous writer have been lucky that you've left some lasting memories with me. Thank you very much.
[00:21:51.00] The thing I remember and admire most about Gail is how supportive she's been to everyone in the Project,
[00:21:56.00] especially after all my technical difficulties in my presentation.
[00:22:00.00] She found the time to stop by and said I did a great job, helped me feel a little bit better about my feelings.
[00:22:08.50] Hi Gail, thank you so much for being my dissertation committee, and looking forward to your nice words,
[00:22:15.55] and I guess I will see you around next year, and hopefully you can come back after that.
[00:22:22.11] Gail is just the most wonderful person. I have never heard her say anything that wasn't nice.
[00:22:29.00] She's very positive when she gives you a recommendation.
[00:22:33.00] Anyone who can organize this fantastic program is obviously a wonderful person just for doing that.
[00:22:42.00] I just felt so welcome at the Writing Project and I'm just glad that I've gotten to know her
[00:22:49.00] and hope that I continue to know her even after she's retired.
[00:22:52.00] So, don't be a stranger.
[00:22:54.27] My favorite Gail moment of the Institute actually happened on the first day when we did the visual reperesentation
[00:23:01.00] of writing processes and two of the four people that came to the front used images and technology in their presentation.
[00:23:08.32] And I thought, 'This is going to be a good group for Gail's last Institute.'
[00:23:12.00] Jen was telling a story tonight about how we were in some classroom, and Gail said to her "Oh yeah, you used to sit right here."
[00:23:21.00] And she and Stephanie were talking about just how many little things she remembered of them from that class.
[00:23:26.40] And I think that Gail is a big part of why the Summer Insitute works so well is that she remembers so many little things about people.
[00:23:35.00] She always asks about Cattle Man. And she just makes it fun.
[00:23:40.00] There were too many Gail moments to narrow them down to just one or two.
[00:23:44.00] But I remember also we had our first group discussion with the whole group,
[00:23:48.49] and someone turned the book over and said "Oh look, Gail is cited here."
[00:23:51.80] And Gail just said "Oh stop, you make me feel silly."
[00:23:58.00] Gail, my strongest recollection and best recollection of the whole experience
[00:24:03.00] that I've had here had to do with you and how warm you were the first day, how inviting you were.
[00:24:08.59] I felt somewhat like a foreigner as a science teacher, and the fact that you were warm so inviting,
[00:24:18.00] and the fact that you remember I was from Green Bay really sticks out in my mind.
[00:24:22.00] Hi Gail. One of the best memories I have of you during this institute
[00:24:27.00] is meeting you in the bathroom every day, more than once a day. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
[00:24:36.00] I thought that was really interesting, how we always met in the bathroom at the sime time, almost every single day, a few times a day.
[00:24:42.00] So you and I had some good laughs about that, so that's one of the best memories I have.
[00:24:48.00] Gail my favorite moment with you, besides having you as a teacher in my undergrad at U of I,
[00:24:54.00] actually came not during the Institute, but right before the Institute, when I was interviewing.
[00:24:59.00] And I didn't think I was a writer, and I'm still not sure if I'm a writer,
[00:25:04.00] but you remembered me in your class, and even though you had all these other students.
[00:25:08.84] And it meant a lot, and I was very excited going to the Institute.
[00:25:12.00] And then of course, all throughout the institute, you were wonderful as well.
[00:25:14.87] One of the earliest memories I have of Gail is during the interview process she went around and
[00:25:22.89] she had everyone introduce themselves and talk about where they were from.
[00:25:26.91] And it just so happened that Patrick and I were sitting next to each other, and made the New York connection.
[00:25:32.00] And I'm like, "Oh there's someone who actually pays attention to what someone is saying
[00:25:37.00] and validates your feelings by recognizing where you're from."
[00:25:40.96] So that was one of the things that you know, made me think,
[00:25:45.00] 'Wow, here is this person who is really cool and really validates your experiences.'
[00:25:52.01] Gail, thank you much for being part of the summer insitute.
[00:25:55.03] It was been a wonderful experience, and I've enjoyed being able to work with you.
[00:25:59.06] I remember not being sure if the summer institute was something that I really wanted to do.
[00:26:05.00] And then I went to the interview and was sitting there, and not only did you remember my name,
[00:26:12.00] but you also remembered what class I took with you and where I sat.
[00:26:16.00] I knew that I wanted to be part of a program where someone took so much time and care to kind of know her students.
[00:26:24.00] So thanks again, and congratulations on your retirement.
[00:26:28.00] We always say that writing is social, but this institute has shown me just how social writing can really be.
[00:26:33.00] And Gail, it's been a pleasure being on Tweet-deck with you.
[00:26:35.00]
[00:26:36.00] Well, when you're out and about and having all your adventures,
[00:26:40.00] when you run into some Columbians, make sure to Twitter so that I can come find you.
[00:26:44.38]
[00:26:46.00] NANCY BARRON: Did we bring Gail to the Crater?
[00:26:47.38] SYBELLE GRUBER: I don't think we did. We went to the Grand Canyon and to Sedona.
[00:26:51.40] NB: I think she'd like it here.
[00:26:53.41] SG: I think so too. It's actually days like this when I remember that I owe it all to Gail. She convinced me not to do literature.
[00:27:00.00] NB: African American literature.
[00:27:01.00] SG: African American literature, where I would never have gotten a job anywhere. And now I'm here in this beautiful place.
[00:27:08.46] NB: Wasn't it Gail that got you to see that Americans weren't just one big blob.
[00:27:12.00] SG: That is actually so true. She made sure that I would understand U.S. diversity.
[00:27:16.00] CLEOPATRA MARIE: You often come up during table conversations.
[00:27:19.51] NB: And when I asked Sybille, "Give me one word that describes Gail."
[00:27:23.00]
[00:27:26.00] SG: Mighty.
[00:27:27.55] TADAO: So who's that lady you were talking about?
[00:27:31.00] SG: She's about like this, but she's mighty. She was my dissertation advisor.
[00:27:36.56] T: When did you meet her?
[00:27:37.56] SG: Well, I met her when I worked in the computer lab. She let me work there.
[00:27:43.00] T: You know what computers are?
[00:27:46.00]
[00:27:48.00] T: She sounds like an awesome person.
[00:27:52.00] T (under his breath): Sure thing.
[00:27:53.00] LORENA: Is she a Navajo, or?
[00:27:56.00] SG & CM: No, Navajos always think that the mighty are Navajo.
[00:27:59.00] SG: She probably is in her heart.
[00:28:02.00] T: Hope someday I can meet Gail.
[00:28:03.69] L: Short and mighty.
[00:28:05.70]
[00:28:08.00] SG & NB: Congratulations Gail!
[00:28:09.00] SG: And thanks for everything.
[00:28:11.00] NB: Here's hoping that your future paths lead you back to Flagstaff.
[00:28:14.00] SG: See you soon.
[00:28:15.74] Unknown Voice (calling distantly): Help... help me... help me Mighty Mouse...
[00:28:21.00] (music fades in)
[00:28:23.00] Black Lodge Singers (sung): Is it a bird?
[00:28:24.30] No!
[00:28:26.00] Is it a plane?
[00:28:28.30] No!
[00:28:30.00] Oh my gosh it's Mighty Mouse!
[00:28:33.00] (vocal singing)
[00:28:44.90] Black Lodge Singers (sung): Is it a bird?
[00:28:46.84] No!
[00:28:48.00] Is it a plane?
[00:28:50.20] No!
[00:28:51.93] Oh my gosh it's Mighty Mouse!
[00:28:55.95] (vocal singing, fades out)
[00:28:58.98]
[00:29:01.00] So I first met Gail when I was a young graduate student at Michigan Tech.
[00:29:06.01] I was helping with the summer instititue CWIC, and I knew she was coming.
[00:29:12.04] At that point, having read just one year's worth of grad school scholarship,
[00:29:17.07] most people I read that I really respected were rock stars to me, until I met them, at which point they became sadly human.
[00:29:27.00] Gail, whose work I greatly admired, was a rock star, and I was about to meet her.
[00:29:32.14] I still remember the first time I saw her.
[00:29:34.15] She was walking down the hallway of the Walker Building at Michigan Tech,
[00:29:38.17] and she had the best posture and she had the best clothes.
[00:29:42.19] And I quickly hid in a classroom to avoid introducing myself to her
[00:29:48.20] because I was that shy and because I respected her that much.
[00:29:53.00] Later that day, still having successfully avoided introducing myself,
[00:29:58.23] I was giving a workshop on HTML, and you'll never guess who came.
[00:30:03.00] Gail Hawisher came to my session. And she stayed the whole time.
[00:30:08.27] And afterward she came up to me, said I did a great job, and introduced herself.
[00:30:14.29] Since that time, Gail Hawisher has remained a rock star to me, but an accessible and encouraging one.
[00:30:21.00] When I see her at conferences --and this meant a lot when I was a graduate student--
[00:30:25.00] she always remembered my name, she always gives me hug, and she always has incredibly encouraging words
[00:30:31.00] that kind of make me feel like I can keep going at this gig.
[00:30:36.36] So while I'm going to deeply miss Gail's active presence in our field,
[00:30:41.00] and while I to this day miss Gail making us break out of CWIC sessions in order to do yoga,
[00:30:49.00] --she's quite good at it, by the way--
[00:30:52.41] Gail, I am certain, will remain a rock star in our field. Thank you so much Gail.
[00:30:59.00]
[00:31:02.00] Kathy Yancey: Hi. Kristie Fleckenstein: Hi.
[00:31:03.84] KY: So this is Kristie Fleckenstein. KF: And this is Kathy Yancey.
[00:31:08.00] KY: And we're here of course to talk about Gail, Gail Hawisher that is. How did you know Gail?
[00:31:14.58] KF: I met Gail in the summer of 1988 when I took my first class with her and my first class in technology.
[00:31:24.00] And both were eye-opening experiences.
[00:31:27.00] KY: From which you've never recovered. KF: Never recovered. (laughter)
[00:31:30.00] KF: In true fan-girl fashion, when I met Gail I decided, This is exactly what I wanted to be when I (laughter) grew up,
[00:31:38.70] which is funny because I'm older than Gail. (laughter) But she gave me a mark to strive for
[00:31:49.00] and while my reach might have exceded my grasp, she always encouraged me.
[00:31:54.00] She was on my dissertation committee, and I cannot begin to count the number of ways in which she has supported my career.
[00:32:02.00] And how did you meet Gail?
[00:32:04.00] KY: I actually, this is really funny, because we didn't know each other then, you and I, and I knew Gail just after you did.
[00:32:10.00] And I was finished, but I was a staffer at Purdue, and Gail had joined us, and she was just there for one year actually,
[00:32:18.00] but she was so gracious to me, and not everybody always was, given the status that I did or did not have.
[00:32:24.00] And she just was very kind and very helpful, and then a couple of years later,
[00:32:29.00] she and Cindy were both very kind and helpful, because they were editing Computers and Composition,
[00:32:34.00] and Brian Huot and I were founding Assessing Writing, and we were all publishing with ABLEX,
[00:32:39.00] and there are many stories there, none of which we can tell right now. (laughter)
[00:32:44.00] And then since then she and Cindy asked me to edit Computers and Composition, and it's just been,
[00:32:51.00] sometimes it's planned, when I get to see Gail, and sometimes it's spontaneous, but it's always wonderful.
[00:32:59.00] And what we wanted to say together is that we're delighted to help celebrate Gail's career.
[00:33:05.00] We're sorry to see that she's leaving teaching, we imagine that her students are especially sorry,
[00:33:10.00] but we're delighted that she's not leaving the field. And so we'll look forward to seeing her.
[00:33:16.00]
[00:33:17.16] Congratulations on your retirement, Gail. Although retirement is the wrong word because, knowing you,
[00:33:22.18] you'll be just as busy as ever with your leadership and your scholarship in writing studies and in the field of computers and writing
[00:33:31.00] Thank you for all of your incredible work, for what you've done to establish the computers and writing community
[00:33:38.00] to provide foundational and cutting-edge scholarship that has helped all of us grow and learn in the field.
[00:33:46.00] Just grabbing from my shelves works like this.
[00:33:51.00] And this.
[00:33:52.00] And this.
[00:33:55.00] And also for your editing of the New Directions and the New Dimensions series.
[00:34:01.00] Glad that now it'll continue online with Computers and Composition Digital Press.
[00:34:06.00] But this is an amazing number of people that you touched and will continue to touch with all the work that you've done.
[00:34:13.35] And thank you for the years of editing Computers and Composition. This journal is, I think, the life-blood of our field, and
[00:34:22.00] really editing is the wrong word, because you are also such a mentor, welcoming and supporting new scholars and new voices in the field,
[00:34:31.00] and also pushing experienced scholars to keep learning and growing to try new things.
[00:34:36.00] So for everything that you've done, and everything that you do and are going to continue to do, thank you.
[00:34:42.47]
[00:34:45.00] Scott DeWitt here, at Ohio State University. You know, I was on my way to work today
[00:34:50.00] it was kind of gloomy, and I found myself drifting back to the 80s, 1987 actually.
[00:34:57.00] I don't have any great video from 1987 or any photographs. I did wear a really cool 80s-inspired tie today,
[00:35:08.00] as I was thinking about 1987 actually wore some of my 80s-inspired kicks. I rather like this pair, I think they're kind of fun.
[00:35:15.00] But there's a reason why I was thinking about 1987. That was the year that I met Gail Hawisher.
[00:35:21.00] This is my opportunity to say thank you to Gail Hawisher.
[00:35:25.00] Take a look at what I found today.
[00:35:27.00] This is a packet of readings for "Topics in English" for English 495, taught by Dr. Gail Hawisher.
[00:35:38.00] And the date on the inside cover is Summer 1987.
[00:35:44.00] This was the first graduate seminar I took in computers and composition.
[00:35:47.75] I was a nubie. I was a first year graduate student. In fact, I had only finished a semester of coursework and took Gail's class.
[00:35:55.00] Gail really turned me on to teaching with computers and research about computers and composition.
[00:36:02.00] Here's some of my favorite things about this packet as I was flipping through them today.
[00:36:06.00] Look at this: "A Brief Introduction to WordStar. A Menu is an on-screen list of commands."
[00:36:14.00] This tells you a little bit where I was starting in 1987. Had never used a word processor before.
[00:36:19.00] Gail's class was amazing, and I had asked Gail to direct my thesis, and she left us, but she went on to great things.
[00:36:29.93] Her introduction to computers and composition let a lot of us go on to great things too.
[00:36:36.00] This is in appreciation to you Gail.
[00:36:38.01] Thank you for all of your hard work. Thank you for caring and inspiring.
[00:36:43.90] We're going to miss you, but I am going to expect that we will still be hearing from you and seeing you at conferences,
[00:36:50.03] and I wish you the best of luck in your retirement.
[00:36:53.05]
[00:36:56.00] So I want to say thanks to Gail.
[00:36:58.00] One of the things that I really remember and recall as somewhere in the mid-point of my path,
[00:37:04.20] looking at the piece that Gail wrote with Charlie Moran about using email to transform teaching, and
[00:37:10.12] it was really a revelation for me because it showed me new ways of approaching what I do.
[00:37:16.80] I was kind of at a mid-point, trying to figure out just how hard to push at these cold chiseled edges with technology,
[00:37:24.21] and it showed me a different way to translate it into a lot of the work that I've pursued and a lot of what's happpened in my classrooms.
[00:37:32.00] It was really important and I'm obviously very grateful.
[00:37:34.00]
[00:37:36.00] Well, like a lot of people, I would guess I have to thank Gail for really what I do now.
[00:37:45.00] So we're sitting here in the WIDE Research Center, the Writing in Digital Environments Research Center,
[00:37:50.68] where we study the intersection of computers and writing. And in the American academy at least
[00:37:58.00] that wouldn't be possible without the work of Gail Hawisher and her colleague and collaborator Cindy Selfe.
[00:38:06.39] Like many people, I probably met Gail first through her work.
[00:38:14.00] So I knew who she was and was, using that outstanding scholarship to argue for
[00:38:21.00] why I felt that I could study this thing that I now make a living studying.
[00:38:28.00] And so it was just a pleasant surprise I think when I finally had a chance to meet Gail face-to-face
[00:38:35.00] and realized that she was a generous, giving really fantastic person.
[00:38:41.00] She's always been that way.
[00:38:43.00] You'll hear hundreds of people say the same thing, I suspect, in this little tribute that everbody's doing.
[00:38:51.00] And so, that's the thing that we ought to perhaps do most directly is to say "Thank you, Gail," for giving us all a chance to study
[00:39:06.00] in a field that you helped to create and for giving the world
[00:39:10.00] all of the fantastic people who you've been a mentor to and a teacher to all these years.
[00:39:18.66]
[00:39:23.00] Our story begins here. The place: Rapid City, South Dakota.
[00:39:29.00] The setting: The South Dakota School of Mines. The year: 1998.
[00:39:36.00] In 1998, I went to my first Computers and Writing Conference.
[00:39:40.00] I was in my PhD program at Michigan Tech for just over a semester.
[00:39:44.56] I entered the program really interested in ways in which gender shapes the development and adoption of computer technologies.
[00:39:52.00] At that Computers and Writing, I had my first chance to see and meet some of the scholars whose work had so influenced me, including
[00:40:00.00] Dene Grigar,
[00:40:03.00] Michael Day,
[00:40:05.00] Becky Rickly,
[00:40:07.00] Nick Carbone,
[00:40:10.00] and of course, one of my long-time heroes. That would be you, Gail Hawisher.
[00:40:14.00] I had read your work and it was absolutely foundational to me during my Masters program.
[00:40:19.00] I was so delighted and excited to hear you talk.
[00:40:23.00] At the conference, you presented on the work you were doing on women's identity building and representation on the Web,
[00:40:29.00] which was, frankly, still frontier-esque in 97-98.
[00:40:34.00] At one point in your talk during the discussion component, you threw your arms up and said something along the lines of
[00:40:39.00] "And these women, putting naked pictures of themselves online! What are they doing?"
[00:40:45.01] And synapses fired in my brain and I thought, 'What are they doing?'
[00:40:50.02] About three years later, you were on my dissertation committee, reviewing a document that essentially began that very moment in 1998.
[00:41:00.00] I could tell about a hundred more stories about the moments and ways you supported me
[00:41:03.54] as a human, a thinker, a teacher, and more through your writing, your work, your support, and your kind words.
[00:41:10.50]
[00:41:11.30] Congratulations on your retirement Gail. I can't believe you're retiring.
[00:41:14.00] You're retiring way too young. But be that as it may, congratulations.
[00:41:18.00] So just a quick note from my perspective.
[00:41:21.00] One of the things that I tell graduate students at Michigan State about you in particular, and Cindy as well, is that
[00:41:27.18] you consistently took a chance on publishing my work at a time in which the audience response to that work was mixed at best.
[00:41:36.00] So what I tell graduate students is simply this, that you were one of the people who consistently took a chance on me early in my career.
[00:41:43.27] And for that, I will never forget the chance that you took, and I will always be grateful of the chance that you took.
[00:41:51.00] And so a lot of the early publication work that I did, and in fact, through the present day, I really give you a lot of credit for,
[00:41:58.00] taking the time to read my work carefully, to understand where it was going, and to publish it.
[00:42:03.00] So I owe you a lot, and I will try and repay what I owe you to colleagues and students over the next few years before I retire way too early.
[00:42:13.00] Congratulations Gail.
[00:42:13.50]
[00:42:14.00] And I think Gail is very responsible for that, for a whole field that is very much built around
[00:42:21.00] this collegiality, and this foundational notion of support, and that rather than see it as a proving ground or a gate-keeping kind of space,
[00:42:32.00] it's a space of mentoring and development and nurturing and welcoming people into the discipline.
[00:42:41.00] There was never a moment in this Center for Writing Studies or at Computers and Writing when I ever felt like I wasn't welcomed
[00:42:48.00] and that I wasn't being taken seriously, even though certainly early in the program I was not really sure about what does it mean
[00:42:57.55] to be part of this discipline and what the kind of work that I can do and that I can accomplish within this.
[00:43:04.00] But I always felt that, and I think that Gail is so responsible for that, and that carries into the work of the journal,
[00:43:15.00] and that carries into that leadership for the program, so it certainly provides a model I think that it's easy to take for granted.
[00:43:24.64]
[00:43:27.00] Hi Gail.
[00:43:28.00] I'll never forget the warm welcome you gave me at my first Computers and Writing Conference in 1991 in Biloxi.
[00:43:36.00] You and Charlie Moran invited me out to dinner and you were asking me about what I was interested in, what I was doing,
[00:43:44.00] and you introduced me to the Computers and Writing community.
[00:43:48.00] And that was lovely.
[00:43:51.00] And you were a great model for the kind of mentor I try to be now, both as a writing program director
[00:43:59.00] here at Northern Illinois University and as a veteran of many 4C's, Computers and Writing, and WPA Conferences.
[00:44:08.00] I wish you the best in retirement, and I know that I'll see you very soon.
[00:44:13.00] So take care, and happy retirement.
[00:44:15.00]
[00:44:18.00] I mean I think the thing that Gail does so well is shapes and encourages how you know what's good and what's useful about your own work.
[00:44:33.00] So when she introduces you to somebody, she'll say something about your work,
[00:44:37.00] and then that always taught me sort of what was interesting about my own work.
[00:44:41.00] And then she would just give you little comments all the time that was like "You should look at this, and maybe you should do that."
[00:44:46.00] And when I was first starting out I didn't always take those comments as instructions, but more as suggestions,
[00:44:54.00] and I didn't always follow through with them. But then later as I did start to follow through with them,
[00:44:58.00] I found that they were always useful, so then I have started to tell people to essentially just to do everything that Gail says.
[00:45:05.00] (laughter) It'll always work out good in the end. It's always the right thing.
[00:45:10.00]
[00:45:12.00] And with Gail, there's not much time to figure that out.
[00:45:16.70] And she's doing it the way that she and Cindy have always worked together, as I see it.
[00:45:23.00] Gail has always been the calm one, where Cindy has been the more exuberant one.
[00:45:32.00] I think everybody would agree with me on that statement.
[00:45:36.00] And so in Gail's way, she's stepping out of her role, she's not stepping out of her role of leaving the field,
[00:45:48.00] but she says she's stepping out of that sort of everyday academia role.
[00:45:54.00] Quietly, and calmly, and without fuss. And that's exactly the way that she would want it.
[00:46:00.00] And yet, kicking and screaming, I suppose we have to let her do it.
[00:46:06.00] (laughter)
[00:46:07.50]
[00:46:09.00] Hi Gail, from your friends at Bowling Green State University doctoral program.
[00:46:14.00] We're here today to tell you how much we appreciate you
[00:46:17.00] and how much you've influenced not only us, but the many students we've had in common.
[00:46:22.05] The signs we hold up now are the number of students we've taught.
[00:46:26.00] 1133
[00:46:29.00] 204
[00:46:32.00] 525
[00:46:32.12] 222
[00:46:33.00] 120
[00:46:35.00] 201
[00:46:36.00] 113
[00:46:37.00] 210
[00:46:38.00] 80
[00:46:39.00] hundreds, no thousands
[00:46:41.00] 179
[00:46:43.20]