The National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW) is delighted to announce that Dr. Elizabeth H. Boquet (she/her/hers), Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at Fairfield University, has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the NCPTW Ron Maxwell Award for Distinguished Leadership in Promoting the Collaborative Learning Practices of Peer Tutors in Writing (The NCPTW Ron Maxwell Leadership Award).
The NCPTW Ron Maxwell Leadership Award is presented annually to a writing center professional who has contributed with distinction to undergraduate student development through mentoring peer writing tutors involved in collaborative learning. The NCPTW Ron Maxwell Committee often recognizes individuals who have provided extraordinary service to the evolution of the NCPTW organization and conference.
Members of the Maxwell Committee described with admiration Dr. Boquet’s history of supporting and mentoring peer writing tutors across a number of contexts, including her term as editor of The Writing Center Journal as well as mentoring students who have attended and presented at NCPTW over the past few decades. In addition, Dr. Boquet is a thought leader within the NCPTW organization. From keynote addresses to exemplary publications that center peer tutors in the teaching of writing, her work has inspired and informed countless presentations at NCPTW conferences over the years. The committee recognized how Dr. Boquet’s values around peer writing tutoring and collaborative learning extend throughout your scholarship and her history with NCPTW. Especially noteworthy is her work with undergraduate student researchers. Committee members celebrated Dr. Boquet’s contributions: “…we are especially impressed by the ways in which Dr. Boquet has supported peer tutor leadership by collaborating with them as co-authors and co-researchers, thus modelling their incomparable value as well as prolifically describing it.” No one expressed the committee’s sentiment better than Carleigh Brower, Dr. Boquet’s former student and one of her recommenders: “I can think of no one more deserving of this award than Beth, whose dedication to fostering the work of peer tutors has shaped our field and personally impacted the lives of countless undergraduate students, graduate students, and writing center professionals.”