NCPTW 2024: Buffalo, New York

Winter campus scene at Buffalo State College. Image courtesy of SUNY Buffalo State University.

The NCPTW Steering Committee has selected Buffalo, New York as the venue for its 40th annual conference in 2024. Hosted by Buffalo State University Writing Center, the conference theme will draw from Buffalo’s nickname the “city of good neighbors.” The theme, ‘Across the Mending Wall: Writing Centers as “Good Neighbors”?’ asks participants to question the commonplaces of writing centers, and whether we are engaging our neighbors in the ways that we think we are, just as we may question the commonplaces that are assumed of cities. The proposal, authored by Buffalo State’s Writing Center Director, Dr. Maggie M. Herb establishes the conference in Buffalo’s complex history. “What kind of neighbors are [writing centers] to our peers and colleagues,” Herb asks, encouraging us to question and challenge the common narratives of our work, reflecting on how Buffalo needs to reflect on its status as a “city of good neighbors.”

Newly renovated lobby in E.H. Butler Library at SUNY Buffalo State College, home of the Buff State Writing Center. Image courtesy of SUNY Buffalo State University.

“What kind of neighbors are Writing Centers to our broader campus communities and to the towns in which our institutions are located?” she asks. “I am thrilled for NCPTW to be held at a SUNY institution for the first time in over 20 years!” Herb stated. “Buffalo State is a diverse, community-engaged city university that I hope will be a well-suited and energizing place for us to come together to engage with the complicated and important work we do.”

The conference will be held Thursday, November 7 to Saturday, November 9, 2024 mainly on the campus of Buffalo State University, located in a “vibrant city neighborhood,” encompassed by Delaware park, near art museums, restaurants, and picturesque neighborhoods. The call for proposals, information about travel and lodging, as well as registration is forthcoming at https://www.thencptw.org/buffalo.