ISSUED: 14 July 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — The National Writing Project at Shepherd University welcomed more than 20 teachers and educators from the area to participate in the 2025 Summer Institute in June.
The full-day professional development event took place on campus in Shepherd University’s Knutti Hall.
The 2025 Summer Institute, titled Imaginative Reading and Transformative Writing, offered educators, teachers, writers, and literacy leaders the opportunity to explore new techniques and approaches to writing and reading.
Participants engaged in workshops, collaborative breakout sessions, and hands-on writing exercises.
Highlights of the event included a keynote presentation by author, editor, and educator Dr. August Tarrier, who encouraged attendees to reimagine their own relationship with writing.
“It was a wonderful experience, and I’m so grateful to have been a part of it,” Tarrier said. “The teachers were so thoughtful and engaged, and I loved witnessing the community they created among themselves.”
Attendees left the Summer Institute with new strategies and techniques to support their literacy work, whether for personal growth or student-centered education.
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