Leigh Ryan Honored with President’s Distinguished Service Award

Our Writing Center's Director wins prestigious, much-deserved award.

The English Department’s Leigh Ryan has won the President's Distinguished Service Award.   This is amongst our University’s most prestigious annual awards, recognizing “exceptional performance, leadership, and service.”  The award is a true testament to Ryan’s commitment to the department, and to the University as a whole. 

Leigh revolutionized the University’s Writing Center almost 30 years ago.  When she first decided to take on the huge job of creating a single, unified writing machine, Leigh just spent her first semester “lean[ing] against the wall and watch[ing] it operate.”  Through careful observation, true enthusiasm, energy, and work with a cohort of professors, retirees, community volunteers, undergraduates, and graduate students, Leigh continues to shape the University’s Writing Center.  According to Department Chair, Kent Cartwright, Leigh’s “Center has contributed significantly to thousands and thousands of students in developing perhaps the most important skill that they can gain from their university education.”  Under Leigh’s direction, the Writing Center conducts around 9,000 tutoring sessions per year.  And this vast number means that, of course, she doesn’t just serve our department, but personally invests in the literacy of our University community at large. 

Leigh takes that investment to heart—and out into the world with her.  In 1991, she published The Bedford Guide for Writing Tutors, a concise and dynamic handbook geared to tutors and writing centers.  The Guide is now in its fifth edition, and co-authored by Lisa Zimmerelli (Leigh’s long time assistant gone Loyola Writing Center Director). Leigh has also used her experience within our own Writing Center to help set the standard for Universities worldwide—and not just in print.  Over the past few years Leigh has spoken at almost a dozen overseas conferences, from Coventry to Istanbul.  She consulted with university directors to start a premier center in South Africa.  And Leigh actively participated in opening the doors to the first writing centers in both Iceland and Namibia. 

Leigh Ryan spoke of these things not as achievements, but as humble honors.  Her self-proclaimed love of literacy is inspiring to say the least.  She is warm, sharp, effusive, and passionate.  She approaches her job and the University community with “indefatigable goodwill,” according to Kent Cartwright; and Leigh says she is “happy to pull into the parking lot” every morning.  While she is “stunned and a little overwhelmed” by this amazing recognition of her involvement in Maryland’s literary community, Leigh will no doubt graciously accept the President's Distinguished Service Award at the Faculty and Staff Convocation on October 12, at 3 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel.