CCCC-IP Remembers Candace Spigelman

On December 17, 2004, Candace Spigelman, longtime contributor to and then current co-chair of CCCC-IP died unexpectedly. In many ways, Candace was the ideal leader for the Caucus. More so than most, her scholarship was grounded in particular attention to the needs, expectations, and (mis)undertandings of individuals (especially students) as they work to establish themselves as writers. This is reflected in her books, "Across Property Lines" and the recently released "Personally Speaking: Experience as Evidence in Academic Discourse." At the time of her death, she had a number of projects underway. Some will be published in the coming months. Others will be completed by her many collaborators in the fields of composition and rhetoric. Some, inevitably, will never be completed, underscoring our loss.

Those of us who worked with Candace came to know her as a particularly engaged and committed colleague. Her leadership of the Caucus was marked by a blend of enthusiasm and efficiency. During her tenure, the Caucus continued its program of annual meetings addressing the intersections of composition and intellectual property, celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2004. Candace contributed mightily to the Caucus' move to its new Saturday workshop model, and to securing 2005's plenary session with Lawrence Lessig (chaired by CCCC-IP co-founder Andrea Lunsford)

After discussing an appropriate memorial with her family, the Caucus has determined to establish the Candace Spigelman Memorial Fund in support of the activities of CCCC-IP. Candace often bemoaned how constrained the Caucus was because of its lack of an operating budget that might be used to reinforce its efforts. Funds will be used to support the Caucus' web presence, to encourage graduate student participation in the Caucus workshop, and to generally enhance the Caucus' ability to educate teachers and students about the relationship between I.P. policies and the teaching of writing.

In the near term, John Logie will be collecting donations to the Spigelman Memorial Fund. Paypal transfers to "john@logie.net" are likely the most efficient approach. Be sure to specify the Spigelman Memorial Fund in the attached message. Checks for the fund can be sent to Logie at the following address:

John Logie
Department of Rhetoric
University of Minnesota
64 Classroom Office Building
1994 Buford Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108

We appreciate all contributions. More generally, please use this webspace to alert your Caucus colleagues to the work that you do that is inspired or informed by Candace Spigelman's scholarship. We will devote a portion of this year's CCCC-IP meeting to updating the members of the status of these efforts and to remembering our friend and colleague.