Email: gball@ggu.edu

Distinguished Adjunct Professor Gwen Ball graduated from Mills College in 1989, in Oakland, California, with an MFA in Writing, and began teaching English courses ranging from introductory composition to graduate research writing, at Golden Gate University, Laney College, College of Alameda and Diablo Valley College. She became an early adopter of online learning and tutoring while teaching undergraduate English courses and became one of the first fully online instructors at GGU, teaching English 10B and English 1B, in GGU’s newly developed cyber campus. In 1998 Professor Ball was tasked with creating an Online Writing Lab to assist students in the burgeoning online community with their writing needs. Known as the OWL, this tutoring service continues to provide fully online assistance, serving all GGU students, including international and graduate students. As its sole manager, she’s seen the OWL grow from one tutor to a team of 10, assisting students in developing their communication, research, and writing skills. In 2019 she became the Math Tutoring Services Manager as well and began to oversee the transition from in-person tutoring to ZOOM (Virtual) Tutoring for both Math and Writing. Professor Ball continues to advocate for tutoring as a tool for all students, in all stages of the writing process. Professor Ball primarily teaches English 60, Research Writing, previously known as English 1B, a course she’s had an extensive connection with, inspired by the Ken Macrorie approach to the “I-Search,” a process of research that connects meaningfully to the students’ current lives. Professor Ball lives with her family in Alameda, California.