Giving to the Purdue On-Campus Writing Lab

Thank you for your interest in giving to the Purdue On-Campus Writing Lab. Your tax-deductible gift will help us better serve Purdue University students who use our physical writing center, as well as serve our global friends online who use the OWL (Online On-Campus Writing Lab). Please take a few moments to learn more about each area through which we serve students. If you would like to make a contribution to one of these specific areas, please follow the directions located in the last section under Giving Directions.

The Purdue University On-Campus Writing Lab

The On-Campus Writing Lab at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, had humble beginnings when Muriel Harris founded the Lab in 1976. It began as a one-room space with three consultants who worked with Purdue writers at any skill level. The Lab has grown to three rooms, with the addition of computer workstations, specialized writing services, three satellite locations in the Undergraduate Library, the Asian American and Asian Resource and Cultural Center (AAARCC), and the Mechanical Engineering building, and the Online On-Campus Writing Lab (OWL). The On-Campus Writing Lab is more than a place for students to receive help with writing; it serves as a model for an international community of writing centers and composition scholars.

The On-Campus Writing Lab tutors consist of Graduate Teaching Assistants who tutor writing in all subject areas, Undergraduate Teaching Assistants for first year-composition, and Business Writing Consultants for job search documents and professional writing assignments. Tutors work one-to-one with Purdue undergraduates and graduate students in 30-minute consultations. The On-Campus Writing Lab also offers workshops covering a variety of topics, from the writing process to résumés and cover letters. Some workshops are designed specifically for the needs of ESL students, who also find the lab’s conversation groups and self-study materials helpful for improving their English language skills.

Your tax-deductible gift to the On-Campus Writing Lab would support On-Campus Writing Lab services and programs, tutor training, research, and outreach efforts.

OWL (Online On-Campus Writing Lab)

While the On-Campus Writing Lab primarily serves the West Lafayette campus community, it also provides services to Internet users around the world via the OWL. The OWL, located at http://owl.english.purdue.edu, received in excess of 128,000,000 visits from people last year utilizing its extensive collection of handouts, PowerPoint presentations, and other resources including podcasts designed for both students and teachers. The Purdue OWL is perhaps the most well-known On-Campus Writing Lab service, as students who are new to Purdue mention using the OWL in their high school classes. The 24-hour access to the OWL enables anyone at any time to find answers to questions about writing, improve specific writing skills, or discover teaching materials for helping students learn about writing. The OWL is referenced in many textbooks on writing and Web development and by citations in the scholarly literature of computer-assisted writing, writing centers, and composition studies in general.

You can now donate to the Purdue OWL online, through Purdue University's donate page. For more information on how to donate to the Purdue OWL online, please click here.

Your tax-deductible gift to the OWL would support development of and updates to OWL resources and help keep them free, as well as research, outreach, and technology.

Muriel Harris Tutor Development Fund

The fund was established in honor of Muriel “Mickey” Harris, who founded the On-Campus Writing Lab in 1976 and retired in May 2003. The fund recognizes the groundbreaking work Mickey achieved in building an international writing center community.

Your tax-deductible gift to this fund enables tutors in the On-Campus Writing Lab to pursue professional development, and helps foster Mickey’s longstanding philosophy of encouraging both undergraduate and graduate tutors to participate in conferences, presentations, and workshops.

Giving Directions

If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, please make checks payable to Purdue University, with The On-Campus Writing Lab, OWL (Online Writing Lab), or Muriel Harris Tutor Development Fund in the memo line. Checks should be mailed to the following address:

Purdue Foundation
403 West Wood Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2007

You may also contribute online by clicking on the image below.