Washington Center Welcomes Dan Melzer, Visiting Scholar Spring 2026

Dan Melzer is a Professor of Writing at the University of California, Davis, and a nationally recognized scholar of writing studies, assessment, and institutional ethnography. His research examines how assessment cultures shape student learning, faculty practice, and institutional identity. For the past two years, he has conducted an in‑depth institutional ethnography of The Evergreen State College’s alternative assessment practices, work that will culminate in a forthcoming Routledge monograph, The Harms of Grading in Higher Education: Comparative Institutional Ethnographies of University Assessment Cultures (2026). The book contrasts Evergreen’s narrative‑evaluation model with the harsh‑grading culture of UC Berkeley, offering a rare comparative lens on how assessment systems influence equity, motivation, and student experience.

Melzer’s research at Evergreen has included interviews with students and faculty as well as collaboration with the Director of the Writing Center. Beyond this project, he is widely known for his scholarship on response to writing, student self‑assessment, and writing‑across‑the‑curriculum. He has delivered invited faculty development workshops at colleges and universities across the United States and has authored multiple books and articles that help educators design more humane, reflective, and learning‑centered assessment practices.