The Directorship of the Writing Program is named in honor of Norah Ashe-McNalley, PhD., who served as the program’s first faculty director from 2018 to 2025. As Director, she guided the program through a period of significant transformation, expanding its reach through strengthening its professional and pedagogical culture. A dedicated teacher and mentor, Norah shaped generations of Writing Program instructors through her commitment to thoughtful, student-centered pedagogy. She led major programmatic initiatives, including founding the USC Undergraduate Writers Conference and the undergraduate literary journal Angelingo, and she played a central role in advancing experiential learning and upper-division writing while sustaining the program’s foundational undergraduate mission. Norah’s leadership and vision continue to define the Writing Program.