Del Mar College celebrates Stone Writing Center’s Golden Anniversary on April 15 with open house and recognition of namesake, Dr. Virginia Stone
Article by Melinda Eddleman Fifty years ago, the Del Mar College (DMC) Stone Writing Center (SWC) first started as a one-room English Learning Lab in the English Building on what was known as the East Campus. Several moves over the past five decades included occupying a former girl’s dormitory repurposed for academic needs, taking over the fourth floor of White Library due to demolition work to make room for a new four-building complex as part of a capital improvement project, relocating from White Library for renovations that brought the facility into the 21st century and then moving back to its home on the library’s second floor. The name also changed a few times, but the purpose, mission and dream of the late Dr. Virgina Stone has held steady––to serve students to become better and more confident writers, a communication skill needed for their academic work but also required by many employers. On April 15 that included a musical kick-off by Mariachi Del Mar, SWC staff, the college community and any former students who used the facility recognized the Stone Writer Center’s impact on student success and marked its Golden Anniversary with a come-and-go celebration as the beginning of the next 50 years. The center is located on the second floor of White Library on the Heritage Campus. Vice President and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Jonda Halcomb added to those sentiments, “The Stone Writing Center has proven to be an invaluable service to our students, and over the past five decades has seen has seen many changes, including locations, faculty and staff and technological advancements, but the center has never wavered from their original mission.” The Stone Writing Center has served multitudes of students since 1976, and recent available data from SWC staff shows that nearly 98,000 online and on-campus 30-minute tutorial sessions were provided between fall 2015 and fall 2025. One student’s anonymous response to the SWC’s 2023 Student Satisfaction Survey says it all. They submitted, “The Stone Writing Center is my home away from home, and I always recommend the tutor lab to fellow students. The degree of assistance I get there plays a critical role in my academic development.” Offering a range of assistance with compositions and essays, punctuation and grammar, literary elements, course-specific writing and forms of writing style, along with other resources–resume writing, application essays and peer reviews, the SWC serves students on all three DMC campuses and utilizes the latest technology that coincides with today’s communication skills needed for success. (Oct. 9, 2025 “Innovation Using Technology” Blog). In fact, the SWC is known for its innovation, including: piloting online instruction for one-hour writing labs in 1995 before the DMC was online, SWC faculty teaching one-hour writing labs using dial-up from their homes, implementing in fall 2025 SWC Online, an online tutoring program housed in Canvas, and already having a robust online tutorial program with well-trained tutors ready to offer continuous assistance when the world shut down and DMC went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of assisting students with their literacy and writing skills at DMC began with Dr. Stone, who between 1948 and 1985 served as an English Professor, English Department Chair, Dean and Special Assistant to the President. She is credited along with her colleague––the late Dr. Aileen Creighton––with beginning in the 1960s one of the first curricula in the nation for remedial English classes, an initiative unheard of at that time. Additionally, DMC was the first U.S. college to establish an English Learning Center in the Southwest, making the Stone Writing Center one of the oldest in country. Chronological Stone Writing Center History (provided by SEC staff as factsheet): The 70s In 1976, the concept of a writing center began in one room of the English Building. This resource soon expanded to include a second room, more staff, and text and audio-visual materials, formally becoming The English Learning Center (ELC). This center fulfilled the late Dr. Virginia Stone’s dream that Del Mar College provide a place and the staff for students to get one-on-one instruction, supplemental to the classroom, in English skills. For the remainder of the 1970s, development of self-paced, diagnostic, and tutorial instruction was initiated in the ELC. The 80s Throughout the 1980s, the ELC’s reputation as an innovative educational facility continued. Because of increased demand for services, the ELC moved into the English Annex building, which was renamed the English Learning Center. It then housed the Stone English Learning Lab. Emphasis was on hiring professional tutors, purchasing computers—TRS80s—for computer-assisted instruction, and expanding the focus to include all aspects of the writing process. The 90s The 1990s were characterized by a focus on technology and diversification of services. The ELC began teaching newly-required One-Hour Labs for English courses. This resulted in upgrading of computers and infusion of internet technology in the lab curriculum. Alternative delivery methods, such as virtual labs and a comprehensive website, were also created. The ELC also began serving as a distance learning testing center for the College and offering tutoring services to all academic disciplines, not just English. These changes ultimately instigated a shift in name from the ELC to the Stone Writing Center (SWC) to better reflect its broader services. The 00s In the 2000s, SWC continued to build upon the milestones from its past, while paving the way for future innovations. What began primarily as a pencil-and-paper, grammar-based, drill-and-practice, self-paced resource has evolved over a quarter of a century into a more technological, professional, and instructional center. The 10s The 2010s ushered in a period of exciting changes. In 2012, the SWC moved to the 4th floor of the White Library due to the expansion of the Music building. The One-Hour English Labs were discontinued in 2014, and the SWC became a stand-alone area. The online writing tutoring program was expanded and housed in Canvas. The 20s In 2020, the SWC easily pivoted to operating completely online due to the pandemic. Tutoring was available 24/7 via Canvas in SWC Online. Workshops were conducted via Teams, and online resources were shared with students and faculty via email. Student questions were answered via a new service called Ask a Writing Tutor, which allowed students to call and speak with a SWC writing tutor during posted hours. Once the College reopened the campuses, the SWC offered on-campus tutoring on all three campuses (Heritage, Oso Creek, and Windward) in addition to its online tutoring program. In 2025, the SWC moved to the 2nd floor of the newly-renovated White Library on the Heritage Campus. SWC’s redesigned website, with expanded research and writing resources, was also launched in 2025. Currently, the SWC provides one-on-one and small group writing instruction to help students from all disciplines develop and strengthen their writing skills. Students can meet with a tutor on campus, or they can submit their work to the Stone Writing Center Online in Canvas. SWC offers spaces, devices, and other study areas for students to use individually or in groups. Much has changed in the 50 years the Stone Writing Center has been open. Yet, it has never lost sight of its original mission...to help students become better writers and lifelong learners. ###
