The Public Writing Initiative (PWI) is a project of Penn State Learning that works to bring students from Composition, Creative, Technical, Business, Humanities, and Social Sciences writing courses into contact with community organizers and professionals who use writing on a daily basis, even in the most unlikely of fields. The goal of the PWI is to highlight for Penn State students the importance of writing across the curriculum in all fields, disciplines, and ultimately, in all careers.

Currently, the PWI works to meet these goals through two distinct initiatives. The Commissioned Assignment Program facilitates partnerships between local businesses/organizations on writing projects, and the Guest Speaker Series brings single-day guest speakers from a variety of industries into Penn State writing classes to speak with students about writing on the job. See the videos below to learn more about each initiative:

PWI began in 1994 as an initiative of The Leonhard Center for Enhancement of Engineering Education to highlight the importance of writing for engineering students. Several years later, the program expanded to bring student writers from all disciplines in closer contact with their community, an initiative that evolved into a project of Penn State Learning.