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Kristi Girdharry

  • Associate Teaching Professor
  • Director of the Writing Center
Academic Division: Arts & Humanities
781-239-4485
Kristi Girdharry is Associate Teaching Professor of English and Director of the Writing Center at Babson College where she co-leads The Generator, Babson's interdisciplinary AI lab. In addition to supporting faculty and students on their generative AI journey, The Generator has been recognized through receiving a 2026 NERCOMP Distinguished Team Award and being featured in the 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report.

An award-winning teacher (Northeastern University, 2014; Babson College, 2022), Girdharry teaches courses on writing, tutoring, social media, and generative AI, including "Writing with Robots: Authenticity, Ethics, and AI." She also co-leads the Babson Writing Study, a longitudinal research project on student learning and writing development, and works with Babson's Doctor of Business Administration program.

Girdharry's research examines AI and writing pedagogy, writing transfer, and writing center theory. Her work has appeared in College Composition and Communication, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, Literacy in Composition Studies, and Double Helix. Her public-facing writing on AI and teaching has been featured in The Conversation, Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and NPR's Marketplace. She is co-author of Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education (MIT Press, 2026).

Nationally, she chairs the CCCC WAC Standing Group, helps lead the MLA RCWS Literacy Studies committee, serves on the advisory board for Composition Studies, and reviews for Across the Disciplines and Research in the Teaching of English.

Academic Degrees

  • Ph D, Northeastern University
  • MA, University of Massachusetts Boston
  • BA, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Academic Interest / Expertise

Writing Centers; Rhetoric and Composition; Pedagogy; Generative Artificial Intelligence; Teaching-for-Transfer; Learning; Service-Learning; Play

Awards & Honors

  • 2026 — Distinguished Team Award (The Generator), NERCOMP
  • 2025 — Faculty Development for Generative AI Exemplar, EDUCAUSE
  • 2024 — Babson College Faculty Service Award, Dean of Faculty
  • 2022 — Dean’s Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching - Undergraduate, Dean of the College

Courses

  • Degree Courses 2026

    • WRT 4602 PRACTICUM IN PEER CONSULTING AND WRITING
    • MDS 4625 THE RHETORIC OF SOCIAL MEDIA
    • WRT 1001 WRITING ACROSS CONTEXTS

  • Degree Courses 2025

    • WRT 4602 PRACTICUM IN PEER CONSULTING AND WRITING
    • WRT 4601 WRITING WITH ROBOTS
    • WRT 2000 RESEARCH WRITING

Publications

Journal Articles

  • Girdharry, K. (in press). Literacy Sponsorship, GenAI, and the Entangled Economies of Experiential Learning. Literacy in Composition Studies.
  • Girdharry, K. (2025). From Cheating to Cheat Codes: Integrating Generative AI Ethics into Collaborative Learning. College Composition and Communication. Vol: 77, Issue: 1. National Council of Teachers of English. link
  • Girdharry, K., Wynstra, B. (2025). Distributed AI Leadership: The Generator as a Model for Faculty Led Innovation. Journal of Leadership Studies. Vol: 19, Issue: 2. Wiley. link
  • McElroy, S.J., Girdharry, K. (2024). Ethics and AI Assemblages: A Heuristic Analysis of Undergraduate Business Student Perspectives. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. Vol: 87, Issue: 2. Sage. link
  • Girdharry, K., Khachatryan, D. (2024). Meaningful Writing in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Double Helix: A Journal of Critical Thinking and Writing. Vol: 11. link
  • Smith, K.G., Girdharry, K., Gallagher, C.W. (2021). Writing Transfer, Integration, and the Need for the Long View. College Composition and Communication. Vol: 73, Issue: 1. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2021). Organizational Sponsorship: An Ethical Framework for Community Oral History Projects. The Oral History Review. Vol: 48, Issue: 2, Page: 246-257. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2021). Gentle Excavations: Mindfully Shifting to an Explicitly Antiracist Writing Center. The Peer Review. Vol: 5, Issue: 1. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2020). #BostonStrong/BostonStrong?: A Personal Essay on Digital Community Engagement. Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric. Vol: 19, Issue: 2, Page: 195-207. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2019). Disrupting Social-Educational Spaces: Reflections on a Community-Based Learning Project. IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2019). Crowdsourcing History: Challenges and Opportunities of the Historial Archive. The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy. Issue: 14. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2019). "Enough to Write the Papers": Reading and Reflection in the Writing Tutorial. WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. Vol: 43, Issue: 5-6. link

Conference Proceedings

  • Girdharry, K., McElroy, S.J. (in press). Thinking Across Borders: International Students and the Complexity of Writing Transfer: Writing Education Across Borders.
  • Girdharry, K., Rourke, K.E. (2025). Truth, Lies, and Algorithms: Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Strategies for Media Literacy: Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Social Media- ECSM 2025. Vol: 12, Issue: 1, Page: 230-239. Academic Conferences International Limited.

Book Chapters

  • Girdharry, K. (in press). A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding Diverse Students' Learning Narratives Over Time: Sage Research Methods: Inclusive Research Methodologies. Sage. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2025). Online Community Building via Speed Dating: Professors at Play ONLINE PlayBook. Carnegie Mellon's ETC Press. link
  • Girdharry, K., Wynstra, B. (2024). Embodying Rhetoric: Quick Scripts and 'Acts' of Persuasion: TextGenEd: Continuing Experiments. The WAC Clearninghouse. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2020). Practically Online: Redesigning Student-Led Presentations for Online Environments: Textshop Experiments: Pedagogy Pop Up. Vol: 7, Issue: 5. link
  • Girdharry, K., Simpson, A. (2019). Introduction to the 2019 Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series: Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series. Parlor Press. link
  • Girdharry, K., Benda, J., Gallagher, C.W., Lerner, N., Noonan, M. (2018). Confronting "Superdiversity" in U.S. Writing Programs: The Internationalization of U.S. Writing Programs. Utah State University Press.

Books

  • Gallagher, C., Girdharry, K., Smith, K.G. (in press). Getting Learning Right: The Promise of Higher Education. MIT Press.

Other

  • Girdharry, K., Noyes, E.A. (2025). AI demands a fundamental shift in how higher ed organizes knowledge.: AI demands a fundamental shift in how higher ed organizes knowledge. Issue: Special Report: Leading in the AI Age, Page: 3. Chronicle of Higher Education. link
  • Fodrey, C.N., Girdharry, K. (2025). Not Just Another AI Statement: Modeling Process and Collaboration in Higher Education. Inside Higher Ed. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2025). Spilling the AI Tea: The Important Work. link
  • Girdharry, K. (2025). Teaching With AI: A Journey Through Grief. Inside Higher Ed. link

Presentations

  • The Generator: A Faculty-Led Model for AI Collaboration Girdharry, K. AIxEd Summit, Boston, MA (2025)
  • Recalculating…: Teaching Writing on Algorithmic Roads Girdharry, K. BRAWN Summer Institute, Boston, MA (2025)
  • Truth, Lies, and Algorithms: Pedagogical Strategies for Media Literacy Girdharry, K. Rourke, K. European Conference on Social Media, Porto, Portugal (2025)
  • AI's Impact on the Foundations of Higher Education: What Differentiates Babson in this Moment Girdharry, K. C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship Dedication, Babson Park, MA (2024)
  • Thinking Across Borders: A Longitudinal Study of Writing Transfer Girdharry, K. McElroy, S. Writing Education Across Borders, Salt Lake City. UT (2024)
  • Curiosity Killed the Chat: An AI Workshop for Beginners Girdharry, K. The Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network (BRAWN) Summer Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston (2024)
  • Writing Freely against Scarce Time: A Creative Nonfiction Writing Workshop Girdharry, K. Conference on College Communication and Composition, Spokane, WA (2024)
  • Grammar Errors that Grind our Gears: Evaluating Context in Business Communication Getchell, K. Girdharry, K. Lentz, P. Association of Business Communication Conference, Denver, CO (2023)
  • Sip 'N Speak with the Liberal Arts Girdharry, K. Rourke, K. Back to Babson 2023, Babson College (2023)
  • The Joy of Teaching Writing: Playful Pedagogy in the Composition Classroom Girdharry, K. The Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network (BRAWN) Summer Institute, Harvard University (2023)
  • Beta Gamma Sigma Keynote Address Girdharry, K. Beta Gamma Sigma, Babson College (2023)
  • Equitable Hiring: Reflective Practices for Writing Center Inclusivity Girdharry, K. Conference on College Communication and Composition, Chicago, IL (2023)
  • Examining the Teaching-for-Transfer Model with Student Writers Girdharry, K. McElroy, S. Babson Research Day 2023, Babson College (2023)
  • Allyship in the Workplace Kerrigan, M. Girdharry, K. Taste Of Babson, Babson College (2022)
  • Writing for Wikipedia Girdharry, K. Learn & Inspire, Babson College (2022)
  • What Changes in Student Writing? Girdharry, K. Gallagher, C. Smith, K. Donahue, T. Gere, A. Silver, N. Conference on College Composition and Communication, virtual (2021)
  • Let’s Go Remote!: Community-Engaged Learning in the Age of Covid-19 Girdharry, K. Finn, S. Avery-Miller, E. BRAWN Community Engagement Workshop, online (2020)
  • Narratives of Risk and/in Community Writing Girdharry, K. Conference on Community Writing, Philadelphia, PA (2019)
  • The show must go on, even if you just got the script: Supporting First-Generation Students through Writing and Community Engagement Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Pittsburgh, PA (2019)
  • Archives on the Move: (Re)Circulating Identity, Language, and Precarious History Girdharry, K. The Twelfth Biennial Thomas R. Watson Conference on Rhetoric and Composition, Louisville, KY (2018)
  • Service-Learning and Community Partnerships in Writing Courses Girdharry, K. Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network - Summer Institute, Boston, MA (2018)
  • Storytelling, Archives, and Resilience: 5 Years After the Boston Marathon Bombings Girdharry, K. Northeastern Digital Scholarship Group Series, Boston, MA (2018)
  • Let’s Talk About Sex(ual Abuse and Violence): Student Agency and Experience in Community Projects Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Kansas City, MO (2018)
  • Tutor Reflection and Approaches in Multilingual Cross-Cultural Writing Center Sessions Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Portland, OR (2017)
  • Building Meaningful Connections in Online Learning Spaces Girdharry, K. Biennial Conference on Critical Thinking and Writing, Hamden, CT (2016)
  • Methodological Orientations to the Decolonized Archive Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Houston, TX (2016)
  • We Don’t Do That Here: Repositioning Grammar as Rhetorical Choice Girdharry, K. Northeast Writing Center Association (NEWCA), Keene, NH (2016)
  • "We are ALL Boston Strong!": Public Writing in Digital Community Spaces Girdharry, K. Modern Language Association, Austin, TX (2016)
  • "You want me to write what? Where?!": Spatial Theory and Place-Based Pedagogy Girdharry, K. Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network - Summer Institute, Boston, MA (2015)
  • Engaging Digital Community Spaces in the Composition Classroom Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Tampa, FL (2015)
  • Community Engagement in First-Year Writing Girdharry, K. Engaging Practices Conference, Boston, MA (2014)
  • Using Quantitative and Qualitative Methods to Investigate Multilingual Writers’ Experiences Girdharry, K. Conference on College Composition and Communication, Indianapolis, IN (2014)
  • Around DH in 80 Days: Doing Digital Humanities from the Ground Up Girdharry, K. Modern Language Association, Chicago, IL (2014)
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Professional Services

  • Reviewer, Journal Article Proceedings of the Modern Language Association (PMLA) (2024 - Present)
  • Board Member Composition Studies (2023 - Present)
  • Board Member Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (2023 - 2025)
  • Editor, Book The Best of the Journals in Rhetoric and Composition Series (2018 - 2024)

Professional Memberships

  • Association for Writing Across the Curriculum
  • Northeast Writing Center Association
  • Boston Rhetoric and Writing Network
  • International Writing Center Association