The focus of the 2012 Symposium grows, in part, out of a concern that was voiced a decade ago about whether the field of second language writing could produce enough Ph.D.s to remain viable, to sustain itself. It would appear that this concern, at least for the present time, has been largely alleviated. Since 2000, more than four hundred second language focused dissertations have been completed. However, what is less clear is how this has happened; that is, what institutional and personal forces have helped