Mamie Webb Hixon, Writing Lab Director

Mamie Webb Hixon

Some call her the Grammar Lady; some call her the Grammar Police Officer; others call her the Watchdog of the English Language; many call her the Grammar Guru. She is Mamie Webb Hixon, an assistant professor of English, twenty-year director of the Writing Lab, and creator of the Grammar Hotline at the University of West Florida. Hixon is also a motivational speaker, a professional editor, and the author of two grammar books: Real Good Grammar, Too (with a companion pocket book entitled Grammar Shots from Mamie’s Pronoun Case) published by Kendall/Hunt Publishers, Inc. of Dubuque, Iowa (1997); and Essentials of English Language published by Research and Education Association, Inc. of Piscataway, New Jersey (2002). She co-authored a preparation manual for the College Level Academic Skills Test entitled "Best Preparation for the CLAST" published by Research and Education Association, Inc. of Piscataway, New Jersey (2002).

Hixon is co-editor of all four volumes of When Black Folks Was Colored, a publication of the African-American Heritage Society, Pensacola, Florida, and has produced and directed four African-American poetry readings called Our Voices Are Many. She compiled and edited a chapbook collection of essays and poems about Alzheimer’s disease called Remembering Those Who Can’t Remember, published by Alzheimer’s Family Services, Inc.

Hixon has presented a number of on-the-job grammar and professional writing workshops to office managers, law enforcement officers, journalists and other media personnel, medical and legal professionals, high school students, youth groups, and educators on topics including, but not limited to, “Guilty As Charged: Real Bad Grammar,” “Taking Care of Your Business Writing,” "On-the-Job Grammar,” “Using Mo’ Better English,” and “Switching Gears from the Living Room to the Board Room.”

You can hear Hixon doing radio grammar on It’s GrammarTime every Monday morning at 6:30 on WRNE AM Radio, and you can read her column “GrammarWatch” in the Pensacola Independent Voice.

Hixon taught English in the public education system and at the community- college level before coming to UWF. Hixon has both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English, the bachelor’s from Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama, and the master’s from the University of West Florida, Pensacola, Florida. Hixon teaches a variety of English courses: Modern Grammar and Usage, Special Methods of Teaching English, Intro to Lit, and Black Women Writers; she also teaches an online Practical Grammar class.

Mamie Hixon is the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Faculty Service Award for her exemplary community service to the university and the surrounding communities. Among Hixon’s noteworthy service contributions are the Grammar Hotline, which was recently featured in a NY Times article; her productions of Our Voices Are Many (a theatrical presentation of African-American literature), her membership on various boards including Pensacola 450th Celebration committee, her contributions to Images in Black, a Pictorial of Black Pensacola; her local AM radio grammar program; her conducting grammar workshops for various professional groups; and her being a motivational speaker. This is Hixon’s second time receiving the award. She first received the Distinguished Faculty Service Award in 1993.

Betty Acree Burleson, Coordinator Academic Programs

Betty Burleson is the Coordinator of Academic Programs for the Writing Lab. She has a B.A. in English and an M.Ed. from the University of West Florida.

The Write People

The University's Writing Skills Lab is staffed by trained, qualified graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants who provide one-on-one tutoring to students who want to improve their writing skills. "Labbies" administer and grade tests, read students' papers, and answer questions related to written and spoken communication.