The Rhetoric and Composition Program is proud of its sense of community. The program includes an energetic, intellectually stimulating, and diverse group of faculty, students, and graduates.  Community among faculty and students is built through coursework and programmatic events. The core courses build a space wherein students collaborate to explore the discipline of rhetoric and composition. Along with the core courses, students develop a strong community in their secondary area courses as they take many of the same classes, work on research projects, and gather to discuss current disciplinary issues. The bi-annual Hutton Lecture Series is yet another place where community is formed as all students and faculty gather to attend presentations by invited scholars in our field, ask questions about the presentations, and gather afterwards for refreshments and less formal discussion. Even after students have completed required coursework and when work on dissertations may become isolating, post-prelim meetings offer students time to discuss their dissertation projects with one another and a member of the faculty. Students working on their dissertations are also encouraged to form smaller writing groups in which they share drafts and discuss their projects. With one of the largest rhetoric and composition program alumni populations in the country, Purdue graduates and students also build a national sense of community through their ongoing interaction. A newsletter listing the accomplishments of alumni, faculty, and students is published five times a year and circulated across the community. At conferences around the country, graduate students within the program can count on meeting several alumni. Each year, too, the Conference on College Composition and Communication is the site of a reunion event that draws together faculty, students, and alumni.