The director of a freshman writing program must establish a position of quiet but firm power. Only if a director starts with authority, money, and intelligence, can he or she hope for lasting and beneficial change in a college writing program. The director should also have a commitment to teaching writing. Dedication to such a task requires energy, the power to cajole colleagues, and the power to establish an underlying philosophy of the purpose of writing. A part of that underlying philosophy should acknowledge writing as a way of thinking, of ordering perceptions, and of grasping control of a subject. The method of making assignments should be sequential so that students are asked to see and resee a subject in a variety of ways. A sequence of carefully framed writing assignments thus invites students to concentrate on invention, the crucial first step in the writing process and one often ignored in traditional writing textbooks. Comments on student writing must be pointed toward growth in writing rather than toward justifying a grade. Finally, the administration of a freshman writing program should not obscure the ultimate goal--the teaching of writing. (HOD)