This article contests the prevailing assumption that composition scholarship has only recently begun to theorize the role of the writing program administrator. While many contemporary scholars accept the idea that the field mainly offered practical "how-to" articles early on in its history, the author rereads work from past decades to show otherwise. The recovery of these articles offers valuable insights into current debates about the place of theory in WPA work by strengthening the view that theory is a vital and inseparable element of intellectual inquiry. This article also strives to enable a more dynamic understanding of the ways that WPAs harness theory to articulate and accomplish their agendas.