Beginning in the fall of 2008 (and continuing through the spring of 2013), Virginia State University, America's first fully state supported four-year institution of higher learning for Blacks and one of two land-grant institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia, launched a comprehensive and ambitious program to develop a culture of writing (and thinking) to enhance its students academic and professional success. This program stems from the university's desire to enhance teaching and learning through writing and to meet a SACS accreditation requirement to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan that focuses on a significant issue that relates to student learning. Together, electronic portfolios, Washington State University's "Guide to Rating Integrative and Critical Thinking," and a variety of comparative data on persistence and retention, are being used to assess the development of a culture of writing at Virginia State University.