CFI: Scholarship Residency

Scholarship Residency (formerly Writing Renewal Retreat) is a three-day retreat with a community of faculty scholars seeking renewal with their scholarship. Scholarship Residency programs are generally held in the fall and early summer with an open application period proceeding each.

Faculty development research suggests that faculty retreats, away from campus, increase productivity and collaboration. Research also suggests the positive physiological and psychological benefits that natural environments have on people of all ages, including faculty. Finally, research suggests that the use of contemplative practices, a core feature of this unique retreat, has positive influences on brain elasticity, resilience, focus, attention, and overall productivity. In addition to gratitude and feelings of connection, JMU faculty who attended past off-campus Scholarship Residency programs have reported significant productivity in terms of pages produced, grants written, and projects completed.

Scholarship related to the program

Scholarship Residency Fall 2020

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Scholarship Residency (Online Faculty Community)

Group will meet on Friday, 10/16 from 1-5 PM and on Saturday, 10/17 from 9 AM-5 PM.

APPLY HERE application preview

Extended deadline: Monday, 10/05/2020 by 12 PM

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) scholarship, and creative endeavors, are perhaps more important now than ever given compounding factors involved in the COVID -19 crisis – a global pandemic, economic disparity, rising racial tensions, and climate change.

Participate in this two-part, day-and-a-half long, online program with a scholarly community that is making an effort to promote JEDI through scholarship. For those who seek renewal as a scholar during COVID -19, this is the chance to regain momentum on scholarship projects as well.

Participants will engage in an active dialogue on JEDI with an aim to: cultivate a supporting scholarly community; engage in contemplative practices in order to care for the scholarship by caring for the scholar; commit sustained time to completing a scholarship project; and create physical spaces within and around home that are specifically reserved for scholarship.

The retreat experience is balanced between a day long goal setting and writing session and a half-day reflective and integrative session. Synchronous sessions will involve roundtables on JEDI, wellness practices, sustaining a positive relationship with your scholarship, and some unstructured time for collegiality and creative expression.

Facilitators:

Participant reflections on Scholarship Residency

Here's how faculty members from different academic units have reflected on productivity and their retreat time:

"It was so energizing to be in a context in which I was only focusing on my scholarly identity. I was able to get excited about my project again.”
“Making progress on a scholarship progress. I was avoiding the paper that I ended up working on while I was at the retreat. I have been putting off working on it for months, so it was nice to finally have organized time set aside (in a beautiful location!) to work on it.”
“I think the mindfulness along with the scholarship helped me to be productive. It was also helpful just being around others who wanted to be productive in their work.”
“Everything about the retreat exceeded my expectations. I did get some writing/editing done, but I also gained so much more: a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm, helpful writing and productivity strategies, new friendships with wonderful colleagues, and a strong sense of community.”

Scholarship Residency Program outcomes

Faculty participants will make progress toward:

Renewing oneself as a scholar,
Making progress on a scholarship project,
Developing metacognitive awareness of writing process and habits,
Appreciating contemplative practices for increasing focus, awareness, and well-being, and
Enhancing scholarly productivity.