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 early summer and require an application.
Faculty development research suggests that faculty retreats, away from campus, increase productivity, collaboration, and sense of community. Research also suggests the positive physiological and psychological benefits that natural environments have on people of all ages, including faculty. Finally, the opportunity to reflect on your scholarly identity and connect with other scholars can provide a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm for scholarship. JMU faculty who attended past off-campus Scholarship Residency programs have reported significant productivity in terms of pages produced, grants written, and projects completed and a renewed sense of scholarly identity and community.
View current programs offered through the CFI Program event feed below or go directly to the CFI event page!
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
Participant Reflections on Scholarship Residency
Here are some ways faculty members from different academic units have reflected on scholarly 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.”
“I had hoped to finish a book proposal at the retreat, but that plan was a bit unrealistic. 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 Related to the Program
- Brantmeier, E., Byrne, J., Molloy, C. (2017) "Writing Renewal Retreats: The Scholarly Writer, Contemplative Practice, and Scholarly Productivity" To Improve the Academy Volume 36, Issue 2 p. 137-155.
Signature Programs
