Need a distraction-free space to work on your scholarly projects? Join us for Scholarship Retreats at the JMU Farm!

Located 20 minutes from JMU’s campus, the facility offers 30 acres of nature including a view of the river and plenty of green space. Participants can choose to attend all day or any portion of the day for self-directed time to work on your scholarship, mini-workshops on scholarly processes, and 1:1 scholarship consultations by CFI staff and partners.

Workshop topics, facilitators, and times will be sent to registered attendees before the retreat. There will also be check-ins and opportunities to connect with other scholars over meals.

Lunch, snacks, and coffee/tea will be provided. Please include any accessibility needs including dietary restrictions in your profile (submit with your registration account setup).

Space is limited! 

Register for the entire day, or just one of the writing blocks and/or lunch. However, you must select at least one writing block option other than the meal with your registration.

NOTE: You are not required to attend for the entire writing block. If you are only able to attend for a portion, please select the writing block that overlaps with your availability. For example, if you can attend from 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM, select morning, lunch, and afternoon.

Location: JMU Farm

NOTE: The main floor of the home is accessible but stairs are required to access the second floor. All group activities will be scheduled on the main floor with the second floor used for quiet working space.

Genre: Retreat

Facilitators

• Dayna Henry, CFI & CHBS
• Tim Ball, CAL & CFI
• Melanie Shoffner, COE & CFI

• Connecting with other scholars
• Feeling connected to oneself as a scholar
• Making progress on scholarship project(s)
• Developing new scholarly skills through workshops (topics vary)

Our programs are intended for JMU faculty or staff only! If you are a student or administrator and would like to attend, please email cfi@jmu.edu with your request. Refer to the CFI Programs & Events webpage for detailed information and an instructional video on how to use the registration portal!

LOG IN: If this is your first time visiting the registration page, your account will be created automatically when you sign in with your JMU e-ID and password (DUO required). Be sure to clear your browser cache/cookies upon each visit to the registration page.

• Complete your profile information:
  • Update your college/division and department (use the search feature and/or select from the dropdown) and enter your Mail Stop Code (MSC) for your department on-campus mail.
  • Add comments about your dietary & accommodation needs at the bottom of the profile form. (This information is collected and stored with your online account for all future programs you may attend.)
• Once your profile is complete, you should see a status update as complete on your Dashboard (an overview of your account).

Tuesday Retreats: Register by Sunday, 11:59 PM

Friday Retreats: Register by Wednesday, 11:59 PM

After registering for your selected retreat, please be sure to ADD it to your calendar as a reminder.

For those of you scheduling for all the farm retreat dates, please review your calendar at least one week prior to the upcoming retreat to confirm your ability to attend!

Waitlist: If a session is full, you may add yourself to the waitlist. Should space be available, we will be contacting those on the waitlist via email.

Please complete the survey linked below to let us know what date(s) and time(s) you will be attending should there be any extra space to admit participants off the waitlist.

Join The Waitlist

“The Farm is gorgeous. I liked the huge chunks of writing time. I liked that the workshops were optional and also very helpful, and so I was attracted to them. I liked that it's far enough outside campus to seem a world away but is actually only 20 minutes from where I live. I liked the community that I experienced with faculty from other Colleges. I appreciated how nonjudgmental and generous the leaders are. I liked how they protected our quiet spaces and were encouraging in ways that felt real. The retreats were so affirming for me. I will be a regular.”

“Very pretty; nice to have a space where I wasn't tempted to do other needed tasks; nice to have other people working nearby.”

“The quiet unstructured time to work for hours on research, the opportunity to meet and talk with colleagues in other departments, the peace and beauty of the place, the convenience of having food and drinks available.”

If you find that you are unable to attend a scheduled event prior to the registration deadline, please return to your CFI Program Account and cancel your registration. If it is after the event registration deadline, please email cfi@jmu.edu as early as possible to avoid being waitlisted for future events.

We value your interest in this popular writing retreat; however, due to the high demand of faculty interest for this program, a registered participant who doesn't attend one of these scheduled events without prior notification to CFI may result in being waitlisted for future writing retreats this semester. We appreciate your respect for our programs and others that wish to attend.

CFI programs will be canceled automatically if JMU is closed for inclement weather.

We want this program to be welcoming, accessible, and inclusive for all of our participants. Please describe any considerations or accommodations (e.g., dietary, disability, wellness, cultural, etc.) you want us to know about in your account profile. You may also reach out to us at cfi@jmu.edu or (540) 568-4846.