On May 2, 2025, the Office of Faculty Advancement hosted the 2025 Faculty Writing Retreat, offering a professional experience designed to foster community, enhance productivity, and empower faculty’s writing goals. Throughout the day, more than 50 faculty members engaged in a combination of focused writing sessions and skill-building activities to support their academic writing endeavors.
The agenda includes an introduction to writing circles and goal setting by Dr. Arelis Moore, two dedicated writing sessions, and an opportunity to connect with faculty members in writing circles at the end of the day.
Participants also had the opportunity to attend a special presentation titled “3 Strategies for Academic Writing“ by Dr. Cameron Bushnell, Pearce Center Director. The presentation included a brief tour through recent literature providing guidance to academic writers, highlighting ways to help academics make the most of their writing time including knowing what kind of writer they are, setting monthly and daily schedules, and adopting a craftsman attitude.
The effects of sharing writing time with colleagues
There is ample evidence that such approaches benefit both teaching and research-oriented faculty by fostering a culture of scholarly productivity, collaboration, and camaraderie. Beyond , writing groups seem to be effective to accompany the writing process, as participants share their texts and improve them through peer feedback. The effects of these groups is not trivial, as a recent study showed that not only the number of papers written by faculty members increased but also that 86% of the papers reviewed by the group were accepted for publication and 94% of those were accepted by the journal to which they were first submitted. Moreover, just being in a group with protected writing time, can help faculty counteract feelings of isolation and improve their productivity.
Thanks!
It is critically important to mention that none of this could have happened without the help of our colleagues at the Brook T. Smith Launchpad in Downtown Clemson. Special thanks to Maggie Guerra-Ayala for being such a trooper!
Need more information?
Faculty who did not get the chance to participate in this retreat can request copies of the presentations and reach out for support to develop their own writing groups. If you have any additional questions regarding this post, feel free to stop by our office (Vickery 212) or contact us via email <facultyadvancement@clemson.edu>
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