At heart, all campuses are campuses are communities of writers, and our faculty writing programming is designed to support the success of faculty as writers.
Whether you write articles, book chapters, grant proposals, creative projects, new course lectures, or letters to your elected officials, our programming is designed to help you carve out uninterrupted time to focus on your writing and network with colleagues across Mason.
Faculty Affairs & Development, the Stearns Center for Teaching & Learning, and Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) have partnered to offer the Faculty Writers Community, a combination of weekly writing sprints and Faculty Writing Retreats.
Weekly Writing Sprints
Every Friday morning of the semester (9:00am-11:00am), you can join colleagues from across campus to make progress on your projects and build community around your writing. You can join the sprints for one week, for several weeks, or for the entire semester to set the pace for a productive academic year. All faculty, at all levels, with any kind of writing projects, are invited.
- Days and Times:
- Friday Writing Sprints—each Friday, 9 a.m.-11 a.m., with an in-person option in Fenwick Library #1009 (hosted by Art Taylor)
- Women’s Accountability Group—each Friday, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. (hosted by Sheri Huerta)
- Join us: To participate in the sprints, simply connect to our Faculty Writing Community workspace in MS Teams and look for the meeting in the general channel. Or join us in Fenwick Library #1009.
Faculty Writing Retreat
Faculty Writing Retreats are held every January and May. The retreat offers a supportive and collegial community of peers to boost your writing productivity. Participants work on a variety of research, creative, and scholarly projects at all stages of completion.
This multi-day event—co-sponsored by Writing Across the Curriculum, the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Office of Faculty Affairs and Development—offers an active approach to uninterrupted writing time, a chance to learn from our guest speakers, and a supportive and collegial community of peers to boost your writing productivity. Participants work on a variety of research and creative projects at all stages of completion.
This year’s retreats will be held on the following dates:
- Winter: January 8-9, 2024 (limited on-campus spaces available)
- Summer: TBA
Schedule and Participant Commitment
Our schedule for each day of the retreat is as follows:
- 9:00am – 11:00am Writing Sprint
- 11:30am – 12:30pm Guest speakers, Networking, & Collaboration Opportunities (or a well-deserved break, that’s up to you)
- 1:00pm – 3:00pm Writing Sprint
All we ask is that you commit to at least three of the five Writing Sprints, regardless of the days or time slots, but feel free to join us for the entirety of the event.
Registration
Registration is typically opened in late October for our January retreats.
Can’t make the whole retreat but want to learn more about the academic writing life?
We open up select midday sessions to the broader Mason community, so consider registering for one or more. Information and registration is forthcoming, so keep an eye out.
Faculty Writing Panels
Each year, we open up our midday retreat panels to the wider Mason community for colleagues who can’t commit to the full retreat but would like to learn more about the academic writing life.
Previous Panels
- “Making the Most of a Writing Community” with Monique Van Hoek (COS), Charlotte Gill (CHSS), and Doug Eyman (CHSS)
- “Faculty Portfolios across Contexts” with Crystal Anderson (Stearns Center) and Molli Herth (Faculty Affairs)
- “A Conversation with George Mason University Publishing” with Arthur Rouner
- “Write More, Stress Less: A Quick Introduction to the 12 Week Year for Writers” with Trevor Thrall (Schar)
- “A Panel Conversation about Book Publishing in Academia” with LaNitra Berger (Undergraduate Education), Jamie Lester (CHSS), and Kathryn Jacobsen (Health Studies, University of Richmond)
- “Every Summer Needs a Plan: Planning for a Productive and Balanced Summer” with Dra. Aurora Chang (Faculty Affairs)
- “Developing & Sustaining Successful Collaborations” with Drs. Ali Weinstein and Jesse Guessford
- “Grant Writing: Abstracts and Narratives”
- “How to Increase Your Motivation to Write”
For more information or questions, please contact Faculty Affairs & Development at facaffs@gmu.edu.