On October 9th, 25 faculty members – from eight universities and two community partners – attended the 3rd Annual Engaged Scholar Writing Retreat. This event is designed for NC faculty and administrators who are involved in community-engaged research and writing.
During the six-hour virtual gathering, participants engaged in writing as well as discussions on writing strategies.
The special guest, Dr. Keisha Bentley-Edwards, shared tips and suggestions for how she approaches community-engaged research and writing. Dr. Bentley-Edwards is an Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine and the Associate Director of Research/Director of the Health Equity Working Group at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University. She studies how race, racial socialization, and racism affect the health and well-being of children and adults. Her work has been published in scholarly journals and featured in a range of local and national media outlets.
The event was sponsored by North Carolina Campus Compact, the Duke Office of Civic Engagement, and the Duke Service-Learning Program. The retreat facilitator, Dr. Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, is the Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program and Director of the Duke Faculty Write Program. She proposed and designed the first retreat during her term as a 2018-19 NC Campus Compact Engaged Faculty Scholar.
Here are a few participant quotes from the post-event evaluation:
Accomplishments:
“I finished the rewrite of the abstract for my paper that had been rejected earlier this year. I sent it to the editor and he expressed interest in the paper in its new format. I am fired up and busy working on my rewrite. I would have never thought to do that if it hadn’t been for the advice from the workshop.”
What I valued most:
“The retreat really inspired me to get unstuck and write with purpose”
“The space of sharing my writing goals with small community of fellow writers and knowing that we are all in it together even though virtually.”