Faculty Writing and Creative Work Groups

As you may know, Spring 2023 marked the end of the university-wide Midcareer Faculty Advancement Program, a successful pilot that served as a resource targeting the advancement of underrepresented racial/ethnic minority faculty as well as those engaged in the work of diversity and equity in higher education. It was created by Jennifer Hamer, director of the program and senior faculty mentor, and hosted by the College of the Liberal Arts and the Office for Educational Equity. This spring 2024, senior faculty mentors are implementing elements of the pilot. Specifically, we are offering the following: opportunities for social and professional networking, career-related workshops, and Scholars' Circles: Writing and Creative Work groups. 

Scholars’ Circles are virtual meeting spaces and registration for Scholars’ Circles is now open and are intended to foster a supportive writing and creative work community for professors who are moving toward advancement. As support spaces, they are inclusive and as flexible as possible to accommodate varied disciplines and work styles of members. For example, for some of us, advancement rests on writing and publishing peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters, and books while creative scholarship such as artwork and exhibits may define the expectations for others.

Regardless of the form, meeting our scholarly productivity expectations demand that we find the time in our busy schedules to stay abreast of disciplinary literature and new and innovative thought. It also means that we must make time to write, create and otherwise produce the intellectual outputs that further career advancement. These demands are often easier said than done, especially when we manage daily life (e.g. children, partners, parents, pets, friends, students, meetings, plumbing problems, bill payments, cooking, health, sleep, and more meetings, etc.) and competing job expectations. Given this, the Faculty Pathway Scholars' Circles function to offer designated time to focus on writing and the development of creative projects with the added benefits of a supportive colleague community, peer accountability, and the potential for richer professional and social connections. We expect and hope that members will customize and use these spaces to best meet the agreed upon goals of the group. Scholars’ Circles are not intended to replace existing faculty resources but to serve as a supplement to those offered across the institution. The initial deadline has passed but we are prepared to grow these opportunities as needed.

Please contact Jennifer Hamer (Jenny) and Holly Hawkins at seniorfacultymtr@psu.edu for more information.