02/11/2016
Scholars' Retreat - June 1-3, 2016 - Denver, Colorado
An Invitation to Participate
Sponsored by the Organization for Research on Women and Communication (ORWAC)
June 1-3, 2016
Denver, Colorado
Purpose
Are you ready to make substantial progress on your dissertation, thesis, article, or book? The Scholars’ Retreat is designed to provide the opportunity for intensive, focused, non-distracting, supervised writing time so that you may make significant progress toward the completion of your dissertation, thesis, or writing project. You are a good candidate for Scholars’ Retreat if you are an ORWAC member who would benefit from assistance in any of these areas:
- Developing individual writing plans
- Unblocking writing blocks
- Conceptualizing new projects
- Writing literature reviews efficiently
- Coding qualitative data efficiently
- Analyzing data to develop explanatory schemas
- Organizing ideas
- Developing strategies for efficient writing
- Energizing and motivating
Location and Dates
The retreat will be held June 1-3, 2016, in Denver, Colorado. Participants should plan to arrive before 5:00 on May 31, and they may leave in the morning of June 4.
What to Expect
During the Retreat, participants work from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., with breaks for meals. During the writing periods, participants receive individual coaching to insure maximum productivity.
The Retreat will be held in the office suite of the Communication Department of the University of Colorado Denver, and each participant will have an office in which to work.
Participants are expected to bring their own computers; a printer and a copy machine will be available for use by participants at the Retreat site.
Lodging and Food
Participants may choose to stay anyplace in Denver during the Retreat. The most convenient place to stay, however, is the Springhill Suites (a Marriott hotel), located on the edge of the University of Colorado Denver campus. This hotel is about one block from the Retreat site. Rooms have been reserved for participants who choose to stay here at the very discounted rate of $155 per night.
Breakfast is included in the hotel rate at the Springhill Suites. The Retreat participants will go to restaurants close to the retreat site for lunches and dinners. The Retreat fee includes the cost of a celebratory dinner on the last night of the Retreat.
Fees
ORWAC will pay the fees for the Retreat for the participants. In addition, each participant will receive a $500 grant from ORWAC that can be applied to travel or lodging expenses. Participants are responsible for their transportation to Denver, transportation to and from the airport, hotel, and food.
About the Directors
The Retreat is directed by Sonja K. Foss, a professor of communication at the University of Colorado Denver, and William Waters, an associate professor of English at the University of Houston—Downtown. They are the coauthors of Destination Dissertation: A Traveler’s Guide to a Done Dissertation and regularly hold writing retreats and conduct workshops on writing for faculty members and graduate students around the country. Sponsors of previous workshops and retreats include the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Texas A&M University, California State University—San Bernardino, Western Michigan University, Augustana College, and the University of Texas—San Antonio.
Application Procedures
To apply, submit a brief (one or two pages) description of the project you wish to accomplish during the Retreat that includes: (1) Summary of the project, including (if decided): the problem your research addresses, your research question, the data or texts you are analyzing, your method of analysis, the categories you plan to cover for your literature review, and significance of the study; (2) Amount completed on the project; and (3) Any obstacles you are encountering in completing the project.
Include with the description:
- Name
- Address
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Statement affirming that you are an ORWAC member
- Vita
- Convention paper or article you have written (if you plan to work on a book or article at the Retreat)
Applications should be emailed to Sonja Foss at: Sonja.Foss@ucdenver.edu.
The deadline for application is Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Eight participants will be selected to participate. If your application is accepted, you will receive a notice of acceptance and additional details about the Retreat.
Questions? Contact Sonja Foss at 303-355-5320 or Sonja.Foss@ucdenver.edu.
“Dr. Foss and Dr. Waters’s Retreat is the reason I actually finished my dissertation in less than a lifetime.”
“Not only did I receive excellent guidance about how to proceed with the analysis and interpretation of my data at Scholars’ Retreat, but it was provided with care and genuine concern.”
“When I left Scholars’ Retreat, I felt more like a scholar than I’d ever felt before.”
