For the third year in a row, UT College of Social Work professors came together to focus on their research goals for the semester and to build an intellectual community that fosters a sense of belonging at the college. Through dedicated writing time, goal setting, and peer support, important progress was made on manuscripts, grants, and research projects while strengthening connections with colleagues.
The writing summit, first conceptualized and brought to fruition by Dr. Andrea Joseph-McCatty, was started as a place to bring early career faculty together to build community and to support their scholarship. Now in its third year, the summit format has grown and adapted to the needs of the faculty. The greater the diversity of research experience and faculty rank at the summit, the richer and more supportive the experience has become.
Assistant Dean for Faculty Development Kate Chaffin acknowledges that it’s a very beneficial time for faculty to focus on writing projects while getting input from colleagues they might not see or interact with daily. “People finish, revise, and resubmit manuscripts, they work on grants, start papers, work on conference presentations, and get ideas from each other for methodologies or ideas about working on research teams,” Chaffin explained. “There is normally a set agenda, so people know what to expect. The day starts with socializing/community building and breakfast and then moves into a discussion about what people’s plans and goals are for the day and then a scheduled quiet writing time. We break for lunch and socializing and then get back at it. At the end of the day, we talk about what we have accomplished and what we see as our next goals.”
Chaffin acknowledged that this is likely something unique to the UTCSW and hopes other colleges may follow the college’s lead. “I am not sure if other social work programs are doing this, but I do know we have plans to publish about our unique and collaborative experience, which is especially beneficial for early career faculty. Hopefully, that will help other colleges and programs who might want to do something similar.”
Overall, there has been positive feedback about the event. “The experience helps people to feel a sense of belonging and support that they might not feel when we all get busy in our day-to-day professorial lives,” Chaffin noted. “It helps people to get to know each other and see connections for future research collaborations. We plan to continue the summit for many years to come.”