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Projects with Promise

Vol. 29 No. 1

Community-Engaged Write-Ins, Workshops, and Retreats: Supporting Scholarly Writing Success Through a Continuum of Professional Development

  • Diane M. Doberneck
  • Trixie G. Smith
  • Miles A. McNall
  • Dianna Baldwin
Submitted
September 11, 2023
Published
2025-04-24

Abstract

Despite pressures and incentives, faculty, academic staff, and graduate students struggle to turn outreach and engagement activities into scholarly publications. Publishing challenges include competing professional responsibilities, limited collegial support, difficulty in prioritizing time to write, professional isolation, and lack of confidence in writing skills. Community-engaged scholars and practitioners face additional challenges: publishing about the partnership process, incorporating community partner voices, lack of mentorship, and difficulty identifying appropriate journals for their work. Research shows these barriers are especially challenging for junior faculty, female faculty, and faculty of color. In response, an outreach and engagement office and campus writing center partnered to offer a continuum of professional development for community-engaged writing and publishing. The authors overview the conceptual framework to support scholarly publishing, detail the professional development continuum (online materials, consultations, write-ins, workshops, retreats), and provide evaluation data on participant impact. Authors conclude with reflections on their intrainstitutional partnership and lessons learned.