By Michael Rifenburg

Writing is a demanding pursuit. But community makes it a bit easier.

During the 2017-2018 academic year, the Write Now Academy, hosted by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, offered faculty members an opportunity to form a shared community, work through Wendy Belcher’s Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks, and cultivate, draft, and submit an academic article or chapter by the conclusion of the academy.

Dr. J. Michael Rifenburg, associate professor of English, led the Academy.

During the fall 2017 semester, the Write Now Academy held in-person meetings on the Dahlonega, Gainesville, and Oconee campuses. Based on the success and portability of the Academy, Dr. Nathan Price led a Write Now Academy during the Spring 2018 semester on the Blue Ridge campus. Faculty met face-to-face once a month, received weekly emails with tips and encouragement, and shared Google Docs to track their writing and progress through Belcher’s book.

Twenty-five faculty joined the Write Now Academy.

Currently, two faculty members who completed the Academy have already seen their work published.

Mingyuan Yan, assistant professor of computer science, published her article “Cognitive Approach for Location Privacy Protection,” through the open access journal IEEE Access.

Richelle Oakley, assistant professor of information systems, published her article “Etsy and the long-tail: how microenterprises use hyper-differentiation in online handicraft marketplaces” in Electronic Consumer Research.

CTLL will offer the Academy again during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Faculty who completed the 2017-2018 Academy come from a range of UNG’s college. They include:

Molly Daniel, English
Royce Dansby-Sparks, Chemistry
Terry Easton, English
Sarah Formica, Physics
Alison Hite, Psychological Science
Abby Meyer, Psychological Science
Philip Mitchell, English
Richelle Oakley, Information Systems
Nathan Price, Political Science & International Affairs
Paul Raptis, Communications
Linda Reece, Teacher Education
Andy Robinson, Physical Therapy
Robert Scott, Philosophy
Margaret Smith, Biology
Clayton Teem, Psychological Science
Candice N. Wilson, Film and Digital Media
Mingyuan Yan, Computer Science

If you are interested in applying for the 2018-2019 Write Now Academy, please visit the Write Now Academy webpage.