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The most recent  Research Writing Retreat, sponsored by 51����’s Graduate College, took place April 11-12 in the on 51����’s Kent Campus. The retreats are held twice a semester to offer students in the university’s graduate programs a quiet place to get away from other distractions and focus on work with the additional benefits of academic and personal support from their peers.

A Need for Distraction-Free Time for Meaningful Progress

When Melody Tankersley, Ph.D., executive vice president and provost, was dean of the Graduate College in 2017, she started these writing retreats as “Dissertation Boot Camps.” As a faculty member, Tankersley knew that the majority of her doctoral students were full-time professionals in their fields with full-time commitments to their careers – and many had family responsibilities as well. 

“They had little time to devote to the writing process of their dissertations – a process that takes dedicated bouts of structured, distraction-free time in order to make meaningful progress,” Tankersley said.

She thought providing a scheduled time in a space free of interruptions would allow them time to focus on writing. The boot camps offered all-day sessions with coffee and snacks and, perhaps most importantly, support and encouragement from their peers. 

Tankersley said, “Students reported to us that the boot camps helped them finish their dissertations earlier than expected and with a better product because of the support they received from one another.”

Coming Together and Building Community

What began as Dissertation Boot Camps is now called Research Writing Retreats because graduate students who attend aren’t just working on dissertations, but any writing or research projects that are on their “to-do” lists. The retreats are held twice per semester. In prior years, they had only had one session per semester, but students found them so useful and rewarding, they asked if they could be held more frequently.

Sarah Beal, Ph.D., was a professional development specialist in both 51����’s Graduate College and the university’s Center for Teaching and Learning. She had taken over the retreats and had been managing them for about a year before recently leaving 51���� because of a family job relocation. She said the retreats provide structure for the students to get into a focused mindset and allow students to “give themselves permission” to take time for themselves and their academic studies.

“Being in graduate school can be an extremely stressful environment,” said Beal. “It can be frustrating, and it can feel very isolating. So in these retreats, we really try to emphasize the importance of building community throughout the university system. It’s a chance for students to connect with one another and see that they’re not alone in their work that they’re doing, and to get that support and that kind of permission that it’s okay to take care of themselves as they work on their graduate degrees.”

Recent Graduates and Current Students Endorse the Retreats

Most of the graduate students who attend the retreats are repeat attendees. Megan Odell-Scott, Ph.D., completed her doctorate from 51���� in December 2024 and is currently an adjunct faculty member at the university. She attended the original Boot Camp sessions and then several Research Writing Retreats. Odell-Scott said that the retreats were “the push” she needed to focus on her dissertation and complete it.

She said working on a dissertation can be an isolating experience.

“You are no longer taking classes with your peers and are not on campus as often as you were the first few years of the degree path,” Odell-Scott said. “The retreats mitigated the loneliness and isolation of the dissertation phase. I was in a room of graduate students who generally understood what I was working on and were working alongside me on their own work. The camaraderie and support and encouragement by Graduate College staff and other students was just what I needed at that point in my dissertation.”

“I had new friends cheering me on who understood the graduate school experience,” she said.

A Welcoming, Inclusive Environment That Motivates and Inspires

Shaun Mahan is working on his Doctor of Education degree at 51���� while also pursuing a graduate certificate at Hiram College, where he works as the senior associate director of admissions. He has observed that the focused productivity of the retreats has allowed him to improve his writing skills, and the welcoming, inclusive environment has given him support, encouragement and accountability. 

“The format and regimen have not only supported my productivity by volume but enhanced the quality of my output by allowing me time and space to dedicate to my scholarship as a professional who is working full time,” Mahan said. 

He has enjoyed meeting other students studying in other graduate programs across academic disciplines. “Through our varied perspectives and locations within our individual graduate careers, we bridge accountability by supporting and encouraging each other. Over meals, we step away from our own unique projects to share space and conversation, returning to our individual endeavors with a renewed sense of focus and passion.”

 Helping Her ‘Do Her Best Work’

is a doctoral candidate in 51����’s counselor education and supervision program and is also a senator in the . For her, the retreats are “a nice, warm, supportive, engaging creative environment that helps me do my best work.”

Cole said she appreciates the structure and organization the retreats provide. “You don’t have to think about meals, you don’t have to think about your schedule – they just preload your day for you, which is really beneficial, and it helps me get a lot of work accomplished.”

“As a non-traditional student, sometimes I think it’s difficult to know where to get plugged in or how to connect to other people on campus because we might not have similar perspectives or we are just at different stages in life,” she said. “For me to be able to have a space for graduate students who have goals that they’re also working on just feels like an automatic safe space for me. I don’t feel uncomfortable.”

‘It is Definitely a Vibe’

Autumn Jacobs is in the second year of her master’s program in criminology and criminal justice. The aspects of the retreats she enjoys are having an atmosphere that allows her to stay focused and get “locked in” to her studies but also the support and accountability of her nearby peers. 

“I was working on an assignment, and I needed some help to decipher what was being asked,” Jacobs said. “So being able to ask other people to see what they thought about it made more sense instead of my own voice.”

“It is definitely a vibe, and we all help each other,” she said. “It’s one thing when you’re studying with other undergrads who don’t have the time crunches we do. We’re all in different positions, we’re able to get outside perspectives build the community, build relationships and help each other."