Writing circles draw on evidence-based practices for planning and writing that have been proven to build productivity and comfort with writing. These circles support faculty and graduate students and help them meet the goals writers set for article and book publication, dissertations, applications for grants and fellowships, and all other necessary writing tasks.

This page describes the CoDaC faculty writing circles. For graduate circles, click here.

Faculty Writing Circle Program

Writing circles teach planning and drafting methods that can yield the steady, incremental progress that minimizes negative writing experiences and maximizes success, that is, completing the writing projects that faculty prioritize. At the same time, the circles build relationships among faculty who are often otherwise separated by disciplinary or unit boundaries and position types.

Drawing on each other’s expertise, faculty writing circle participants learn from each other’s strategies for research, writing, and managing time and knowledge of university resources.

New faculty will find circles a great way to meet additional friends and mentors far from their home unit and to learn about ways to flourish at UO.

• By preserving blocks of time to write each week, helping faculty plan their writing projects at the level of the term and year, and offering communal support and accountability, writing circles enable faculty to meet and honor their own goals and to build a community centered on our research mission and our mission to support one another.
• All faculty who wish to protect time each week for writing are welcome to join faculty writing circles, as are OAs.
• We offer 8-10 circles a week during each term.

For more information about faculty writing circles, including current schedules, contact Lara Bovilsky, Faculty Associate for the Faculty Writing Circle Program.

"Writing Circle gives me a way to block out time for my own writing and say ‘no’ to other demands on my time without feeling guilty, because the Writing Circle group holds me accountable."
                  -- Kathie Carpenter, Associate Professor and Department Head, International Studies.

 "I now know that I am guaranteed 3 hours of uninterrupted research time per week with the writing circle, and I've also successfully designated other times during the week to write as well. The group has also served as great source of support."
                  -- Rachel DiNitto, Associate professor, Japanese literature; Department Head, East Asian
                                        Languages & Literatures

Structure of the Circles

Each faculty writing circle meets for three hours once a week and runs for the entire quarter. At each session we:

• Check in at the start, sharing individual goals for the session with the group.
• Write! for roughly 2.5 hours, working toward the goals set.
• Check out at the end of the session, when faculty share how the session went. Groups cheer on success and brainstorm/troubleshoot when things don’t go to plan.

Participants commit to regular attendance during the quarter and keep a record of their goals and progress. We ask program participants to provide feedback to the program so we can improve.

All groups are faculty led. Group leaders help keep check-ins and check-outs running smoothly, facilitate brainstorming and troubleshooting, and help faculty locate useful resources – helped out by the knowledge of fellow group members.

Looking for the Graduate Writing Circles information? Click here.