Ole Miss Staff Creative Residencies Let Employee Creativity Shine
Mississippi Lab to accept applications for 2025 through April 30
OXFORD, Miss. – University of Mississippi staff members can apply for a paid week off to pursue creative projects outside the scope of their job duties through the Staff Creative Residences program.
The Mississippi Lab created the program in 2022 and arranged funding from the Office of the Provost. It provides each recipient a $500 stipend and five days of paid time off at the employees' regular rate to complete a creative project of their choice.
Dakota Robertson, an academic adviser in the FASTrack Learning Community, uses her 2024 Staff Creative Residency to learn the art of canning fresh produce. Submitted photo
Applications for the summer 2025 cohort will be accepted through April 30. Program leaders are offering an information session about the application process at 4 p.m. Tuesday (April 8) in the banquet room of the Paul B. Johnson Commons.
"Applicants come to us from across campus, from custodial workers in facilities management to accountants in financial aid," said John T. Edge, director of the Mississippi Lab. "Four years into this innovative program, we're focused, more than ever, on making this opportunity available to all."
Aside from enriching personal life, engaging in creative pursuits also boosts confidence and contributes to a more productive and satisfying experience at work, research shows.
From glassblowing to stitched needlework, members of past residency cohorts have completed a variety of creative projects. Dakota Robertson, an academic adviser in the FASTrack Learning Community, learned the art of canning fresh produce as an act of homesteading in the 2024 cohort.
Just two years after her grandmother died, the residency gave Robertson a chance to learn one of her grandmother's coveted skills. The devoted time she had to do so helped her reawaken to the enjoyment of life, she said.
"Sometimes in our jobs, we are so focused on the administrative task at-hand that we don't let our own creative mind work," Robertson said.
"Sometimes we kind of stifle it because we think we don't have the time or we are too tired to think about it, but I think it helps our productivity overall. It helps your overall mind-set and well-being that you're not just working 8 to 5 to make a living to go home, rest and come back to work."
Trent Bloodworth, a network analyst in the Telecommunications Center, shows off his cocktail cabinet made from a vintage refrigerator during his 2024 Staff Creative Residencies project. Submitted photo
For Trent Bloodworth, a network analyst in the UM Telecommunications Center, transforming a rusty, 1960s refrigerator into an eclectic cocktail cabinet is not part of his job duties. However, his 2024 residency project allowed him to lean into his passion for woodworking and explore new uses for vintage items.
"It is something that I wanted to do eventually but wouldn't have had time otherwise to do right now," Bloodworth said. "It would have kept getting pushed down and down. It's been very nice to be able to take time off work and dedicate it to this one project."
Applicants are encouraged to work with the Mississippi Lab's team to strengthen their submissions. Feedback, delivered via calls or in-person meetings, also helps candidates create an actionable plan, said Tess Graham, a library specialist in the J.D. Williams Library selected to the 2024 cohort.
"This was actually the third time I applied for the residency," Graham said. "Third time's the charm.
"Writing the request to be approved sharpened my focus and it gave me some direction."
Graham used her residency resources to create an equine therapy program for children with her horse, Monkey, which she rescued. She visited an equine riding program for veterans with PTSD, spoke with psychotherapists and educators, and studied online courses offered by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International.
"I think creativity just fills your cup up again," Graham said.
Top: Tess Graham, a library specialist in the J.D. Williams Library, shows off her horse, Monkey. Graham used her 2024 Staff Creative Residency to create an equine therapy program for children. Photo by Srijita Chattopadhyay/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services