Ole Miss Staff Pursue Passions Through Creative Residencies

Program gives employees time, funding and freedom to pursue passions beyond their day jobs.

By Marisa C. Atkinson

OXFORD, Miss. – One important reason why the University of Mississippi has been named a Great College to Work For is that it actively encourages staff creativity.

The Mississippi Lab invites all Ole Miss staff to apply for its Staff Creative Residency program, where selected staff members receive one week away from their daily tasks to pursue a creative endeavor of their choosing, plus a stipend for supplies. The term can be as long as eight days with one five-day stint in the summer and three days in the winter.

"At the Mississippi Lab we are incubators of and supporters of creativity for this campus, for the state, the region," said John T. Edge, the organization's director. "This is the fifth year of Staff Creative Residencies, and I'm really proud to say that across those five years, more than 80 staff members here at the University of Mississippi have had the opportunity to explore their creative passions, with the full support of the university."