Staff Creative Residencies promote the creative work of UM staff persons by supplying opportunities to pursue creative projects. Staff Creative Residencies recognize that UM staff members have the potential to create, share, interpret, and apply transformative knowledge. The creative work that emerges from these residencies will drive progress and creative economy growth in our state.

Staff Creative Residency Fall Showcase

All are invited to a showcase of the 2025 Staff Creative Residency Awardees on Tuesday, September 9, from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, featuring creative work by the 2025 Staff Creative Residency Awardees + Good Food by Grit.

2025 Awardees

Rebecca Lauck Cleary, Communications Specialist, Center for the Study of Southern Culture

Stella Connell, Manager of Marketing and Communications, School of Business Administration

Caelyn Ditz, Embedded Counselor, Bessie & Leland Speed Counseling Center

Mandy Dowdy, Administrative Coordinator I, Geology & Geological Engineering

Jacob Ferguson, Associate Director of Development, University Development

Andrew Freiman, Manager Web Content, University Marketing & Communication

Kevin Gates, Study USA Coordinator III, Outreach & Continuing Education

Houston Griffith, Counselor, Bessie & Leland Speed Counseling Center

Holly Cheyenne Holder-Brown, Library Specialist II, Library

Jenny Joyner, Admissions Counselor, Southaven Regional Campus

Heather McBride, Operations Coordinator Physics, Physics and Astronomy

Jena Payton, Graduate Activities Assistant, Graduate School

Jared Ramos, Success Coach, Outreach & Continuing Education

John Red, Maintenance Technician, General Maintenance

Hope Rexroat, Accountant I, Financial Aid

Kyp Ross, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Bessie & Leland Counseling Center

Cole Russell, Graphic Designer IV, University Marketing & Communication

Shannon Rae Sharp, Senior Evaluation Associate, Center for Research Evaluation

Jabrea Turner, Academic Counselor, College of Liberal Arts

Ingrid Valbuena Alcina, Academic Counselor II, College of Liberal Arts

Mark Woods, Maintenance Technician, General Maintenance

Read more about the program here.

Staff Creative Residency Awardees (by year)

Applications for 2025 are now closed.

This initiative recognizes that UM staff do creative work outside their formal positions, from photography to woodworking, from writing to video game design to music composition. Conceived by the Mississippi Lab and funded by the Office of the Provost, Staff Creative Residencies does not support continuing education, conference attendance, or activities directly related to job responsibilities. This initiative does not support faculty. Instead, this initiative serves the UM mission by investing in the creative work of UM staff members.

Five-day residencies are awarded for the summer. Staff members who complete summer residencies are eligible for three-day winter residencies. Residencies are compensated at the regular rate of pay and supported by stipends. 

If you make something, and if you apply imagination to the making of that something, we want to hear from you.

Staff Creative Residencies FAQ

  • 1. Email the MS Lab

    Send an email to mslab@olemiss.edu. We will share the specific application prompts, verify eligibility, and connect you with a time to meet with the Mississippi Lab’s director.

    2. Proposal

    Prepare a short proposal explaining the creative work, how you will use the residency to pursue that creative work, and how it will positively impact the community. A brief biography is also requested.

    3. Revise & Review

    Refine your proposal and biography with input from the MS Lab director. Applicants are encouraged to discuss their application with supervisors before submission.

    4. Approval

    Your supervisor and department head, along with the MS Lab director, will review and sign off on the application.

    Your proposal is then reviewed by a panel of three staff members, who choose the cohort. Approximately 15 residencies will be rewarded each year.

    2025 Panel – Hunter Haney, Associate Director of Human Resources; Castel Sweet, Director of Community Engagement; and John T Edge from the Mississippi Lab.

  • Staff members, not faculty, from Oxford and the five regional campuses

    Must have one year or more of successful, regular, full-time service. (Summer 2025 applicants must have been employed on or before April 30, 2024.)

    Supervisor permission is required.

  • One summer week (40 hours) for creative work that promotes personal growth and positively impacts the state. Staff members who complete that week are also eligible for a second three-day winter residency. Summer staff member residencies will take place between June 15 and August 15, 2025 at off-campus locations. Supervisors and staff persons will collaborate to set individual dates and times.

    Staff persons selected for summer residencies will receive $500 stipends for travel, supplies, mentor fees, and other appropriate expenses. Winter residencies, set for January of 2026, come with $300 stipends.

  • Participants will complete 250-word self-assessments and contribute to two events focused on their experiences.

  • April 8, 2025
    Applications open with a 4 pm event at Johnson Commons.

    April 8 - 30
    Office hours (phone, Zoom, or in-person) with Mississippi Lab Director John T Edge.

    April 30 @ 5 pm
    Final application deadline

    May 31
    Grantees announced

    June 15 - August 15
    Residencies take place

    August 22
    250-word self-assessments due

    September 9
    Grantee exhibition and conversation, 4 pm in the Johnson Commons Banquet Room

*Staff Creative Residency Logos by students in Tyler Barnes’s graphic design class at UM