Staff Residencies

Staff Creative residencies promote staff member creative work on the Oxford campus of the University of Mississippi with one-week opportunities to pursue individual creative projects. 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. Staff Creative residencies support projects, from painting and sculpture inspired by regional landscapes, to quilting and other fiber arts inspired by family elders.

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.

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Nature Journaling (Summer 2025)

Rebecca Lauck Cleary

Rebecca Lauck Cleary, Communications Specialist in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, went on nature walks and to the Memphis Botanic Garden, then wrote about and painted the natural world around me.
Rowan Oak Fifty Years Later: The Photography of Bill Connell (Summer 2025)

Stella Connell

Stella Connell, Manager of Marketing and Communications in the School of Business Administration, curated a collection of approximately 35 photographs of Rowan Oak, the home of William Faulkner, and the surrounding grounds taken by Bill Connell from 1973 to 1975.
A Journey into Relief Printing (Summer 2025)

Caelyn M. Ditz

Caelyn M. Ditz, Embedded Counselor in the Counseling Center, worked in exploratory block and screen printing on paper and fabric.
Quilting Like a Pro (Summer 2025)

Mandy Dowdy

Mandy Dowdy, Administrative Coordinator I / ACM Coordinator in Geology & Geological Engineering, practiced machine quilting.
Fantasy Novel Writing Workshop and Retreat (Summer 2025)

Jacob Ferguson

Jacob Ferguson, Associate Director of Development for Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College in UM Development / Honors College, spent the week working on my fantasy novel, which is set in a fictionalized Scotland and centers on themes of forbidden magic, ostracism, hidden history, and found family.
Sex and Murder and the End of the World (Summer 2025)

Andrew Freiman

Andrew Freiman, Manager of Web Content in Marketing and Communications, developed a mystery novel set in the near future that follows Dr. Darby Prince as he tries to catch a murderer on his campus.
Gyotaku Art Prints of Mississippi Fish (Summer 2025)

Kevin Gates

Kevin Gates, Study USA Coordinator III in the Office of College Programs, Division of Outreach, made prints of fish endemic to Northern Mississippi in the Japanese Gyotaku style.
Oasis Space Lester Garden (Summer 2025)

William Houston Griffith

William Houston Griffith, Staff Counselor in the University Counseling Center, developed the Oasis Space Lester Garden - a space where students, faculty, and staff can come sit and enjoy nature, and provides vegetables to the Grove Grocery.
Patterns of Nostalgia: Recreating Memories of the Past through Machine Sewing (Summer 2025)

Holly Cheyenne Holder-Brown

Holly Cheyenne Holder-Brown, Library Specialist II in Access Services, Main Library, learned about the history of the circle skirt, how her grandmother and mother learned how to sew, and how to use a sewing machine to create circle skirts.
Inclusion in Motion (Summer 2025)

Jenny Joyner

Jenny Joyner, Admissions Counselor, DeSoto Regional Campus, developed Yoga for special needs - building strength, balance, and friendship.
Finding My Artistic Freedom and Overcoming Fears (Summer 2025)

Heather McBride

Heather McBride, Operations Coordinator in Physics & Astronomy, worked with a mentor who guided and directed her on her journey of learning to overcome her fears of painting en plein air while discovering Mississippi landscapes.
From Seoul to Soul (Summer 2025)

Jena Denise Payton

Jena Denise Payton, Graduate Activities Assistant in The Graduate School, developed a book of compiled food recipes from my County Road neighbors and beyond.
Mississippi Natives Pollinator Garden (Summer 2025)

Jared Ramos

Jared Ramos, Success Coach in the Office of Pre-College Programs, Outreach, installed a raised-bed garden filled with Mississippi native flowering plants located at the Oxford Community Garden.
Paper to Pixels, A Creative Journey (Summer 2025)

John Red

John Red, Sr., Maintenance Technician in General Maintenance, created and digitized his drawings.
Remnant (09/2020) (Summer 2025)

Hope Rexroat

Hope Rexroat, Accountant I in Financial Aid, created a large oil painting about loss and grief.
Threads of Kinship (Summer 2025)

Kyp Ross

Kyp Ross, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in the University Counseling Center, learned the art of quilting-stitching together fabric, memory, and the threads of our shared heritage.
Sampling and Creating Music using Abelton (Summer 2025)

Cole Russell

Cole Russell, Graphic Designer in University Marketing and Communications, used the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Ableton to create STEMS from songs, create beats and drum patterns, import samples into the software, and manipulate and create original pieces, while also recording my own music to accompany any pieces.
A Multi-Media Oral History of My Parents’ Lives (Summer 2025)

Shannon Sharp

Shannon Sharp, Senior Evaluation Associate in the Center for Research Evaluation (CERE), recorded, transcribed and summarized my parents’ stories, then saved them—online, on an SD card, and as hard copies—for future generations. I plan to use photos and the story summaries to make a book as well.
Learning to Sew (Summer 2025)

Jabrea Turner

Jabrea Turner, Academic Counselor in the College of Liberal Arts, is a beginner who is learning to sew using a portable sewing machine.
Do You Mind If I Queue Up a Song? - a beginner DJ's journey (Summer 2025)

Ingrid Valbuena

Ingrid Valbuena, Academic Counselor II in the College of Liberal Arts, expanded her love for music, particularly her passion for sharing with others, by learning how to DJ.
Turning a Pool Cue on my Grandpa’s 1938 Atlas Metal Lathe (Summer 2025)

Mark F. Woods

Mark F. Woods, General Maintenance Technician in General Maintenance, repaired my Grandpa’s lathe, learned basic lathe techniques, and turned my own pool cue.
Staff Creative Residencies

Mississippi Lab

Staff Creative Residencies, a program of the Mississippi Lab, promotes the creative work of University of Mississippi staff persons by providing opportunities to pursue creative projects.

Five-day summer residencies are awarded annually and include a stipend funded by the Office of the Provost. Staff persons who successfully complete a summer residency are eligible for a three-day winter residency.

This year, the Mississippi Lab hosted a Fall Showcase for the 2024 awardees.

Displayed in this case are a sampling of the creative projects from the showcase, along with a collage of all past awardees.
Somatic Dance (Summer 2024)

Rebekah Allen

Rebekah Allen, Counselor in Student Affairs in the University Counseling Center, used dance techniques to develop creative movements that enhances mental wellbeing.
Explored New Uses for Vintage Items (Summer 2024)

Trent Bloodworth

Trent Bloodworth, Network Analyst II in Telecommunications, explored new uses for vintage items by repurposing a 1960s refrigerator into a cocktail cabinet.
The Totally Amazing Assassination Adventures of Jack and Jackie

Laura Cavett

Laura Cavett, Project Coordinator in Biology, created a series of paintings combining an absurd narrative with iconic images in cartoon format.
Glassblowing (Summer 2024)

Andrea Drummond

Andrea Drummond, Communications Project Coordinator in the Department of Music, learned to work in the medium of glassblowing.
Amplify (Summer 2024)

Amy Evans

Amy Evans, Graphic Web Designer in Marketing and Communications, created a series of large oil on canvas paintings.
Wild to Mild – a Mustang Horse Story (Summer 2024)

Tess Graham

Tess Graham, Library Specialist I at the J.D. Williams Library, developed an equine therapy program with Monkey, the horse.
Remembering My Grandmother: Rev. Maggie T. Mosley (Summer 2024)

Cassandra Hawkins

Dr. Cassandra Hawkins, Associate Director of Data and Quality Management at the Institute of Child Nutrition, pursued a film photography project that invoked a sense of family and introspection about the past and the present.
Squared Preserves - Preserving our History through Preserves (Summer 2024)

Merrill Magruder

Merrill Magruder, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Family Engagement in the Office of the Chancellor, researched and applied traditional canning techniques.
Needlepoint - from Start to FINISH (but never again) (Summer 2024)

Cayce Read

Cayce Read, Financial Aid Advisor in the Office of Financial Aid, learned the process of finishing a stitched needlework canvas into a final product.
Canning Love – Generations Later (Summer 2024)

Dakota Robertson

Dakota Robertson, Academic Advisor at FASTrack Learning Community, learned the art of canning fresh produce as an act of homesteading.
Mycelium Leather

Michael Andrew (Andy) Smith

Michael Andrew (Andy) Smith, Systems Analyst III in Student Housing, learned how to grow and use mushrooms to make vegan leather.
Seeking Legacy through Sam's Drive-In (Summer 2024)

William Teer

William Teer, Program Director for Student Leadership Programs and Financial Well-Being in the Center for Community Engagement, researched and wrote the story of the late West Sanford “Sam” Forsythe, owner of Sam’s Drive-In in Ripley, TN.
Develop New Sculpture Skills (Summer 2023)

Melanie Antonelli

Melanie Antonelli is the Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the University Museum and Historic Houses.
Traveled Abroad and Played Jazz as part of an Ensemble (Summer 2023)

Elijah Bratsch-Prince

Elijah Bratsch-Prince is the Senior Study Abroad Advisor of the Office of Global Engagement.
Engineering Guitar Pickups (Summer 2023)

Trent Champion

Trent Champion, a Supervisor in Facilities Management, engineered electric guitar pickups.
Experimented with Watercolor Painting (Summer 2023)

Erin Cromeans

Erin Cromeans is the Associate Director of Strategic Initiatives and Outreach at the Institute of Child Nutrition.
Developed a Module for a Robot to Play a Trumpet

Michael Crow

Michael Crow is the Systems Administrator for the Mississippi Center for Supercomputing Research.
Fillet Brazed a Bicycle Frame (Summer 2023)

Nicholas Dodd

Nicholas Dodd is a Mechanic with Landscape Services.
Learning Foraging and Preservation Practices (Summer 2023)

Amanda Klenke

Amanda Klenke is the R & D Botanist for the National Center for Natural Product Research. At the time of the Staff Creative Residency, Klenke was a Senior Groundskeeper for Landscape Services.
Developing Cake Decorating Skills (Summer 2023)

Debbie Maddigan

Debbie Maddigan is a Senior Accountant with the Office of Financial Aid.
Developing Yarn Painting Skills (Summer 2023)

Hannah Moseley

Hannah Moseley is the Operations Coordinator for Telecommunications Services.
Quilting in the Gee's Bend Style (Summer 2023)

Erin Parker

Erin Parker is a Community Coordinator with Student Housing.
Carving Hiking Sticks (Summer 2023)

Patrick Perry

Patrick L. Perry is the Learning Specialist for the Center for Student Success and First Year Experience.
Crocheting Afghans and Baskets (Summer 2023)

Stephanie Roland

Stephanie Roland is an Accounting Assistant in the Office of Financial Aid.
Developing Ceramics Techniques (Summer 2023)

Lindsay Sanford

Lindsay Sanford, Coordinator of Admissions for Outreach and Continuing Education on the Tupelo Campus, explored different ceramics techniques.
Developing Cyanotype Prints (Summer 2023)

Jonathan Smith

Jonathan Smith, Film Equipment Manager for the Theater and Film Department, developed cyanotype prints.

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