Faculty-Student Mini Residencies at the UW Neltje Center

OPPORTUNITY: Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies provide a unique opportunity for an intensive period of study or multi-day workshop to take place at the Neltje Center at any time during the academic year, J-term, or summer semester. This remarkable setting offers a space of visual beauty, creative complexity and intellectual delight, encouraging collaborative, multi-day projects in an environment designed to spark new thinking. The Netje Center hosts approximately 6 Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies per calendar year, depending on availability and at the discretion of our team.

OBJECTIVE: The key objective of the Faculty-Student Mini-Residency program is student enrichment under the guidance of one or two faculty or staff leaders.  The mini-residency can be an extension of existing curriculum or course work, or it can be a stand-alone program (such as a writing retreat), but it must include a goal of improving student knowledge, student skills, or student experience. 

REQUIREMENTS: To qualify as a Faculty-Student Mini-Residency, there must be a greater number of students than faculty, and all students must be UW-enrolled. Undergrad, Grad, and PhD students are welcome. The work of the students can be in any discipline.

CHANGES: Once a proposal is approved, any material changes including: number of faculty, number of students, a change of lead faculty or supporting faculty, a change of purpose, objective, or activities, change of dates, change of arrival and/or departure times, must be communicated to the Neltje Center Executive Director no less than two weeks in advance of arrival date and are subject to Neltje Center approval. 

CONSIDER: We encourage you to consider how your Faculty-Student Mini-Residency might engage our local and state community during your time at the Center. This exchange—whether through public programs, informal conversations, or collaborative outreach—enriches both our guests and our neighbors. Community engagement is central to the Neltje Center’s mission: we believe creativity flourishes when rooted in place, and that building connections between artists, thinkers, and residents helps strengthen Wyoming’s cultural life in lasting and meaningful ways. When appropriate, community engagement may be a required component of a mini-residency.

Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies are a signature program of the UW Neltje Center, and as such we are pleased to provide cost free accommodations and meals for all accepted proposals.

Groups who make use of the adjacent 4 bedroom Mary Jane Edwards House, aka MJEH, will need to pay a fee for the additional accommodations and meals. Please inquire for details.

Residencies lasting 5+ days may be asked to contribute to the cost of meals.

We are unable to cover transportation or supply costs.

Meals During Your Mini-Residency

We believe providing meals is an important part of the Faculty-Student Mini-Residency experience. By taking meal planning and grocery shopping off the facilitator’s plate, we hope to give faculty more time and energy to focus on what matters most: designing and leading a thoughtful, engaging program for their students. Preparing and sharing meals also creates valuable time for participants to connect, reflect, and build community during their stay.

 

Residencies lasting 5+ days may be asked to contribute to the cost of meals.

 

 

What to Expect

Because the Neltje Center is located in a rural area and does not have on-site cooks or food-service staff, meals are primarily provided as curated ingredient baskets with simple preparation instructions—similar to a meal-kit service. Meals are designed to take no more than 30–40 minutes to prepare. This approach ensures groups have everything they need to prepare and enjoy fresh, satisfying meals on their own schedule.

 

Dietary information must be submitted at least 2 weeks in advance, and we make every reasonable effort to accommodate participants’ dietary needs. As with all overnight stays, groups are expected to leave the house in the same condition as upon arrival, including washing dishes, cleaning the kitchen after use, and returning dining areas to order.

 

View a Sample Meal Plan for a 4-Day, 3-Night Mini-Residency 

 

*If You Have Visited Previously*

If you have participated in a Neltje Center program in the past, you may have experienced meals prepared and served on site. Due to significant budget reductions, our capacity to provide on-site meal preparation has been greatly reduced. We remain committed to providing meals for Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies, but the way we provide them has changed. We strive to offer meals that are nourishing, enjoyable, and easy to prepare together.

We invite proposals from UW Faculty and Staff seeking to enhance student experiences through immersive, in-depth work beyond the Laramie campus.

 

Not Eligible to Apply for Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies:

UW Faculty and Staff who wish to utilize the Neltje Center for retreats, workshops or gatherings unrelated to student enrichment are invited to rent the space at a discounted rate. Rental details here.

 

We also warmly invite professional artists, scholars, and thinkers from all backgrounds to use the Neltje Center as a site for creative inquiry, research, and experimentation. Whether you're developing new work, seeking space for reflection, or hoping to connect with others in the field, the Neltje Center offers a peaceful, inspiring retreat to support meaningful exploration across disciplines. Rental details here.

Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies typically last from 3-4 days and are led by one or two faculty/lead artists who work onsite at the Neltje Center with a select group of between 3-10 students/participants.

The application process asks you to review and acknowledge terms and conditions for use of the Neltje Center. By submitting an application, you agree to abide by the Center’s expectations regarding respectful use of the facilities, property care, community engagement, and adherence to safety protocols. These terms and conditions include:

• While participants are invited to stay over the weekend, the Neltje center is not staffed Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.
• Overnight capacity for the Neltje Center is 7 beds in 6 bedrooms (one bedroom has 2 twin beds). Your group may utilize the nearby Mary Jane Edwards House (if available) for a fee. This facility is located 2 miles away from the Neltje Center and has 4 beds. Larger groups can take advantage of other accommodations off-site, including the Sheridan College dorms (contact us for details on discount rates).
• Residencies lasting 5+ days may be asked to pay contribute to the cost of meals
• Guests may use only the designated beds provided for overnight accommodations. No alternative sleeping arrangements—such as couches, air mattresses, sleeping bags, or outdoor tents—may be used.
• Arrival window is 1-3pm on your first day, and departure is by 10am on your final day.
• Participants commit to being a responsible and respectful steward of the Neltje Center during their stay.
• Once a proposal is approved, any material changes including: number of faculty, number of students, a change of lead faculty or supporting faculty, a change of purpose, objective, or activities, change of dates, change of arrival and/or departure times, must be communicated to Kathryn Stevens and Beth Venn no less than two weeks in advance of arrival date and are subject to Neltje Center approval.

Previous Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies at the Neltje Center have taken many forms—ranging from Theater & Dance students working alongside a professional dance company creating new work, to cello students exploring advanced techniques, to philosophy students contemplating the nature of beauty.  Faculty-Student Mini-Residencies have also included public conversations and events that invite community members into the creative process across disciplines. This diversity reflects the Center’s commitment to supporting bold ideas, deep inquiry, and dynamic forms of expression. 

You will need to provide contact details and answer the following questions about your proposal. We recommend answering these questions in a separate word doc before submitting, as the portal does not allow you to save and return to your application later.

• Title

• Other participating faculty/leaders

• Describe target students/ participants

• Description of project/workshop/course of study

• What impact do you expect this project to have on students/participants? What outcome(s) do you desire to achieve by using the Neltje Center?

• Why does the Neljte Center make sense for this proposed course of study? How will the project engage/utilize the UW Neltje Center’s unique space, collection, and surrounding communities or region?

• How will students /participants be equitably selected to participate in this opportunity? This may include requiring  an application essay, selection by seniority, etc.

• Desired travel dates

To submit a proposal online, click the button below for the application. Contact Beth Venn at bvenn1@uwyo.edu for more information.

Proposal Application

Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis and dates are limited. If you have questions about the status of your proposal, please contact Kathryn Stevens at Kathryn@uwyo.edu for information.