Summer is retreat season — time for colleges and universities, schools, departments, and centers to go off for a few hours (or days) and plan for the future. While some people enjoy this exercise, many others roll their eyes and anticipate hours of fidgeting while surreptitiously checking their phones.

But suffering is not inevitable. Facilitated well, a retreat can be inspiring, clarifying and productive.

Find out how in Lisa Rudgers’ and my latest essay in Inside Higher Ed.