This paper describes residential week-long seminars offered at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) in Cullowhee, North Carolina, Western Carolina University. The center was established in 1985 to reward and support outstanding full-time teachers in North Carolina and to enhance teaching as an art and as a profession. The center operates under three principles: reward, renewal, and retention. Participants are rewarded by an all-expense paid trip to the mountains where they are pampered and have free access to recreational facilities. The primary means for renewal and development is the living or interdisciplinary seminar, which is intended to foster creativity and problem-solving skills. Participants are allowed to choose from a variety of seminars and are encouraged to select topics with which they are only marginally familiar. The seminars are planned by specialists in the arts, humanities, and sciences, assisted as necessary by faculty at Western Carolina University. Keeping the state's most competent teachers in the classroom, i.e., retention, is the core mission of the center. The cost for each participant is approximately $1,650 and is completely paid for by the state of North Carolina. Although it is too early to evaluate whether the program has been successful in keeping competent teachers in the classroom, the center appears to have a visible impact on participants. Many teachers request to return to the center to work on individual projects, and for them alumni seminars have been developed. It is suggested that small, rural colleges may be in a position to offer residential seminars that could be tailored for particular professional groups and their needs. (LP)