How do we recognize community engagement by faculty, staff, students and community partners?
Identifying Community Engagement as a strategic priority highlights issues related to reward and recognition – including academic record, tenure and promotion, professional documentation and awards – and highlights the importance of aligning recognition and rewards with the Community Engagement goals and actions identified in Place and Promise.
If the University seeks to increase community-based initiatives, we need consistent methods to evaluate their quality and impact – just as we have for traditional scholarship and learning. Community Engagement invites a broader view of scholarship and learning, so that those faculty and students for whom community-based scholarship makes academic sense, can be evaluated and rewarded for their efforts. It is important to note that the institutional recognition of community engagement does not devalue traditional scholarship, nor will every faculty member or student adopt community engagement as part of their agenda.