A-HEC: What are your suggestions on where leadership for this type of initiative should come from within an institution of higher learning? How would you recommend getting started?

JC: The leadership needs to come from the chief academic officer within a context of institutional goals put forth by the president. The process of creating any initiative like this needs to be very inclusive and participative. However, the chief academic officer and the deans must ensure that momentum is maintained.

A-HEC: Are there any key lessons you learned along the way, such as approaches that do not work or larger structural or administrative issues to be considered?

JC: Keep the project at a doable size and be sure it succeeds. Then build from there. Most importantly, however, is that undertakings like this only can be successful and sustainable if the overall framework of faculty role and reward policy and institutional culture are compatible with the goals of the project.

A-HEC: What values must be evident and by whom to make such a program a cornerstone? In your opinion, is the higher education community at large (not just at Kansas State) gaining in these values since you started the program?

JC: Commitment and high standards are the main values required. Something like this takes at least five to ten years to establish in a way that will last, in a large research university. In this case, the flexible individualization of the role and reward environment was underway several years ahead of the University Distinguished Teaching Scholars project per se.

I think there is a significant move in this direction across the country. Certainly others were making the same kind of efforts we were at or about the same time.

A-HEC: Does the Kansas State program have any web site resources that may be useful to our readers?

JC: Section C of the University Handbook includes the policy on role and reward that is relevant to this discussion, starting at C30. The URL for that section is: http://www.ksu.edu/academicservices/fhbook/fhsecc.html

The website for this program, housed in the provost’s website is: http://www.ksu.edu/provost/academic/scholars/index.htm

References:

Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, N.J.: Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Davis, W. E., & Chandler, T. J. (1998). Beyond Boyer’s ‘scholarship reconsidered’: Fundamental change in the university and the socioeconomic systems. Journal of Higher Education, 69(1), 23+.

Glassick, C. E., Huber, M. T., Maeroff, G. I., & Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. (1997). Scholarship assessed: Evaluation of the professoriate (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Newman, F., Couturier, L., & Scurry, J. (2004). The future of higher education: Rhetoric, reality, and the risks of the market (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Paulsen, M. B., & Feldman, K. A. (1995). Toward a reconceptualization of scholarship: A human action system with functional imperatives. Journal of Higher Education, 66(6), 615+.