Class C Resolution to support Community Engagement in P&T

Class C resolution regarding community-engaged scholarship

WHEREAS, collaboration, partnership, and community are integral to the University of Washington (UW)
vision; and

WHEREAS, community-engaged scholarship abounds on the UW’s three campuses, with an emphasis
on community inclusion and practices with, rather than on, the community; and

WHEREAS, the UW Community Engagement Steering Committee (2019-2020) has defined community
engagement at the UW as, “[reciprocal] collaboration between the UW and our larger communities (local,
tribal, regional/state, national, global) for the equitable, mutually beneficial creation and exchange of
knowledge and resources,”; and

WHEREAS, all three campuses of the UW received the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification
in January 2020, which is an elective designation signaling the UW’s commitment to community
engagement; and

WHEREAS, the UW Faculty 2050 Report, presented to UW Provost Mark Richards in 2018, called on the
Provost and Board of Deans & Chancellors to work with faculty and their elected faculty councils “to
develop or refine tenure, promotion, and hiring guidelines to…recognize community-engaged, public, and
other approaches to research, teaching, and service as appropriate to each unit,” (p. 4). The UW Faculty
2050 Report provided next steps for defining, assessing, valuing, and strengthening support of
community-engaged scholarship, such that it is recognized as distinct from service and is considered in
hiring, merit, promotion, and tenure of all applicable faculty: (1) all units across the three campuses
should define metrics most appropriate for their disciplines to document and reward achievements in
community-engaged scholarship, and (2) a university-wide resource should be established to support
community-engaged scholarship; therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the UW Faculty Senate recommends that all departments, units, and schools
develop policies, definitions, and rubrics that include metrics for assessment (e.g., categories of
expectations, examples of indicators of impact) to standardize and communicate their values and norms
for community-engaged scholarship as an activity distinct from service. This process should accomplish
the following:

1. Include a review of promotion and tenure criteria for recognition of community-engaged
scholarship and removal of obstacles to valuing community-engaged scholarship (e.g.,
expectation for a certain number of publications in a certain amount of time, expectation for solo
publications, expectation for publication outlet [academic versus other media]). These rubrics and
criteria, in considering community-engaged scholarship, should maintain or enhance
acknowledgement of diversity, inclusion, and equity-focused scholarship.
2. Ensure that all departments, units, and schools intentionally “onboard” new faculty and train
evaluators (e.g., voting faculty, chairs, deans, etc.) with the goal of introducing policies and
rubrics related to community-engaged scholarship and other relevant expectations for promotion
and tenure.
3. Implement parallel processes and acknowledgement of community-engaged activities, as
appropriate, for individuals in non-tenure-track roles, such as research faculty, research
scientists, and other professional staff.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the UW Faculty Senate recommends establishment of a university-
wide resource or office for strengthening support of collaborative, community-engaged, and
interdisciplinary research, teaching, and service.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the UW Faculty Senate supports drafting of Class A legislation to
amend the existing faculty code in Chapter 24 – Section 32 which addresses the scholarly qualifications of
faculty, to include community-engaged research.

Approved by:
Senate Executive Committee
February 7, 2022

Approved by:
Faculty Senate
February 24, 2022

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What are examples of types or components of community-engaged research?
A: Community-engaged research can include action research, policy development, research studies of
partnerships, community responses to outreach programs, evaluation studies of impact on the profession,
citizen science, community-based participatory research, capacity-building activities, dissemination of
knowledge through nonacademic publications, and other approaches.
Q: What is the definition of community-engaged scholarship?
A: As defined by the UW Faculty 2050 Report, “community-engaged scholarship brings skills, knowledge,
and dialogue between the University and the public into a more intimate form of conversation. In this style
of research, academics and community members draw from their collective knowledge and skills to co-
create knowledge aimed at understanding and addressing matters of public concern. It is through
reciprocal partnerships with community partners and the co-creation of goals of outcomes that community
engaged scholars create work of lasting impact.” (p. 28).
As defined by the UW Community Engagement Steering Committee (2019-2020), community
engagement at UW is, “collaboration between the UW and our larger communities (local, tribal,
regional/state, national, global) for the equitable, mutually beneficial creation and exchange of knowledge
and resources. These collaborations with public, private, non-profit, and individual partners span
disciplines and sectors. They are grounded in reciprocity, entailing co-developed definitions of problems,
solutions, and measures of success; and they are asset-based, where community partners’ strengths,
skills, and knowledges are respected and incorporated.”
Q: Why is the focus of this resolution on community-engaged scholarship, rather than community
engagement in general or community engagement as it relates to teaching and service?
A: A focus on community-engaged scholarship is warranted because community-engaged scholarship is
at greatest risk of being misunderstood, miscredited, or mischaracterized in relation to hiring, merit,
promotion, and tenure processes. Recognizing community-engaged scholarship as distinct from service
and having documented and systematic expectations appropriate to community-engaged scholarship as
a form of research is important for recognizing and supporting the research and careers of faculty who
engage in this work. Community engagement, in all its forms, is valued.
Q: What initiatives on UW’s three campuses have addressed recognition of community-engaged
scholarship in hiring, merit, tenure, and promotion?
At UW-Bothell in 2018, for example, the General Faculty Organization Executive Council endorsed a
definition of inclusive scholarship, linked closely to community-engaged scholarship:
“We are committed to diverse forms of scholarship, and we believe that scholarship should be
made public in meaningful and significant ways. Scholarship may contribute to disciplinary or
interdisciplinary knowledge; be conducted in collaboration with community and organizational
partners; and offer new theoretical insights or forge new fields of inquiry. Because of the breadth
of scholarly activity and its conduct, the path and gestation period of any scholarly agenda will
vary according to the nature of its questions and the means of their pursuit. In order to ensure
alignment with school- and division-based statements, we recommend that each unit complete a
review of its P&T criteria (tenure- and lecturer-track) for inclusion of work on community-
engagement and diversity, inclusion, and equity. Each unit should then review its P&T policies
and practices to remove obstacles to the valuing of work that matches those criteria in P&T
processes.”
Q: What are examples of units on UW campuses that have promotion and tenure policies or
metrics that address community-engaged scholarship?
A: As identified in the UW Faculty 2050 Report, among others, the UW School of Public Health outlines
four domains for evaluation: research, teaching, service, and practice. Within each, they use metrics to
evaluate rigor, impact, dissemination, and leadership and personal contribution. The College of Education
has metrics for quality, impact, and productivity (including public discourse) with specific indicators in the
domains of teaching, research, and service. Evaluating impact addresses the unit-defined ways in which
the research has improved standards of practice, influenced policy, solved publicly relevant problems,
and reached key audiences. Additional information regarding use of rubrics and process best practices
can be found in Addendum #3 of the UW Faculty 2050 Report.
Q: What are examples of other US campuses that have promotion and tenure policies or metrics
that address community-engaged scholarship?
A: Examples from across the country, identified by the UW Community Engagement Steering Committee
(2019-2020), include the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) university-wide evaluation
guidelines and policies from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Q: What type of change to the faculty code in Chapter 24 – Section 32 might be considered in
future Class A legislation in relation to this topic?
A: Note that evaluation of scholarly activities is also guided by Executive Order No. 45. One edit for
consideration in the faculty code might be within 24-32 Item B (suggested edit in brackets and italics):
“Important elements in evaluating the scholarly ability and attainments of faculty members include
the range and variety of their intellectual interests; the receipt of grants, awards, and fellowships;
the professional and/or public impact of their work; and their success in directing productive work
by advanced students and in training graduate and professional students in scholarly methods.
Other important elements of scholarly achievement include involvement in and contributions to
interdisciplinary [or community-engaged] research and teaching; participation and leadership in
professional associations and in the editing of professional journals; the judgment of professional
colleagues; and membership on boards and committees.”
Q: What are other UW resources or sources of information on community engagement?
A: Examples of UW resources and hubs of information include: the UW Community Engagement landing
page, the UW Bothell community engagement landing page, the UW Tacoma Office of Community
Partnerships homepage, the Institute of Translational Health Sciences’ community engagement program
page and interdisciplinary research appointment, promotion, and tenure toolkit, and a variety of media
releases related to UW efforts to increase recognition of community engagement.
Q: What are other national or external resources or sources of information on community
engagement?
A: Examples of resources or sources of information external to UW include: the Campus
Compact/Research University Civic Engagement Network’s Research University Community Engaged
Scholarship Toolkit, resources and readings in the Community Engaged Scholarship Tenure and
Promotion Repository compiled by Campus Compact, and several resources compiled by UNCG found
here, including a community-engaged scholarship original toolkit / updated toolkit, definitions, and other
resources from Community Campus Partnerships for Health.