Changing Promotion and Tenure Policy to Institutionalize Community-Engaged Scholarship and Artistry: Lessons From a Public R2 University

This article is drawn from an interpretive case study of community-engaged practices at a regional state university in the Midwest region of the United States. It details how the Promotion and Tenure (P&T) policies were revised and implemented to recognize and value Community-Engaged Scholarship and Artistry (CESA) from the perspective of the co-authors who facilitated the process before examining the perspectives of those most impacted by the policy change— community-engaged faculty members and administrators. This case demonstrates that a multi-pronged, faculty-led effort bolstered by leadership and administrative support can drive changes to P&T policy at the university level, but that local control may enable resistance to implementation in departments dominated by more traditional faculty. Implications for P&T policy change efforts at similar universities are discussed.