Report of the
Scholarship of Engagement Task Force
North Carolina State University
Submitted to:
Office of the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
and
Office of the Vice Chancellor for
Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development
Fall 2009
Also available on the Task Force’s Website at
http://www.ncsu.edu/extension/news/engagement.php
DRAFT – Report of the Scholarship of Engagement Task Force
North Carolina State University - http://www.ncsu.edu/extension/
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Members of the 2008-2009 Faculty Task Force on the Scholarship of Engagement
Chairpersons
 Ellis Cowling, University Distinguished Professor At-Large, Colleges of Natural Resources
and Agriculture and Life Sciences
 Joan Pennell, Professor and Director, Center for Family and Community Engagement,
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Members
 David Boulay, Deputy Director, Industrial Extension Service, College of Engineering
 Tim Clapp, Director, Textile & Apparel Technology and Management, College of Textiles
 Patti Clayton, Director, Center for Excellence in Curricular Engagement, Office of the
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
 Donald Cobb, District Extension Director, Cooperative Extension Service, College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences
 Deborah Crandall, District Extension Director, Cooperative Extension Service, College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences
 Michael Davidson, Associate Dean and Director of Veterinary Medical Service, College of
Veterinary Medicine
 Carolyn Dunn, Associate State Program Leader, 4-H Youth Development & Family and
Consumer Sciences, Cooperative Ext. Service, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
 Lisa Guion, Professor, Agricultural and Extension Education, College of Agriculture and
Life Sciences
 Joseph Hummer, Professor, Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, College
of Engineering
 Margery Overton, Chair, Faculty Senate
 Donna Petherbridge, Associate Vice Provost for Instructional Support Services, Distance
Education and Learning Technology Applications
 Terri Helmlinger Ratcliff, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Extension, Engagement, and
Economic Development and Executive Director, Industrial Extension Service, College of
Engineering
 Ann Helen Ross, Associate Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, College of
Humanities and Social Sciences
 Sharon Schulze, Director, Science House, College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
 Mike Seibert, Assistant State Director, Small Business Technology Development Center,
Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development
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Mary Tschirhart, Professor and Director, Institute for Nonprofits, College of Humanities
and Social Sciences
Alice Warren, Assistant Vice Chancellor, McKimmon Center for Extension and
Continuing Education
David Washington, Assistant Professor, Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship,
College of Management
Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor, College of
Humanities and Social Sciences
Advisors
 Betsy Brown, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
 Pat Sobrero, Associate Vice Chancellor, Extension, Engagement, and Economic
Development
Administrative Support
 Susan Bennett, Executive Assistant, Office of Extension, Engagement, and
Economic Development
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II.
Executive Summary
Definition. The scholarship of engagement is the collaborative generation, refinement, and
exchange of mutually beneficial and societally relevant knowledge that is communicated to and
validated by peers in academe and the community.
Purpose. The scholarship of engagement aims to develop ethical and practical solutions to
social, health, economic, and/or environmental issues. This scholarship may involve higher
education institutions and communities on and off campus in partnerships that hold common
goals and share expertise and resources.
Broadening Concept of Scholarship. The scholarship of engagement challenges narrow
definitions of academic scholarship that solely emphasize the products of discipline-based
research without identifying how the process of engaging in scholarship in itself creates an
intellectual environment stimulating knowledge discovery, integration, application, and
teaching. In 1996, Boyer proposed that the scholarship of engagement describes the mission of
institutions of higher education. In other words, universities are to engage public groups in
specifying areas for study, action, and teaching and assessing together the impact of
collaborative work.
Relevance to NC State University. The scholarship of engagement has particular relevance to
North Carolina State University as a research-extensive university in the land-grant tradition. Its
mission is to better the lives of the people of North Carolina, and this historic mission was
recently re-affirmed by the 2008 UNC Tomorrow initiative emphasizing public service and in NC
State’s response to the initiative. The scholarship of engagement has become all the more
paramount in the current global recession as international, national, state, and local bodies
seek to stimulate the economy.
Impetus from Funding Trends. The UNC Tomorrow emphases are supported by recent funding
trends in governmental, non-profit, and for-profit organizations. These trends encourage the
application of theory to real-world challenges that require collaborative work that transcends
traditional disciplinary boundaries within interdisciplinary teams. These teams enhance
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problem solving while translating research knowledge to scientists across disciplines, and
ultimately to the community.
Counterargument. A common objection to the scholarship of engagement is that it undermines
the distinction between basic and applied research. This distinction has been used to assert the
independence of the researcher from government and corporate control, a worthwhile goal.
The difficulty is that the distinction is hard to maintain when research is addressing complex
problems that require both “science” and “technology” and is guided by considerations of both
scientific rigor and societal value.
Necessary Institutional Supports. To effectively and comprehensively implement the
scholarship of engagement, faculty require departmental and wider institutional supports.
These include supportive faculty expectations, reward systems, professional development, and
mentoring; institutional indicators highlighting progress; and institutional profiling of
accomplishments in the scholarship of engagement.
Mandate of Task Force. The Vice Chancellor of Extension, Engagement, and Economic
Development established the Task Force on the Scholarship of Engagement. This Task Force,
with representation from different disciplines, colleges, and areas of the university, was
mandated to develop recommendations to encourage and sustain the scholarship of
engagement at NC State University.
Recommendations. The recommendations on the scholarship of engagement are organized
according to the three charges of the Task Force.
Charge 1 -- Develop recommendations regarding Evidence of the Scholarship of Engagement
that can be included in documentation developed for Faculty Annual Performance Reviews
and for Decisions about Faculty Reappointments, Promotions, and Conferral of Tenure.
1.a. Develop statements of mutual expectations in the six realms of faculty responsibility
that are relevant to the UNC Tomorrow Initiative, NC State University’s response, and
NC State University’s priorities
All faculty—tenured, tenure-track, special (non-tenure-track)— and EPA professionals should
join with leaders in their departments, colleges, and other administrative units in developing
Statements of Mutual Expectations that encompass their realms of faculty responsibilities and
that relate to the betterment of the people of North Carolina. In developing these statements,
faculty should consider substantive areas identified by the UNC Tomorrow Initiative, NC State
University’s response to this initiative, and the priorities of NC State University. The UNC
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Tomorrow areas are: global readiness, citizens and their future: access to higher education,
children and their future: improving public education, our communities and economic
transformation, public health, environment, and university outreach and engagement. NC State
University’s priorities are: leadership, energy and the environment, health and wellbeing,
economic development, and educational innovation.
1.b. Utilize the evaluation criteria for the scholarship of engagement as guides on evaluating
the quality of scholarship in any discipline
The evaluation criteria developed by the National Review Board for the scholarship of
engagement should used in preparing the documents and making evidence-based evaluative
assessments of the quality of scholarship by faculty in any discipline at NC State University.
They provide a valuable intellectual framework for the kinds of evidence that faculty should
present in annual activity reports and dossiers for reappointment, promotion, and tenure (RPT)
decisions and that Departmental Voting Faculty, Department Heads, and Deans should look for
in their evaluation of faculty achievements.
1.c. Promote faculty professional development in the scholarship of engagement
In order for faculty to develop, refine, or extend their capacity for the scholarship of
engagement, they require opportunities for professional development. These opportunities
need to relate to the changing conditions of the community, the region, the nation, and the
world in which each faculty member seeks to make his or her contribution.
1.d. Support faculty mentoring programs in the scholarship of engagement
In order to prepare for and implement the scholarship of engagement, a comprehensive faculty
mentoring system on our campus needs to encompass community-engaged education and
research. Mentoring is required on how to identify and partner with government, non-profit,
and for-profit organizations to address local issues, advance opportunities for students and
faculty, and document outcomes.
Charge 2 – Develop recommendations regarding Institutional Performance Indicators that can
be used to record and evaluate accomplishments in the scholarship of engagement across the
various colleges, departments, and other units with NC State University.
2.a.
Evaluate the performance of the university, colleges, departments, and other units in
supporting the scholarship of engagement
To evaluate the performance of our university, a series of 15 questions are suggested. These
questions are based on those developed by the Kellogg Commission’s (1999) Returning to Our
Roots and the American Association of State College and University’s (2001), Stepping Forward
as Stewards of Place. An example is: Do the criteria for recruitment and hiring of senior leaders
at NC State University and each of its colleges and departments include experience and
commitment to societal engagement activities?
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Charge 3 – Review and develop recommendations regarding the language currently being
used to track engagement and the language that should be used in the future to track
engagement within NC State University’s Institutional research offices and budget offices.
3.a.
Recognize the importance of both economic and non-economic societal engagement
impacts of university outreach, extension, and engagement programs and activities
To assess NC State University’s outreach, extension, and engagement programs, evaluations
should measure both economic and social impacts. These impacts are interrelated and beneficial
to the people of North Carolina. For example, development of human capital (e.g., an educated
and healthy work force) increases economic productivity. A useful enumeration of these impacts
has been developed by the NC State University’s Task Force on Benchmarking Economic
Development Impacts (BEDI). They recommend utilizing logic models as an intellectual framework
for designing, implementing, and evaluating programs. Logic models serve to clarify the underlying
rationale of how a program is to achieve its intended outcomes.
3.b.
Specify general categories of societal engagement programs and activities to track and
evaluate extension, engagement, and economic development
In order to track and evaluate extension, engagement, and economic development, the university
requires a commonly shared system for categorizing its work. Such a system has been developed
by the BEDI Task Force, and their eight general categories can be usefully employed to inventory,
analyze, and assess the university’s societal engagement programs and activities. These categories
are: Curricular Engagement in Classes and Programs, Co-Curricular Service Activities, Knowledge
Creation and Diffusion, Technology Transfer and Commercialization, Public Events and
Understanding, Technical and Expert Assistance and Training, Clinical/Diagnostic and Testing
Services, and University/Industry Cooperative Programs.
3.c. Publicize achievements in extension, engagement, and economic development
To increase the visibility of the scholarship of engagement, the Public Affairs and University
Development offices of NC State should be encouraged to give much increased emphasis to
highlighting the extension, engagement, and economic development achievements of NC State
faculty and staff. Attention should especially be given to accomplishments in each of the seven
areas identified by the UNC Tomorrow Initiative and in the five priorities of NC State University.
3.d.
Orient new faculty in all colleges to the university’s mission of extension, engagement,
and economic development
New faculty should receive more effective orientation so that they will know in advance that (a)
significant achievements in the scholarship of engagement will be rewarded by both salary
increments and during consideration for reappointment, promotion, and tenure decisions and
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(b) these rewards will be even more likely if the professional aspirations of the faculty member
as outlined in their individual faculty Statement of Mutual Expectations are developed in accord
with the significant areas outlined in the UNC Tomorrow Initiative and the priorities of NC State
University.
3.e. Support existing campus units to coordinate faculty opportunities for extension,
engagement, and economic development.
The campus has multiple entities that outreach to the community: These include various
departments, extension services, centers/institutes, and other units. The university receives
requests from community groups, and faculty seek to connect with community groups. To
enhance these opportunities, more allocation of resources is required to support the efforts of
existing campus groups in responding to requests from the community and from faculty and
better coordination is needed among these groups.
3.f.
Recognize faculty achievements and certify courses in the scholarship of engagement
Increased communication should occur among senior administration of the university, colleges,
and departments with regard to appropriate recognition of faculty achievements in the
scholarship of engagement in all academic and research units within NC State University. The
university should consider instituting a system of certifying courses as meeting criteria for
excellence in the scholarship of engagement.
3.g.
Increase transparency regarding budget allocations and accounting procedures to
support achievement of the university’s three missions of teaching, research, and
extension and engagement
To support fulfillment of the university’s three missions, the university should become more
transparent in its budget allocations and accounting procedures for funding from both legislative
and external sources of support.
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