Public education without proper compensation: An empirical argument for promotion and tenure reform to encourage public scholarship and academic citizenship

Abstract

Institutions of higher education desire their faculty members to be high-quality researchers while also acting as engaged academic citizens who produce public scholarship. However, traditional promotion and tenure processes do not reward public-facing academic citizenship, instead valuing peer-reviewed publications and grant dollars. Therefore, a paradox exists: How can institutions of higher education claim they value academic citizenship without recognizing their faculty members for performing such work? This essay argues for a fundamental reform in promotion and tenure policies for tenure track faculty members to encourage academic citizenship and to reward these faculty members for performing this critical, public-facing, community-building work.