Stimulating and sustaining scholarly activity at teaching-intensive institutions

Research and scholarship are core elements of the academic mission. Yet fulfilling institutional and accreditation requirements for scholarly activity can be challenging, particularly for teaching-intensive institutions. This paper describes strategies for employing a teacher-scholar model to stimulate and sustain scholarly activity.

Metrics of scholarly productivity were programmatically assessed and reported for at least five years following implementation of sixteen different strategic initiatives at three teaching-intensive colleges of pharmacy. Data reported included publications (original peer-reviewed publications, case reports, review articles), presentations (posters, podiums, and continuing education sessions), peer-reviewed published abstracts, grants awarded, and total extramural funding per annum. Faculty and student engagement in scholarship was indicated by authorship on at least one scholarly work.

Broad increases in metrics of scholarly productivity were observed, while the timing and degree of change varied (1.4-fold to 10.4-fold, across all institutions, all years). Notably, the most robust growth was observed in grantsmanship and the number of faculty and student contributors to scholarly works. A key observation was that increased scholarly output was sustained, as during the most recent three-year period publications increased 1.6-fold, grants and extramural funding increased 3.4- and 15.8-fold, respectively, and faculty and student contributors increased 1.8- and 4.5-fold, respectively.

Overall, these data point to a substantive, detailed approach for increasing scholarship at diverse, teaching-intensive institutions by implementing cost-conscious strategies, including clear ties between scholarly effort/productivity and faculty performance/advancement, strong faculty development and mentoring, institutional commitments to infrastructure and research budgets, and student engagement in scholarly activities.