Dear Faculty Relations 鈥�听听I love to teach, and I know this is my primary responsibility as a teaching professor, but should I try to keep investing in my research agenda? -- Research Active Teaching Prof听
Dear Research Active 鈥斕�It鈥檚 not easy to maintain a research agenda while teaching six, seven, or even eight classes each year. While teaching faculty contracts generally don鈥檛 include scholarly work, it may seem like there is no incentive to invest in your research.听 But here are a few reasons to strive to integrate scholarly research into your professional goals.听听
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Producing scholarship can help improve your teaching. The knowledge we gain by staying current in our disciplines helps us to design new course offerings, inspires new interdisciplinary partnerships with colleagues in other units, and prevents us from becoming complacent in the classroom. For many teaching and clinical faculty, engaging in scholarly research enriches our dedication to our teaching careers.听
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Research adds value to your merit reviews. While most teaching and clinical professors have no contractual research obligations, if you can explain how your research activities enhance your teaching, you can designate your scholarly work as relevant teaching activities in your departmental merit review and FRPA materials鈥攁nd earn credit for this work toward raises, reappointments, and promotions. You might especially consider teaching-and-learning projects that highlight the investments you make in your teaching.听
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Your academic unit might be open to including research obligations in your next reappointment. Teaching and clinical faculty serve an integral role at research institutions like CU 麻豆影院 by helping our tenured and tenure-track colleagues to be at the forefront of new research, but our culture is beginning to recognize the quality research that teaching and clinical faculty produce. Some units have increased available research funding, others have offered research grant-based course releases, and still others have worked with faculty to renegotiate their contracts and dedicate a percentage of their duties to research. It may be worth exploring options with leadership in your unit.听
Research Active, please stay true to your name! We all benefit from your hard work.听听
Written by Lev Szentkir谩lyi, Assistant Teaching Professor, Social Responsibility and Sustainability Division, Leeds School of Business, and Faculty Fellow for Teaching and Clinical Faculty Development, Office of Faculty Affairs.
FDS Newsetter, Nov. 2024.