In Fall 2024, the Office of Outreach & Engagement launched Texas Tech University's first Engaged College Program to support colleges in advancing community-engaged scholarship in research and teaching. The program helps colleges develop or enhance initiatives that involve faculty, staff, and students in community-embedded work aligned with academic goals.

This innovative new program responds to increasing interest in community engagement among students, faculty, and external partners, as well as rising expectations from funders and legislators for measurable societal impact. It emphasizes the importance of sustainable, reciprocal partnerships and supports the integration of engagement into the University's broader academic mission.

●      increased interest among students and faculty to conduct community-engaged work;

●      growing desire among communities to partner with the University and other organizations to address societal challenges;

●      increased requirement from local, state, and federal sponsors for projects that are built on established, sustainable, and reciprocal university-community partnerships;

●      increased demand from legislators for the University to demonstrate its impact on the state and beyond;

●      the value of having a college-wide and University-wide community engagement agenda; and

●      the role that community engagement can play in advancing participating college’s academic and scholarly goals and priorities.

 

Collaborating Colleges:
Five colleges at Texas Tech University were selected to plan, design, and implement strategic initiatives (three to five action steps) that advance the integration of engaged scholarship into their colleges’ research and teaching activities.

• The College of Health and Human Sciences
• The Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources
• The College of Media and Communications
• The College of Arts and Sciences
• J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts

The participating colleges received up to $20,000 each, for academic year 2024-25, to support the development and implementation of their action plans as well as have access (through the Office of the Provost, Outreach and Engagement) to graduate courses, Outreach and Engagement departmental infrastructure, resource materials (books), technical assistance, external speakers and experts, and community-based and university-based networks to enhance their community-engaged research and/or teaching.

 

Purpose
The Engaged College Program builds on the work conducted at other universities to support academic units in developing and implementing strategic initiatives that further the institutionalization of engagement at the university through the integration of engaged scholarship into the academic fabric of a college.

 

Key Components
Activities that are part of the Engaged College Program should include all of the following components:

1.  An identification of the college’s key teaching and/or research goals for students and faculty, as appropriate.
2. An articulation of the ways that community engagement activities can add value to achieving the college’s goals articulated in #1.
3. The development of collaborative partnerships with community members (local or global) that consider the communities’ state of affairs and are based on producing mutual benefits, reciprocity, and long-term sustainability.
4. The development of a strategic, action-focused plan that advances the integration of community engagement into the programmatic features of the college and its academic units/departments.
5. The implementation of the activities of the action plan developed in #4.
6. Monitoring and evaluating the institutionalization of community engagement into the college’s teaching and/or research activities.
7. Consideration of the ways in which the college’s community engagement efforts might enhance the goals of the University’s strategic plan.

 

Focus of the Program
The activities developed by a college under the Engaged College Program might involve, but are not limited to, the following:

• Establishing curricula that incorporate community-engaged teaching and learning.
• Supporting collegiate and departmental members’ or leaders’ participation in professional development opportunities that enhance their capacity to conduct high-quality community-engaged research and/or teaching.
• Offering college-wide and/or program-wide retreats that engage faculty, staff, and community partners in strategic planning to further the institutionalization of engaged scholarship within their work.
• Building faculty, staff, and students ' understanding of the principles of engaged scholarship.
• Developing instruments or benchmarking tools to assess the progress and outcomes of the college and its respective programs, and engaged scholarship activities.
• Supporting promotion pathways on the basis of engaged scholarship for faculty, including professors of practice.
• Developing resources and tools to support faculty and students in their engaged scholarship endeavors.

 

An Engaged College is one that:

• Utilizes engaged scholarship as a strategy to achieve key academic goals for faculty and students.
• Encourages and supports high-quality engaged scholarship among faculty and/or students.
•  Incorporates community engagement (local and/or global) into academic coursework to enhance student learning, development, and career success.
• Supports collaborative research and teaching activities between members of the college (faculty, scholars, department leaders, college administrators, staff) and members of the community (non-profits, government, industry, etc.).
• Offers promotion pathways based on engaged scholarship for faculty, including professors of practice.
• Addresses meaningful and important societal issues in collaboration and partnership with external partners. 

 

Continued Work

The Engaged College Program (ECP) was initially launched as a one-year initiative. However, the progress and momentum generated during the 2024–2025 academic year inspired a stronger, long-term commitment to embedding engagement and engaged scholarship within each college’s structure. In response, the Office of Outreach & Engagement extended the program for a second year. The ECP is now preparing to launch its second phase, continuing its work with the original cohort of colleges to institutionalize engagement across three key areas: strategic planning, tenure and promotion, and community partnerships.