Scholarship Re Re-Considered: Taking Stock of “Boyer-ness” in Contemporary U.S. Higher Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 7:45 am - Gold 2
  In Roundtable Session: Developing Faculty as Scholars

Abstract

More than three decades after the release of Scholarship Reconsidered, Ernest Boyer’s framework for expanding academic scholarship remains influential, but its implementation is increasingly under pressure. This presentation revisits Boyer’s model amid shifting institutional priorities, changing faculty roles, and evolving Carnegie classifications. Drawing on a mixed-methods study of 368 institutions with the elective Carnegie Community Engagement designation, we examine how institutional identity, faculty work, and support for alternative forms of scholarship (SoTL, engagement, integration) are currently aligned. Using strategic plans, tenure and promotion policies, and web-scraped artifacts, this study maps the changing landscape of “Boyer-ness” in U.S. higher education. Implications are discussed in light of contemporary pressures on research-intensive models and the growing demand for relevance, interdisciplinarity, and public impact.

Authors

• Laura Cruz, Pennsylvania State University

• Scott Greenberger, Grand Canyon University