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Session 2275

Merging Research with Service and Teaching in an Engineering Technology Department

Deborah Hochstein The University of Memphis

ABSTRACT

When asked for a definition of research, engineering and engineering technology faculty usually respond with definitions that describe the technical and scientific projects they have been involved with. This type of research usually falls under the scholarship of discovery. Consequently, research activities are segregated from the other activities faculty are called upon to do, namely service and teaching. Engineering and technology faculty are often unaware of the broader definition of research offered by Ernest L. Boyer in his text, Scholarship Reconsidered. Many universities are adopting this expanded view of research. At The University of Memphis, teaching-faculty are encouraged to share their experience in the classroom through the scholarship of teaching. Technology faculty are joining in the research arena by sharing their technical experience through the scholarship of application and the scholarship of integration. This paper presents, as an example of the expanded definition of research, one engineering technology faculty member’s efforts to develop a research plan based upon teaching and service.

INTRODUCTION: In his book, Scholarship Reconsidered, Ernest Boyer examines the history of scholarship in American Universities, as well as proposing an expanded definition of scholarship. 1 An understanding of the historical development of the academic profession is valuable to educators and administrators as they attempt to deal with many of the dilemmas facing higher education today. There is much discussion about the research and publication requirements for tenure and promotion and how they appear to be diametrically opposed to teaching and service. Boyer claims that it is time for America’s colleges and universities to clarify their missions and to relate the work of the academy more directly to the realities of contemporary life. To accomplish this, a new vision of scholarship must be developed. This new vision of scholarship will strengthen diversity within the university by enabling the faculty to more effectively utilize their individual talents and bring renewed energy to the classroom.

The history of scholarship in American academia can be divided into three phases. The first phase begins around 1636 with Harvard College which followed the colonial college tradition whereby the mission was to provide a continuous supply of learned clergy who would bring redemptive light to all mankind. Teaching was considered a calling, much like the ministry, and according to Theodore Benditt, “professors were hired not for their scholarly ability or achievement but for their religious commitment. Scholarly achievement was not a high priority, either for professors or students.”2

The second phase corresponded with the industrial revolution. Applied research was born when it was realized that professors could spread knowledge that would improve agriculture

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Hochstein, D. (1997, June), Merging Research With Service And Teaching In An Engineering Technology Department Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6687