Element 5C: Modeling Best Professional Practices in Scholarship
The faculty is expected to engage in scholarly activity, not only to enhance their professional qualifications but to pursue avenues of thought and inquiry that promote their competency in their respective areas of expertise.  Research activity not only brings prestige to the unit but it also enhances the educational mission of the university and attracts candidates who are interested in the faculty's areas of scholarship. 

Scholarship is emphasized in the Conceptual Framework and, philosophically, the university has supported a position articulated by Boyer in "Scholarship Reconsidered." As part of the "scholarship of discovery," faculty members demonstrate strong scholarship in research publications, conference presentations, and applications for grant-sponsored research activities. The "scholarship of application and teaching" includes the publication and dissemination of professional development experiences and materials, including curricula.

Table 5-7 offers a listing of full-time faculty members' scholarly activity, broken down by department, initial/advanced programs and type of scholarship (publications, presentations and grants), occurring since 2000.

  * Advanced Programs 

Based on the evidence of the number of works cited, the unit's faculty is actively engaged in scholarship and is meeting accreditation requirements in the area of scholarship.  By way of illustration, over 90 percent of all faculty attended and/or spoke at a state, national or international conference in the past five years.  Virtually all of the scholarly activity summarized here involves teaching, learning, or clinical service as it relates to school-aged settings and populations.  Exhibit S5-4 offers samples of faculty's published works.

Historically, Adelphi University has considered itself a teaching institution and has emphasized the importance of teaching in considerations of reappointments, promotions, and tenure.  However, this has become increasingly balanced with scholarship of faculty members and the two criteria are equally important in the Faculty Collective Bargaining Agreement, Exhibit S5-5).  Given the institution's and unit's mission—as well as the centrality of the Conceptual Framework—scholarship that leads to more effective educational and clinical practice has been emphasized.  The research that most of the faculty conduct is of an applied nature—both within the context of service to teachers, clinicians, and candidates as well as emphasizing findings that have applicability to future service in the educational field. Increasingly, this applied model has broadened into scholarly collaborations with schools, districts, and other educational organizations.  For example, the unit's faculty has developed a partnership with the Center for the Study of Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CSETL) that is staffed by master teachers who seek to improve educational practice.

Each year, the unit's faculty has held approximately four seminars/symposia related to areas of scholarly interest.  In 2005-2006, seminars were held on assessment, diversity, autism, and urban education reform.  Approximately one-third of the faculty members are able to attend at least one or more of these sessions that are open to the Adelphi and school community through the unit's in-house teacher center.