EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Strategic engagement is critical to the success of colleges and schools of pharmacy in expanding pharmacy and public health practice, meeting programmatic needs, and fulfilling institutional missions. The AACP 2019-2020 Strategic Engagement Committee was charged with exploring faculty leadership and development as they relate to strategic engagement, considering challenges and barriers to faculty participation and identifying successes in faculty engagement and opportunities for professional development. The committee reviewed literature and examples regarding strategic engagement across academic pharmacy, with strategic engagement understood as being part of the service mission of academic institutions. The committee found faculty service is often not rewarded or recognized equally to efforts in research and education, including in promotion and tenure. The perceived low value often accorded to strategic engagement efforts, coupled with lack of time and low priority for the work, are barriers to faculty participation in strategic engagement. Service missions thrive when supported by institutional culture, faculty and alumni role models and administration priorities. The committee also found that there is no defined path to leadership in most national organizations, a limited number of leadership positions and a lack of awareness regarding these positions. However, strategic engagement with organizations can open doors and increase visibility for faculty, leading to enhanced opportunities and improved scholarship. Engagement efforts can be particularly successful when aligned with faculty interests and school and departmental priorities. Based on the committee's work, the following recommendations are provided to AACP for consideration.Recommendation #1 - AACP should create a pathway or exemplar stories of members who have become leaders within the Academy including institutional and volunteer leadership roles.Recommendation #2 - AACP should provide an organizational chart to outline the reporting structures, as well as the policy development process to help members understand how AACP works and points of entry for involvement.Recommendation #3 - AACP should develop an initiative to "groom" faculty for leadership roles including providing tools/training programs for emerging leaders within the Academy.Recommendation #4 - AACP should consider creating a community for targeted groups of faculty, eg, tenured/tenure-track and non-tenure track to address leadership development and engagement based on member interest.Recommendation #5 - AACP should establish a "service mentors" program to match current and past leaders with members interested in enhancing their involvement in the association.
Keywords: Strategic engagement; faculty member; leadership; professional development; promotion; service; tenure.
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