Revising appointment, promotion, and tenure procedures to incorporate an expanded definition of scholarship: The University of Kentucky College of Medicine Experience

Scholarly activity and scholarly productivity are key features of the acade mic health center (AHC) and the work of college of medicine faculty. Recent changes in the academic environment uf the University of Kentucky (UK) Col lege of Medicine led to an examination of its appointment, promotion, and t enure procedures. This, in turn, led to a re-examination of the college's d efinition of scholarship. This article describes three of UK's scholarship- related challenges, particularly those. related to clinical departments. Th e authors describe some of the new procedures being implemented to address these challenges; these include new faculty designations, clearer articulat ion of promotion procedures, explicit recognition of multiple forms of scho larship, expectations for investment in junior faculty, and mandatory discu ssion of faculty success in chairs' annual reviews. Faculty reactions, posi tive and negative, to these changes in procedures are also presented.