ABSTRACT

Artistic, scholarly, and professional works by individual faculty members in the field of film and digital media are not being adequately recognized or rewarded as scholarship activity during performance evaluation in institutions of higher learning. Conventional systems for the recognition and evaluation of work prioritize scientism and compel rigid compliance with norms, pitting individual faculty members and their creative works against an institutional model that precludes the possibility that specific and unique aspects of work will be recognized or rewarded.

This dissertation explores appropriate alternatives, and advocates for change, relying upon quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry, including auto/ethnographic and personalized writing, in the search of greater understanding and solutions to the problem.

This dissertation proffers theoretically grounded recommendations for the recognition and evaluation of faculty work, but it is not intended to be the final word on this topic. This research does not intend to advocate singular or ultimate ways for measuring artistic, scholarly, or professional works, nor has a final solution been discovered through data research.

Instead, this dissertation can serve as a catalyst for institutional change. It challenges the exclusionary and meritocratic nature of systems in higher education that pre-determine internal mobility for faculty members. This study concludes that existing conventions for evaluating faculty scholarship are problematic and not well-suited to the intended purpose; that faculty scholarship in all fields should be recognized and evaluated on the basis of a unique and specific approach--not just upon the artifacts considered in isolation from approach; and that the process of performance evaluation should be designed and conducted from start to finish by informed, sensitized, and relevantly experienced colleagues who possess a deep understanding of the complex, distinct, and diverse range of knowledge and skills that are inherent to a creative or alternative approach in research inquiry.