At Purdue University, a new president has redirected an entire university and this transformation will alter the way most non-tenured faculty progress through the tenure process. The new triad of Learning, Engagement, and Discovery has replaced the historical Teaching, Service, and Research pyramid that so many of us have come to recognize as the all in all measure of success for faculty in higher education. Because Purdue University has stepped up to the plate in this change, there may be lessons for other non-tenured faculty who may face the same uncertainty that Purdue University non-tenured faculty have faced in the last several months. The Purdue University Strategic Planning Document describes this trilogy: 1. Learning can be described as distributing knowledge to an audience of peers and citizens through a great diversity of academic literature and professional activities, and to student learners through a variety of text materials and instructional settings. In its libraries and other archives, the University serves as the repository and facilitator of access to a rich accumulation of human information, knowledge and wisdom. 2. Discovery is grounded in the most theoretical, empirical and applied methods. The University's programs of research, scholarship, and creative endeavor expand the realm of knowledge across the full range of academic disciplines. 3. Engagement is through exchange. Through its programs of knowledge exchange and application, the university helps put knowledge to work in the solution of a variety of technical and social problems. This paper will define Learning, Engagement, and Discovery and offer tips on how one can proactively step outside of the box and see potential opportunities before all universities make this change. As the authors of the book, The University in Transformation: Global Perspectives on the Futures of the University, discuss, the traditional university is under challenge from various forces worldwide and the future of the university is unknown at this point (7). What is easy to recognize is that the traditional university is in transformation and it is very unlikely that it will look the same in the future as it does today. This new trilogy of Learning, Discovery, and Engagement could be the necessary ingredients for success in the 21st century University. I will share personal experiences with the engagement piece that involves strategically building industrial partnerships and business relationships that can benefit not only your professional career but how the element of engagement can lead to more learning in the classroom and more discovery opportunities.
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