Reflection on Scholarship 

In my portfolio, you will see that a portion of my creative work is comprised of not a small amount of creative design work done over the past ten years for ACU. I would like to explain why this work is included in my portfolio and should not be discredited as irrelevant work toward my application for tenure and promotion.

According to the faculty handbook, scholarship work for those applying for promotion to the position of Professor “must have influence beyond the ACU campus.” Although I am applying for promotion to Associate Professor, and this statement does not apply to my immediate situation, I still want to address this statement and explain why it is not relevant to my portfolio beyond this obvious reason listed.

First, my circumstance is unique as I have a very specialized set of skills and a limited market in which to utilize them.  As a graphic designer, I have spent my entire career as a specialist designing for churches, colleges, and non-profits, particularly those in the religious sector.  Not only did I get my start as a graphic designer and brand manager at another Christian institution of higher learning (Lubbock Christian University), I wrote my dissertation on the subject of branding in religious institutions.  Thus, my work for any Christian institution, including ACU, is a direct outgrowth of over twenty years of research and professional work and exhibits the practice of my craft within my specific area of expertise.  

Since graphic design is such a large and dynamic field, it is not uncommon for designers to develop specialties within their trade. These specialties range from specific types of design (logotypes, print, web, environmental, packaging, animation, etc.) to specific areas of expertise (branding/visual identity, marketing/advertising, UX/UI, data visualization, typography, book design, etc.) to specific markets (athletics, higher education, religious, tech, automotive, entertainment/film, pharmaceutical, restaurant and hospitality, etc.). As a graphic designer, I specialize primarily in web design and branding (type and area of expertise) for religious and higher ed institutions (market).  Thus, all of my work for ACU is not merely driven out of convenience, but is the product of years of carefully cultivating my craft as well as relationships with clients within my area of expertise. 

Second, among private Christian universities, ACU is a leader, not only in Texas, but in the United States in areas of innovation, teaching, undergraduate research, and first-year experiences (of which I am very proud as the former director of Cornerstone).  Because of this notable national (even global) reputation, commissioned work done for ACU positions me as one who is working for a national leader in my field. Because most institutions of higher learning have in-house designers, work opportunities in this area is very limited and commissions are highly competitive for freelance designers like myself.

Third, for graphic designers who work at large firms or studios, commissioned work is typically brought to them as a part of a team by client specialists whose sole job is to draw in business by building relationships with clients.  As a solo practitioner with a full-time teaching and administrative job who is working in a specialized industry, I do not have all of the same resources or opportunities as designers employed in large firms or in-house departments. Because of my position at ACU, I live in proximity to a very small market and am therefore limited in what is immediately available to me. It naturally follows, then, that as an expert in a specialized field, the bulk of my clients would come from the largest local religious institution of higher learning where I live. Likewise, it is also reasonable that as a professor and alumnus of ACU who firmly believes in the mission, vision, and purpose of this university, I would prefer to do work for this community to which I am deeply connected, informed, and committed as opposed to one of our competitors. 

Finally, graphic design is a highly competitive industry.  Because it consists of work that can be done remotely, there is an entire world of designers available to all of my clients through a broad range of online designer showcases. In none of these projects was the client required to hire me specifically or a designer from the ACU community and in all cases I was vetted against other professionals competing for the same commissions. I had to submit design proposals, just as I would for any client. Thus, my selection and compensation as a designer is a quantifiable indication of leading professionals in my area of expertise’s confidence in my skills and selection over other designers. This is akin to peer review in my field.  Furthermore, much of this work was created not merely for an ACU audience, but was also part of larger outward-facing campaigns to recruit students, market the university, and increase visibility for the university on a global stage.    

In summary, my field of expertise is in web design and branding for religious institutions (especially institutions of higher learning); ACU is a national leader as a Christian university with a global audience; commissions in the narrow market of Christian higher education are highly competitive; and, I was selected for these commissions through a peer review process over other designers because of my specialist knowledge and expertise to create outward-facing marketing designs. Therefore, this work belongs in my portfolio as a reflection of my scholarship.