‘A jewel in our crown’: lending prestige to teaching in a research-intensive institution

This reflective case study examines Warwick University's strategy to achieve parity of esteem for teaching within a research-intensive context. As successive Directors of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA) and key contributors to revised promotion criteria, the authors analyse their approach, drawing on institutional data, scholarship and practitioner insights. This insider perspective offers critical insights into the challenges, enablers and iterative processes involved in institutional culture change around teaching recognition and educational leadership. Central to Warwick's approach was the establishment of WIHEA, a structure providing opportunities for collaborative leadership, innovation and funding for educational enhancements [Kezar 2018. How Colleges Change: Understanding, Leading, and Enacting Change. 2nd ed. Routledge]. WIHEA currently still enables teaching-focused academics and professional services colleagues to exercise educational leadership through collaborative networks and projects, cross-faculty initiatives and inclusive development programmes. Significantly, the Academy empowered teaching-focused academics to contribute meaningfully to recasting Warwick's promotion framework and changing the status and prestige of teaching.