It is definitely time for a shift in how Nigerian universities evaluate faculty, as the current heavy reliance on journal metrics often feels disconnected from our local development needs. While academic publishing is essential for global knowledge exchange, focusing solely on it risks turning our institutions into ivory towers that produce theories with very little local application. Recognizing community engagement would not only incentivize professors to solve problems like food insecurity or policy gaps in their immediate surroundings but also make university education feel more relevant to the average Nigerian citizen. A more balanced system that treats social impact with the same prestige as peer-reviewed citations would go a long way in ensuring our ivory towers actually serve the public interest. Moving toward this model could transform our universities into true engines of national growth rather than just repositories for abstract research.