The reflective university is an institution that goes beyond instrumental functions and mere knowledge transmission, focusing instead on critical reflection, scholarly dialogue, and social responsibility. Considering the structural challenges and the dominance of quantitative evaluation in Iranian higher education, this study aimed to develop a theoretical model of the reflective university within the Iranian context, drawing on the lived experiences of faculty members at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Kurdistan. The study employed a qualitative grounded theory approach based on Strauss and Corbin’s framework. Twenty faculty members were selected through purposive sampling with a theoretical orientation. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. Causal conditions included the search for meaning, experiences of limitations, and environmental changes. Contextual conditions involved faculty culture, individual characteristics, and organizational settings, while intervening conditions comprised evaluation policies, university management, and the climate of interaction. In response, faculty members adopted strategies such as strengthening scholarly dialogue, rethinking teaching and research practices, leveraging collective staff capacities, and managing within structural constraints. The consequences of these strategies were categorized as strengthening intellectual life, transforming students’ educational experiences, improving scholarly quality, and gradually redefining the university’s societal role. The findings indicate that realizing the reflective university in Iran requires a shift from rigid, quantitatively driven structures toward reflective faculty agency and the creation of informal spaces for dialogue.