Shrinking Budgets, Growing Expectations: Neoliberalism and Faculty Identity Tensions at the Regional Public University

• In Event: 30.045 - Timely Topics: State and Federal Policies and Politics Impact on Pedagogy

Abstract

Neoliberalism reframes universities as enterprises with a mission to create academic “products”, a paradigm creating new tensions in faculty identity development. Regional public university faculty are particularly vulnerable, as they generate less funding than research universities, yet still must compete. This paper describes results of a survey administered to faculty at Illinois public universities. Participants completed job and life satisfaction surveys, ranked time commitment and value of their job responsibilities, and answered open-ended items exploring identity struggles. While faculty reported satisfaction with work and life, a substantial percentage experienced increasing responsibilities stretching them thin—responsibilities caused by demands to compete and by budget cutbacks that reduce resources allowing them to compete. Implications for the future of public universities are discussed.

Authors

• Daryl Mortensen Dugas, Northern Illinois University

• Lindsay Harris, Northern Illinois University

• Amy Elizabeth Stich, Northern Illinois University

• Kelly Summers, Northern Illinois University