Roundtable: Challenges Facing Non-Tenure Track (NTT) Faculty in a Changing Academic Environment

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Given the changing nature of the academy, many institutions have vastly shifted the make up of their faculty. Gone are the days when tenure track and tenured faculty outnumbered adjuncts, instructors, lecturers and other non-tenure tracked faculty. No longer can newly minted Ph.D.’s expect to find tenure track positions right after graduation. In recent years, a growing number of faculty have expressed concern about the “adjunctification” of academia. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued a statement expressing concern that the growth in non-tenure track faculty can undermine academic freedom, educational quality, and collegiality. Universities around the country have established conferences, workshops, and paper presentations about the changing nature of colleges and universities. Papers in this roundtable address the challenges faced by non-tenure track faculty including issues of workload distribution, equity, job security, pay differentials, and work/life balance. Presenters in this panel range in title and university, bringing to light the differing experiences faced by adjuncts, instructors, lecturers and other non-tenure track contingent faculty.

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Individual Presentations

• Roaming Ph.D.: The Life of a Contingent Faculty Member - Sarah Prior, Michigan State University

• Perceptions of Non-tenure Track Faculty: Overworked and Undervalued or Inept Colleagues? - Brooke de Heer, Northern Arizona University

• Looking at it from Both Sides: “Don’t Worry Your Head About Things Above Your Pay Grade.” - Martin D. Schwartz, The George Washington University

• Teaching Across Institutions - Jacqui Young, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY