Press Release: New Faculty Majority: the National Coalition for Adjunct and Contingent Faculty

From the Organizing Committee for New Faculty Majority: the National Coalition for Adjunct and Contingent Equity, March 18, 2009:

Contacts:

• Co-Chair Maria Maisto - emcmaistolynch@sbcglobal.net - 216-262-4375
• Co-Chair Deborah Louis – deb@northmountains.org - 828-206-0128

In their third conference call since their establishment as an organizing committee in early February, faculty activists from across the country agreed on the name New Faculty Majority: The National Coalition for Adjunct and Contingent Equity for the organization, which will represent the interests of and advocate for non-tenure-track faculty at colleges and universities nationwide. During the two-hour call on Sunday, March 15, the committee also referred a draft of their mission statement back to subcommittee for refinement, reviewed a rough outline of the proposed organizational structure, voted to approve the establishment of a temporary web site until a permanent web site is constructed, and approved the formation of new subcommittees on research and fundraising. The committee also decided to seek 501(c)3 status after incorporating later this year.

The committee selected their name in a unanimous vote, noting that “New Faculty Majority” has been used to refer to fixed-term faculty since its appearance in Spring 2000 as the title of an article by Judith Gappa, professor of educational administration at Purdue University. At the time of Gappa’s article, non-tenure-track faculty constituted approximately 60 percent of the teaching faculty nationwide; today they account for 70 percent. “The New Faculty Majority” is also the title of a new blog by adjunct activist Steve Street. The group’s subtitle, “The National Coalition for Adjunct and Contingent Equity,” reflects the fact that the organization will target both semester-to-semester contract adjunct faculty and multiple year/limited contract contingent faculty as its constituents, but will also welcome any interested individuals and groups to participate in the group’s advocacy and public education efforts.

“We feel that we’ve made significant progress in a very short period of time, which reflects the commitment and hard work of this committee,” said Co-Chair Deb Louis, observing that the committee has added three new members since its last teleconference and has agreed to add more as talented individuals continue to come forward. “We are pleased that the composition of the committee increasingly reflects the composition of the adjunct and contingent population nationwide, and we look forward to welcoming more people who share our dedication to equity and excellence in higher education,” added Co-Chair Maria Maisto.

The committee will meet again by teleconference on April 5, at which time it expects to approve its web site, finalize its mission statement, vote on its organizational structure, and begin planning its summer activities. The committee expects that New Faculty Majority will be a functioning membership organization by the beginning of the next academic year.

Note: watch for notice of our soon to published web site. An updated list of committee members will be posted separately.

Previously reported in CHE @

• New Adjunct-Faculty Union Gets a Name, March 20, 2009 (please note mistake in Chronicle piece corrected by organizing committee co-chair, Deborah Louis in comment #5
• New Group Aims to Be National Voice for Adjunct Faculty Members, February 22, 2009