Do see this wonderful post of Jonathon Rees at his More or Less Bunk site.
"Three or four presidents of my university ago (they come and go so fast these days that I’ve lost count), I asked the man what percentage of courses on campus are taught by adjuncts. He said he didn’t know."
I told you there were more-anybody have any more such stories? It's truth time, don't you think? Get up, stand up-preferably in scary ghost costume.
For Campus Equity Week. Cheers, Alan Trevithick
More or Less Bunk is one of a favorite blogs and not just because of the name, although that helps. I'm partial to snarky names (i.e. Gin and Tacos, opiate of the asses), If I'd been the one to name this one, the name would be both more interesting and offensive.
ReplyDeleteWeren't the results of the CAW survey due to come out this fall? I wonder what would happen if every member of the academic precariat were to ask the president, provost or head of HR at zir college or university what % of teaching faculty the precariat constitutes.
A friend with deep experience in database management assures me that payroll knows: if not by name then by pay grade code. No one agrees on our names, but we do have NUMBERS.
PS there's more to the Bunk post than just the adjunct comment (of which Rees has made more than a few)
ReplyDeleteWhoa! Love the "precariat" moniker. Absolutely appropriate.
ReplyDeleteMy situation is a case in point: I just completed another master's degree (this time an MA in English comp/rhet, which I teach) because some colleges won't hire adjuncts without a degree in their discipline, despite the usual "18 grad credit hours..." When I sent the official transcript to HR of a college where I've taught for 4+ years, I was told not to expect a pay bump to the next step because the masters wasn't a requirement toward a PhD. However, had I stopped just short of earning this MA, I might have received extra compensation due to the continuing grad credits in my discipline. I'm definitely a member of the Precariat. And Irony Anonymous, too!