On Being Interviewed as a Road Scholar

…reflections from +Joseph Fruscione (GWU Writing Program). More media ~ higher ed, mainstream, national, local, print, radio, television ~ are interviewing not just the usual "leadership" or spokespersons but Payless running shoes on the ground adjunct and contingent faculty. The genre ("Interview with an adjunct"), its terrain and conventions, are new. Some but not all experiences have been positive. Let's learn or write them ourselves: own the genre and speak with our own voices. Be ready: you could be next. Joe Fruscione writes about his experience, offers good suggestions:

Sometimes, ditching MLA sessions and walking the book exhibit can lead to good things. In 2009, talking with an editor led to a book contract. In 2013, a conversation with Maria Maisto—whom I’d never met landed me in the middle of a news story about contingent university faculty, “road scholars” as the producer called us before my on-camera interview for PBS NewsHour.

Checking email after teaching my second class on the first day of spring semester classes, I saw “Interview for PBS?” on a subject line and, intrigued, jumped at the chance. After a few threads between Maria, the producer, and me, a phone interview was scheduled for the next day. Although never hesitant to accept the invitation,

MLA2012 elections: Vote #Adjunct

Use it! Be heard!

…Vote MLA Online: Deadline Dec10 for second vice president, Executive Council, Delegate Assembly, and division and discussion group executive committees. Members, check the website

Disclosures: New Faculty Majority president Maria Maisto is standing for the Executive Council (and would be the first adjunct to become a member). For my own part, as Board member, social media coordinator by default and activist by choice, I not only have an obvious interest in Maria's candidacy but am likely to be posting about it. Retired, I am neither a candidate for any position nor even an MLA member. (Occasionally, I do think about re-upping ~ this would have been one)

I don't know who else is standing or for what but would welcome from hearing from adjunct candidates and posting information about them. Come by the New Faculty Majority Coalition page on Facebook and introduce yourself. The same goes for candidates in other professional associations. It's not not campaigning: it's making information public as a public service. To reiterate the appeal of Karen Madison, Committee on Contingent Labor in the Profession member, to adj-l, the Contingent Academics Mailing List:

Please encourage folks to Vote Adjunct in the MLA Elections. I did. I went through each candidate and found that there are many who distinguish themselves as having a focus on adjunct issues or as wanting to further adjunct labor rights--as well as candidates who are adjuncts themselves. 

MLA needs adjuncts on the committees desperately if we hope to have a fair representation of the ratio of NTT to TT stream faculty in the ranks.

The following candidates have expressed an interest in issues affecting non-tenure track faculty or are actually non-tenure track faculty. One candidate is recognized as a potentially strong ally.