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Re: parttime faculty and the AAA
Jane W. Gibson (jwgc@KUHUB.CC.UKANS.EDU)
Fri, 15 Dec 1995 11:14:07 -0600
Tsatsoulis' (Hi Barbara!) invitation to organize a panel regarding
part-timers and adjunct working conditions. It's a great idea. First, let
me say that I have no desire to undermine or redirect what I see as an
important discussion. But I'd like to offer an observation. The political
and economic conditions within which university administrators must cut
budgets, and so tend to emphasize GTAs, adjuncts, and part-time faculty
(lower salaries, fewer or no benefits), also reshape the requirements for
tenure (emphasize grant-writing and research; de-emphasize teaching; other
changes in the wind,) and may ultimately eliminate tenure altogether.
Full-time, tenured and untenured tenure-track faculty who believe
the concerns of their underemployed colleagues are not relevant to their
own situations need to realize that we are all on the same ship. The
extent to which universities solve their budgetary shortfalls in
hiring/firing practices and rules affects everyone's job security, not to
mention morale and the quality of higher education. I hope Barbara's
suggestion receives support from all
corners.
Jane Gibson
Jane W. Gibson A democratic civilization will save
Department of Anthropology itself only if it makes the language
University of Kansas of the image into a stimulus for
Lawrence, Kansas 66045 critical reflection--not an invitation
for hypnosis.
--Umberto Eco
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