AAC&U Annual Meeting
January 25-28, 2012
Washington, DC / Grand Hyatt Hotel

SHARED FUTURES / DIFFICULT CHOICES
Reclaiming a Democratic Vision for College Learning,
Global Engagement, and Success

A NATIONAL SUMMIT SPONSORED BY THE NEW FACULTY MAJORITY FOUNDATION

Reclaiming Academic Democracy:
Facing the Consequences of Contingent Employment in Higher Education

Saturday, January 28, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

AAC&U welcomes New Faculty Majority (NFM) and the NFM Foundation, which will hold a one-day National Summit to address the implications for student learning when a majority of faculty are on contingent (non-tenurable) faculty contracts. The Summit’s morning sessions are open to AAC&U Annual Meeting registrants (on a first come, first-served basis) at no additional cost.

Those wanting to participate in the full Summit—including the luncheon and afternoon discussions—must contact the New Faculty Majority Foundation (see below). 

All participants will be invited to make and encourage individual and institutional commitments to taking collaborative, concrete steps to improve student learning conditions by improving faculty working conditions.  The National Summit is designed to:

• educate the public about the effects of adjunct and contingent faculty working conditions on the quality of higher education and the teaching profession;
• develop practical, ethical solutions and a broad-based commitment to reform; and
• provide adjunct and contingent faculty and their allies with the opportunity to engage in self-advocacy and coalition building on a national scale.

The New Faculty Majority will also sponsor a Featured Session at AAC&U's Annual Meeting on Friday afternoon, January 27:

Contingency and the Common Good:
Setting the Stage for Democratic Reform of Academic Employment Practices
This session will situate the model of contingent academic employment in the context of national political and socioeconomic trends and AAC&U’s concern for thequality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Examples of successful reforms will be presented, and the audience will be invited to consider whether and how these and other ongoing efforts to reform the contingent academic hiring model support democratic values, strengthen the teaching profession, and enhance undergraduate learning.Audience members will also be invited to join the discussion by proposing additional actions and strategies to strengthen the contingent academic employment reform movement and to ensure the vitality and integrity of higher education for the common good.
Adrianna Kezar, Associate Professor for Higher Education, University of Southern California;Maria Maisto, President of the Board, New Faculty Majority, and Adjunct Faculty, Cuyahoga Community College; Caryn McTighe Musil, Senior Vice President, AAC&U

For complete program information, including how to participate in the full National Summit, please contact the New Faculty Majority Foundation at info@newfacultymajority.info.

The National Summit is supported in part by The Ford Foundation.