Links

The November-December 2008 issue of Academe (published by the American Association of University Professors) explored the multiple challenges associated with the rising reliance on contingent faculty. Notable features included an article on “Gender, Contingent Labor, and Writing Studies” by Deirdre McMahon and Ann Green, and an essay on “Contingent Faculty and Student Outcomes” by Audrey J. Jaeger. To read the issue online, visit www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2008/ND/.

The University of Michigan’s National Clearinghouse on Academic Worklife compiles resources on “all aspects of modern academic work and related career issues, including tenure-track and non-tenure-track appointments, benefits, climate and satisfaction, work/life balance, and policy development” (from the Web site). To search the database, join the listserv, or access discussion forums, visit www.academicworklife.org.

In May 2008, Inside Higher Ed began hosting “Mama, PhD,” a blog on academic motherhood and its corresponding challenges and rewards. Contributors occupy a range of positions both inside and outside of academe, from tenured professor to freelance writer, and their reflections on balancing family and intellectual life represent a plethora of possible choices for parents with PhDs. To read the blog, visit www.insidehighered.com/blogs/mama_phd.

In 2006, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) issued its Faculty Gender Equity Indicators 2006, written by John W. Curtis and Martha West. The report outlines four measures of gender equity at higher education institutions: “employment status (full- and part-time); tenure status for full-time faculty; promotion to full professor rank; and average salary for full-time faculty” (from the Web site), and provides data related to these indicators. To download the full report, visit www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/research/geneq2006.

The National Education Association’s (NEA’s) Professional Pay Web site includes a section focused specifically on the issues facing contingent faculty. In support of its statement that “contingent faculty are worth professional pay,” the Web site includes resources for contingent faculty, including fact sheets for contract negotiations and useful articles from the NEA’s Higher Education Almanac. To access these resources, visit www.nea.org/home/ProfessionalPay.html.  

In 1997, a cohort of associations established the Coalition on the Academic Workforce in response to higher education’s growing reliance on non-tenure-track faculty. The coalition seeks to address the conditions that put both faculty and their institutions “at a severe disadvantage.”  The Web site, which includes links to reports on non-tenure-track faculty and resources for contingent faculty members, is available at www.academicworkforce.org.