Many of the gender and racial wage gaps found in society are also seen within higher education, with less diversity among college administrators, faculty, and staff than the United States population as a whole. Postsecondary institutions alone cannot correct the systemic inequities that limit socioeconomic mobility and racial justice, but they can…

As part of the promotion and tenure process, colleges and universities have primarily evaluated faculty members on three key functional areas: research, teaching, and service. In this article, we examine how the use of collegiality as a possible fourth criterion for faculty evaluation affects faculty power dynamics, how U.S. courts have addressed…

During the aftermath of the First Red Scare in the 1930s and during the early stages of the Cold War in the 1940s, the United States engaged in a great national effort to preserve and protect its capitalist system from international rival--the communist Soviet Union. In the American South, states such as Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama faced a…

Most position descriptions for college and university faculty include benchmarks that indicate assumptions about collegiality. Criticism about this practice has been voiced for years. But case law in the United States has upheld the use of collegiality as a factor in decisions regarding faculty employment, tenure, and promotion. Indeed, several…

The nature of the American academic workforce has fundamentally shifted over the past several decades. Whereas full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty were once the norm, more than two-thirds of the professoriate in non-profit postsecondary education is now comprised of non-tenure-track faculty. New hires across all institutional types are now…

The nature of the American academic workforce has fundamentally shifted over the past several decades. Whereas full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty were once the norm, the professoriate is now comprised of mostly non-tenure-track faculty. In 1969, tenured and tenure-track positions made up approximately 78.3% of the faculty and…

The use of contingent faculty in higher education in the United States has grown tremendously over the past three decades. In 1975, only 30.2 percent of faculty were employed part time; by 2005, according to data compiled by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),…

It is important for administrators, faculty, and policy makers to understand and consider how policies commonly associated with non-tenure-track faculty roles and working environments impact student learning. Many policies impede the ability of faculty to provide effective instruction that is aligned with departmental and institutional goals for…

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. With a duration of eighteen months, this recession was almost double the length of the average post-World War II economic downturn. Although the worst recession since the Great Depression is now technically over, this analysis…

This article reports the findings of a 1999 survey conducted by the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (CAW), a group of higher education and disciplinary associations concerned about the dramatic rise in contingent faculty, to examine the staffing practices across eleven humanities and social science disciplines. The comprehensive report showed…

The 1978 Amendments to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act establishes the mandatory retirement age at 70. The implications for higher education are discussed, a steady-state model is examined, and an alternative is offered. (Author/MLW)

Presents some guidelines and strategies that college professors who feel that they have been victims of discrimination should consider before they decide to pursue litigation. Exhausting internal appeals, gathering evidence carefully, and looking critically at one's goals are advocated. (SLD)

A variety of measurement, modeling, and forecasting methodologies can be adapted to academic staffing based on the unique role and function of faculty as human resources and the distinctive organizational characteristics of colleges and universities. (Author/MSE)

There is nothing like a campus environment to reinforce the concept of teamwork. Few on a campus can do their jobs alone. From the loftiest endowed chair holder, hefty salary in pocket, to the newest assistant professor, everyone makes a contribution, of sorts, and relies on others to reinforce that contribution. But in the campus world, the…

Affirmative action as a form of regulatory policy may produce a productive cultural mosaic but cannot in itself achieve healthy diversity. A college wishing to diminish discrimination, create a safe and secure work and educational environment, and provide support for family life must institutionalize diversity programs to succeed. (MSE)