In this brief, the authors argue that creating avenues to support VITAL faculty is an essential role for leaders within academic affairs, and particularly those in faculty affairs. While the authors review a host of supports needed, they argue for the importance of sustained professional development opportunities like faculty learning communities…

Institutional reliance on tenure-line faculty reached a historic low after the Great Recession in 2009, remaining at approximately a third of all faculty through 2022. Postsecondary institutions have steadily increased their reliance on full-time adjunct faculty over the last two decades. Part-time adjuncts, meanwhile, were hired in great numbers…

This study examines unionization efforts among contingent faculty members, who now account for the majority of the academic workforce. Drawing on data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and other sources, this article uses an event history analysis to identify factors associated with efforts to establish a contingent faculty union at…

In this reflective narrative I share my experience as a contingent faculty member, woman of color, and mother, working, and parenting through a global pandemic and social uprising. I utilize testimonio (Delgado Bernal et al., 2012) as a methodological tool to make visible the labor I engage in and the collective experience between contingent…

This paper provides an overview of the literature exploring the realities of contingent faculty at U.S. universities and colleges with a focus on STEM. We focus our review of the literature by exploring the experiences of Latinx/é contingent faculty in STEM and propose a series of conceptual frameworks that can be used to explore the hidden…

The number of adjunct faculty members in higher education has been increasing nationally over the past two decades, and schools of social work are no exception to this trend. There has been robust debate about adjunct use, given concerns about low pay, poor access to benefits, lack of inclusion in academic decision making, and little support…

Although part-time faculty have long contributed specialized expertise to colleges and universities, their role has shifted away from specialized expertise as they have shouldered an increasing share of day-to-day teaching operations at colleges and universities. Today, part-time faculty provide higher education institutions a flexible workforce…

Attaining the rank of faculty in higher education is much like being inducted into a secret society. Institutional and professional knowledge are shared like secret passwords and handshakes…to new tenure-track faculty. Those on the tenure track receive orientation and participate in mentoring and professional development programs during their…

The increasing number of part time instructors in the community college professorate combined with low student retention and graduation rates makes research into part time faculty and student success highly germane. My dissertation investigated if higher ratios of adjunct faculty were related to student retention, certificate/degree attainment,…

The underrepresentation of African-American faculty in the US professoriate has persisted for some time. Relatedly, adjunct faculty remain a fast-growing sector of the professoriate. Adjunct faculty include "experts" and "specialists" who teach postsecondary courses with a narrow focus and with content tailored to their…

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine the lived workplace experiences of adjunct community college faculty in Northern California. The problem is adjunct faculty may experience an institutionalized employment system that marginalizes contingent teachers. Using the theoretical framework of institutionalization theory and…

There has been extensive research conducted into the plight of casual academic staff, the precarious nature of their work, their limited academic development opportunities, and their heightened risk of being positioned on the periphery of the workforce in academia. Institutions have attempted to mitigate this risk through the provision of academic…

What factors, as perceived by adjunct faculty in an academic department at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) institution, had the greatest impact on adjunct faculty and their decision to continue to serve in the part-time role? In this study, I explore the effects of not receiving professional development and mentorship can cause…

This study explores the teaching practices and labor conditions of media and communication adjunct faculty at three universities. Since the late 1960s, the number of faculty who are part-time and contingent is increasing and adjuncts are now more than 70% of college and university faculty (AAUP, n.d.). In this study, I examine the neoliberal…

In Texas, employing more adjunct faculty has helped meet staffing demands as community college enrollment has increased. However, training and retaining these part-time employees has created a unique challenge as adjunct faculty have less opportunities and motivation to participate in professional development (PD). Applying Vygotsky's…