Announcing the

Contingent Faculty Caucus

Join us on Friday, January 10, 8-9:30pm

Olympic Room

As greater numbers of colleges and universities are becoming increasingly reliant on contingent faculty members to teach their students, many members of SCE have found themselves in positions for which they are underpaid, receive few benefits, and work with little institutional support.

The mission of the newly-created Contingent Faculty Caucus is to bring together a currently disparate group, which includes both part-time and full-time instructors, graduate students teaching as adjuncts or as part of their funding or fellowship requirements; those teaching off the tenure track by choice; adjuncts (term-to-term employees); those in limited-term or renewable annual positions; and all faculty who would prefer a tenure-track position but are working in another teaching capacity within the academy, as well as other members of SCE concerned with the effects of the shift to contingency faculty employment. The Caucus will provide much-needed visibility to a group of faculty that often goes unseen as well as stimulate important conversations and action related to the future of teaching in the academy.

At the Annual Meeting, we anticipate a visit from Charles Mathewes, Chair of the “2020 Future of Christian Ethics” Committee. Other potential activities include:

●  Sharing strategies for contingent faculty to cope with or improve their working conditions

●  A workshop on how to locate sources of funding for research

●  The generation of a report or statement regarding the fair treatment of contingent faculty

●  Brainstorming ways SCE as a body might advocate for better treatment for contingent faculty and inclusion as full members of the academy

To aid us in planning our first meeting, we ask that contingent faculty fill out a brief online survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7P655F7.

Please join us in Seattle. Note that this year, SCE offers a registration discount for contingent faculty. We look forward to meeting you and we welcome comments at the addresses below.

Christine Darr,

Debra Erickson,

Co-conveners