This book presents a stunning portrayal of the complexities of part-time faculty and their working conditions, and an exemplary set of practical but universally applicable recommAndations for change. ?Ellen Earle Chaffee, vice chancellor for academic affairs, North Dakota University System
Although academics have never lacked for critics, publications on the profession tend to be either popularized polemics, which are engaging but misleading, or scholarly analyses, which are intellectually responsible but of little interest to anyone but specialists. In Pursuit of Knowledge offers an alternative: a unique portrait of academic life that should appeal to both experts and a general audience. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines, including higher education, history, law, sociology, economics, and literature, the book focuses on the ways in which the pursuit of status has undermined the pursuit of knowledge. Deborah Rhode argues that both individual scholars and institutions in higher education are caught in an arms race of reputation. The result has been to skew priorities in scholarship, erode commitments to teaching, compromise efforts of public intellectuals, and impede effectiveness in administration. The book offers several solutions to counter these pervasive problems in our research institutions. Rhode makes a case for increasing accountability and realigning reward systems. She argues that what is needed is a greater sense of responsibility among universities and their faculties to narrow the gap between academic ideals and practices. In Pursuit of Knowledge is meticulously researched and elegantly written. It is also exceptionally entertaining in its use of quotations culled from over a hundred academic novels, including works by Kingsley Amis, Saul Bellow, David Lodge, and C.P. Snow.(For example, from P.G. Wodehouse's The Girl in Blue, "The Agee womantold us for three quarters of an hourhow she came to write her beastly book, when a simple apology was all that was required.") The result is a highly readable but also deeply reflective analysis of the academic profession.
As the number of adjunct faculty teaching online courses remotely for their institutions continues to increase, so do the unique challenges they face, including issues of distance and isolation as well as problems pertaining to motivation, time, and compensation. Not only are these higher education faculty geographically isolated from each other and their colleagues at flagship campuses, but they also lack adequate institutional support and resources necessary to perform their roles. As institutions continue to rely heavily on this group of under-supported and undertrained instructors who teach the majority of online courses offered across the country, institutions need models and strategies to tap the expertise and perspectives of this group not only to improve teaching and learning in online programs but also to retain this critical talent pool. More consideration is needed to create institutional affinity and organizational commitment, build community, and create opportunities for remote adjunct faculty to be included as an integral component to their academic departments. The Handbook of Research on Inclusive Development for Remote Adjunct Faculty in Higher Education is a comprehensive reference work that presents research, theoretical frameworks, instructor perspectives, and program models that highlight effective strategies, innovative approaches, and unique considerations for creating professional development opportunities for remote adjunct faculty teaching online. This book provides concrete practices that foster inclusivity among contingent faculty teaching online as well as tangible practices that have been successfully implemented from faculty developers and academic leaders at institutions who have a large population of, and heavy reliance on, remote adjunct instructors. While addressing topics that include faculty engagement, mentoring programs, and instructor resources, this book intends to support remote instructors in the post-pandemic world. It is also beneficial for faculty development professionals; academic administrative leaders; higher education stakeholders; and higher education faculty, researchers, and students.
Dramatic shifts in the demographic and labor diversity of American faculty have pressed institutions and the profession to clarify who the real faculty are, from tenured to adjunct faculty. Efforts to equalize respect, resources, and treatment, although laudable, may be missing a vital aspect of the conversation: the role of collegiality and the collegium. Collegiality, the cultural, structural, and behavioral components, and the collegium, or the shared identity collegiality serves, are ancient concepts that raise timely questions for the faculty profession: What is it about the history of the professoriate in America that has rendered the collegium inadequate and yet so important in an age of differentiated labor? How might a renewed vision for collegiality bring clarity to the question of which faculty should be regarded as experts? How can we adapt and leverage these important concepts for a professoriate that is increasingly diverse by demographics and employment category in ways that result in a more inclusive and robust profession? Engaging in these questions through the extant literature will call readers into a compelling new conversation about the needs of and possibilities for the professoriate. This is the fourth issue of the 43rd volume of the Jossey-Bass series ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education issue, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.
At a time when faculty roles are under great scrutiny and faculty work itself has an uncertain future, this book offers a new approach to examining academic professionalism. This collection of essays applies a philanthropic lens to contemporary debates and considers academic work completed out of a moral responsibility to the public good. It provides a counterpoint to narrow conceptions of appropriate faculty work as limited to the production of credit hours and research dollars and offers evidence that faculty can have a wider role both within and beyond the “ivory tower.” By examining faculty members’ many contributions, not only to students but to society-at-large, Faculty Work and the Public Good provides an alternate perspective on America’s colleges and universities that will help preserve and expand professorial contributions to the public good. Although not all faculty are philanthropically inclined, highlighting those who are will help preserve valuable aspects of faculty work and encourage more such contributions to society. This volume is an essential read for higher education policymakers, trustees, and administrators; students and scholars of higher education and philanthropy; and individual faculty concerned about their profession. Contributors: Ann E. Austin, J. Herman Blake, Dwight F. Burlingame, Denise Mott DeZolt, Sean Gehrke, Audrey J. Jaeger, Adrianna Kezar, Jia G. Liang, Elizabeth Lynn, Michael Moody, Emily L. Moore, Thomas F. Nelson-Laird, Jason F. Perkins, William M. Plater, Gary Rhoades, R. Eugene Rice, John Saltmarsh, Lorilee R. Sandmann, Paul Shaker, Marty Sulek, William G. Tierney, Richard C. Turner “The contributors to this volume provide unique insights into this under-appreciated but significant dimension of academic work and culture.” —Jack H. Schuster, professor emeritus, education and public policy, senior research fellow, Claremont Graduate University “Provides a powerful rationale for broadening the definition of what are the valued contributions faculty members can make to their institutions, disciplines, and the public at large” —Judith M. Gappa, professor emerita, Purdue University
The Adjunct Faculty Handbook, Second Edition provides a full range of academic leaders and adjunct faulty with a much-needed, practical resource to manage the work of adjunct faculty teaching. Since the publication of the first edition in 1996, the number of adjunct faculty members in colleges and universities has increased spectacularly, to the point that most colleges and universities could not function efficiently without them. The revised edition has been updated to address the dramatic changes in higher education that result from institutional dependence on adjunct faculty as well as the striking changes in higher education (such as the role of technology in teaching and learning, the increased emphasis on student evaluations and learning outcomes assessment, and changes in classroom dynamics) in which adjunct faculty must be proficient.
This book presents real cases where new policies and practices have been implemented, unveiling the mechanisms required to create change, the challenges and opportunities that implementers face, and how effective methodology depends on context.
The institution of tenure—once a cornerstone of American colleges and universities—is rapidly eroding. Today, the majority of faculty positions are part-time or limited-term appointments, a radical change that has resulted more from circumstance than from thoughtful planning. As colleges and universities evolve to meet the changing demands of society, how might their leaders design viable alternative faculty models for the future? Envisioning the Faculty for the Twenty-First Century weighs the concerns of university administrators, professors, adjuncts, and students in order to critically assess emerging faculty models and offer informed policy recommendations. Cognizant of the financial pressures that have led many universities to favor short-term faculty contracts, higher education experts Adrianna Kezar and Daniel Maxey assemble a top-notch roster of contributors to investigate whether there are ways to modify the existing system or promote new faculty models. They suggest how colleges and universities might rethink their procedures for faculty development, hiring, scheduling, and evaluation in order to maintain a campus environment that still fosters faculty service and student-centered learning. Even as it asks urgent questions about how to retain the best elements of American higher education, Envisioning the Faculty for the Twenty-First Century also examines the opportunities that systemic changes might create. Ultimately, it provides some starting points for how colleges and universities might best respond to the rapidly evolving needs of an increasingly global society.
All too often a culture of silence permeates academia, where faculty and administrators ignore or misunderstand difficult situations. A Faculty Guide for Succeeding in Academe is a practical guide for prospective and current faculty that addresses real, complex issues that are too often left unexamined. Chapters explore typical aspects of the faculty career and life cycle—such as appointment, tenure, promotion, incivility, plagiarism, teaching, online delivery, interactions with chairs and deans, and performance appraisal—but focuses on the prickly issues as well as the routine. A Faculty Guide for Succeeding in Academe presents authentic, engaging vignettes that feature faculty and administrators as they maneuver through academe encountering authentic, difficult situations. Focusing on positive outcomes, each case is analyzed and readers are encouraged to reflect about the ways these incidents could have been resolved. Offering concrete suggestions and best-practices, this book provides insights that will help prospective, new, and current faculty maneuver more effectively through academe and their collegial culture. This important resource enhances a culture of openness and will help faculty gain direction and support in their career.