Adjuncts face professional, financial uncertainty
When Nancy Forgione was told she wouldn't be teaching a course for the semester, one of the first things she had to do was return her library books.
As an adjunct professor in the History of Art department, Forgione, who died last fall of a meningococcal infection, lost her library privileges whenever she was told she wouldn't have a course to teach. For a passionate teacher and lively academic who was popular with her students -- and who received both her degrees from Hopkins -- it was a strange and telling situation.
"The institution viewed her as a very part-time employee who had no job security, who had no benefits, who could learn in April that she didn't have a course in the fall and therefore lose her library privileges," said Michael Hill, her husband. "If she wanted to take [a book] out, she would have to ask a graduate student or a friend on the faculty to check it out for her."
Forgione's case was exceptional -- she had been a teacher and student at Hopkins for years, and her tenuous position with the department was her only job. But some say her situation was nonetheless indicative of the way many adjunct professors are treated at Hopkins and elsewhere.
"For some people it's an advantage and for some it's a disadvantage," said Stephen Campbell, chair of the History of Art department. "The workload for a person in the tenured track is greater than for those that are non-tenured."
Many of the adjunct professors who work for the University are part-time professors who do it in conjunction with other jobs. But Forgione's case was different. Hill recalled the times that Forgione would find out she didn't have a class for the next semester, saying he and his family were often left in financial limbo as a result.
It meant "that all our home finances, with two kids in college and tuition to pay, were thrown off," he said. "Our whole life as a family [was] thrown upside down because of this."
Although Campbell believes that tenured professors have more benefits because they have more responsibility, he admitted that there should be some changes made to the adjunct policy.
As an adjunct professor in the History of Art department, Forgione, who died last fall of a meningococcal infection, lost her library privileges whenever she was told she wouldn't have a course to teach. For a passionate teacher and lively academic who was popular with her students -- and who received both her degrees from Hopkins -- it was a strange and telling situation.
"The institution viewed her as a very part-time employee who had no job security, who had no benefits, who could learn in April that she didn't have a course in the fall and therefore lose her library privileges," said Michael Hill, her husband. "If she wanted to take [a book] out, she would have to ask a graduate student or a friend on the faculty to check it out for her."
Forgione's case was exceptional -- she had been a teacher and student at Hopkins for years, and her tenuous position with the department was her only job. But some say her situation was nonetheless indicative of the way many adjunct professors are treated at Hopkins and elsewhere.
"For some people it's an advantage and for some it's a disadvantage," said Stephen Campbell, chair of the History of Art department. "The workload for a person in the tenured track is greater than for those that are non-tenured."
Many of the adjunct professors who work for the University are part-time professors who do it in conjunction with other jobs. But Forgione's case was different. Hill recalled the times that Forgione would find out she didn't have a class for the next semester, saying he and his family were often left in financial limbo as a result.
It meant "that all our home finances, with two kids in college and tuition to pay, were thrown off," he said. "Our whole life as a family [was] thrown upside down because of this."
Although Campbell believes that tenured professors have more benefits because they have more responsibility, he admitted that there should be some changes made to the adjunct policy.
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Sandeep Kumar
posted 4/04/07 @ 2:57 PM EST
Hi,
I read your article about Adjunct professors at JHU while eating my lunch today at Gilman. I have full sympathy with their situation and your comment on Adjuncts being 'expendable assets' stuck a chord with me. (Continued…)
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