Thursday, September 19, 2013

Requiem Article for Adjunct Faculty : Professor Margaret Mary Vojtko of Duquesne University September 19, 2013

University's cold hearted policy toward its adjunct faculty leaves professor out in the cold.

"Underpaid 83-Year-Old Professor Died Trying to Make Ends Meet by Working Night Shift at Eat an' Save." By Daniel Kovalik, Attorney and Adjunct Professor. September 18, 2013. Alternet.

Professor Vojtko was thrown out of her job, just at the old horse in Animal Farm was sent to the glue factory. This professor was professional until she died. The university bears the shame.

"She could no longer keep her electricity on in her home, which became uninhabitable during the winter. She therefore took to working at an Eat 'n Park at night and then trying to catch some sleep during the day at her office at Duquesne. When this was discovered by the university, the police were called in to eject her from her office. Still, despite her cancer and her poverty, she never missed a day of class.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/underpaid-83-year-old-professor-died-trying-make-ends-meet-working-night-shift-eat-save

UPDATE Forum Discussion on Higher Ed.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/19/newspaper-column-death-adjunct-prompts-debate#.UjsZUpQ_odA.email

"Keith Hoeller, an adjunct instructor of philosophy in the Seattle area and co-founder of the Washington Part-Time Faculty Association, said ... the story illustrates the "meanness" of a two-track faculty system, which is particularly vicious late in an adjunct's career. Instead of retiring with benefits and pension like tenured colleagues,... adjuncts end up with neither and, in all likelihood, little to no savings. In other words, in poverty."

Read more: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/19/newspaper-column-death-adjunct-prompts-debate#ixzz2fUxQte3e
Inside Higher Ed "

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Eastern Washington University News Story Cites Faculty Raises, with No Mention of Faculty Classified as Adjunct or Part Time September 13, 2013


EWU is broadcasting a new faculty contract:
"A novel faculty contract at Eastern Washington University focuses on bringing everyone up to the national salary averages in their fields.
http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021820596_facultycontractxml.html

At present, the AFA website is waiting for clarification to see if the new contract excludes faculty who are classified as "adjunct" or "part-time."