AAUP-SC Plans Coordinated Equity Week Event for 2018

The last week in October is designated Campus Equity Week by the AAUP, and chapters around the country use that time to draw attention to the growing numbers of contingent faculty employed by US colleges and universities and their struggles. Contingent faculty often teach without job security, adequate wages, and the academic security of full-time faculty. In addition to impacting students' classroom experiences, the displacement of tenured faculty by contingent faculty poses a significant threat to academic freedom.

During the Spring 2018 Meeting of the AAUP-SC conference, the USCA chapter of AAUP propose a state-wide coordinated Equity Week event, suggesting that SC chapters produce fact sheets on contingent faculty at their institutions, stage campus presentations and forums about the shifting labor force of higher education, and/or conduct surveys of contingent faculty to make visible their concerns.

Most students and many colleagues are unaware of the number of contingent faculty members teaching at SC institutions and nationwide, and fewer are aware of the struggles contingent faculty members face in terms of compensation, promotion, protection of academic freedoms, and access to the tools and resources needed to serve students.

If your AAUP chapter is interested in participating in this coordinated effort, or wants to learn more about Equity Week, please CONTACT AAUP-SC on this site. The more institutions involved, the more AAUP-SC can do to promote campus equity.