July 9, 2007

The Price of Good Intentions

Becky Lee Meadows was responsible last semester for supervising the work of 16 adjunct instructors at Ivy Tech Community College’s campus in Madison, Ind. When two of them — working without any health insurance from the college — had health emergencies, Meadows got to thinking about what could be done to help out.

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She came up with the idea of raising money to create a fund, to be turned over to the college, that would be used to help adjuncts facing unexpected health costs. A country music singer when she’s not an academic, Meadows thought she would get things started by holding a benefit concert. (She records under the name FOXX.)

Not only has the college not created the fund and pressured her to call off the concert, but Meadows is now out of a job, and she believes it is because of anger over her efforts on behalf of adjuncts. A committee of the American Philosophical Association and the Indiana conference of the American Association of University Professors, having reviewed documents in the case, agree — and are saying that the Meadows case raises troubling questions about academic freedom and shows the vulnerability of those without tenure.

A college spokesman said that he didn’t know that Meadows was no longer working at the college, and didn’t have any information he could discuss.

Meadows had worked as an assistant professor and chair of liberal arts at Ivy Tech since 2005. She was full time, receiving health benefits, but as is the norm at the campus, she worked on annual contracts, not on a tenure track. Meadows taught philosophy, English and general humanities classes while getting involved in the Faculty Senate, serving on a curriculum committee, and helping to organize a conference on the humanities.

When she came up with the idea of holding the concert, she told Ivy Tech officials about it because she wanted to be sure they would take the money raised and hold on to it for adjuncts. Meadows said she was eventually told that the college didn’t object to the concert idea, provided that the college was in no way linked to the effort. That was fine with Meadows, who planned to have the company that manages her concerts make the arrangements and to hold the event off campus.

A date was set and tickets were printed. Then Meadows received e-mail messages from college administrators complaining about the tickets, which identified the name “College Relief Fund.” Ivy Tech officials complained that the word “college” violated the pledge by Meadows not to link Ivy Tech to the concert — so she blacked out the word “college,” leaving the tickets labeled only as “Relief Fund.” But more e-mail messages arrived, including one telling her to “cease and desist” and in a meeting with administrators, Meadows said that the she was told by administrators that the concert had become “a PR nightmare” by implying that Ivy Tech doesn’t treat its adjuncts well.

After more meetings, and fearing that she was unfairly being labeled a troublemaker, Meadows agreed to call off the concert. Within a few weeks, despite earlier receiving good indications about her future, Meadows received a certified letter from the college saying that her contract would not be renewed. Under her contract, the college did not have to specify a reason for non-renewal, and it didn’t.

Martin Benjamin, professor emeritus of philosophy at Michigan State University and chair of the American Philosophical Association’s Committee for the Defense of the Professional Rights of Philosophers, said he was intrigued by the case as soon as Meadows told him about it. So he requested copies of all the documents and e-mail exchanges. After reviewing them, he wrote to the Ivy Tech chancellor this week to ask for reasons why Meadows is no longer employed.

“It’s a prima facie case that her rights may have been violated,” Benjamin said. He said he was waiting for the Ivy Tech response, and that he couldn’t prove a link between the concert and the non-renewal, but that the timing raised questions. “It looked like she’d been doing an excellent job, had the esteem of her colleagues, good teaching evaluations, and it was very surprising that she would not be given a contract,” he said. “It seems like everything they asked her to do, she did.”

Richard Schneirov, a professor of history at Indiana State University and president of the Indiana AAUP, has also been looking into the case and talking to faculty members who, because of what happened to Meadows, do not want to speak out. Based on the interviews he had conducted and the documents he reviewed, “there is no doubt” that Meadows lost her position because she tried to raise money to help adjuncts, he said.

“People are very concerned and outraged,” Schneirov said. “It’s made people extremely fearful of exercising any sort of independent judgment. There is no job security.”

As for Meadows, she said she’s frustrated and angry. She asked for a letter of recommendation and she said the college provided a letter that only confirmed her dates of employment and job titles.

“This all infuriates me,” she said. “It’s a slap in the face to academic freedom. Any time you have faculty members who are scared to death and afraid to say anything, there is no academic freedom on that campus, and then you have a lesser form of education.”

Meadows and her husband own a home in Kentucky, 25 miles away from the Ivy Tech campus where she worked. Because of the home and her husband’s job, Meadows said she couldn’t do a national job search, and will look for adjunct work in the area. She was informed that her contract wouldn’t be renewed right after her husband’s “open enrollment” period to add to his insurance coverage. Since they missed that chance, Meadows is now a member of the group she started off trying to help: adjuncts without health insurance.

— Scott Jaschik

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Comments

NACIQI Lack of Leadership

The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity Chairman is Carol D’Amico of Ivy Tech. It is time to connect the dots and put blame where it belongs. This article demonstrates why the Department of Education selected a separate Committee to review its rules in regard to accreditation.

If higher education is to have value, it must shake-up its leadership to put emphasis on Integrity.

Higher education must lead the way to stop treason by the likes of Scooter Libby through better trained lawyers and violence by the relegation of organized religion to mythical status.

William Sumner Scott, J.D.

wss@jefound.org

William Sumner Scott, J.D., at 8:25 am EDT on July 9, 2007

This is why tenure was created. This is why we need tenure.

A tenured faculty member in my department recently interrupted a long and important e-mail meeting with the observation that we should not be making these comments because our e-mails are subject to scrutiny by the administration.

So why have tenure at all? Maybe because if she’d had tenure, Professor Meadows would be filing a grievance—IF she has a union.

In the meantime, one reason we are losing tenure, and our right to academic freedom, is that our safe tenured faculty members are afraid to do what Professors Meadows has done.

Judith, at 8:35 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Adjunct benefits

It is a very common practice at most institutions that adjunct instructors do not have benefits available. It is an accepted practice and understood by most. Many schools provide other benefits like reduced tuition and other advantages, to insure adjuncts would be just too costly. This instructor was out of bounds in trying this tactic and is paying consequences.

Tenured, at 8:35 am EDT on July 9, 2007

shame on Ivy Tech

The woman fired was essentially an adjunct herself. This is why tenure is necessary—without it people will get fired indiscriminatly for speaking their minds in a constructive manner. As a student who has watched Ivy Tech grow, taking students from other 4 year institutions, only to give the generally meaningless degrees with the enthusiasm of the state legislature because of how ‘cheap’ it is, I am already disgusted with Ivy Tech. They prey on the impoverished and undereducated who don’t know that a two year degree is generally not enough to enter one into the professions (except for some medical degrees, which I don’t think most of the campuses offer). Shame on Ivy Tech!

A, at 8:35 am EDT on July 9, 2007

s-t-r-i-k-e

The fault (dear Brutus) is not in our stars but in ourselves.... that we put up with and help perpetuate the system.

There should be some way that adjuncts can set up their own Charter Colleges — provide education (whatever that might be) at a reasonable cost to those who want to buy this product.

Perhaps this mistreated person who has so much energy can set up her own institution of higher/WEB learning. Does anyone out there know how to do this??

anna spiro, at 8:55 am EDT on July 9, 2007

The Harsh Realities of the Capitalist Dream State

What’s surprising about this? The ratio of full-time faculty to adjuncts at community colleges is approaching 30:70, and no one gives adjuncts health insurance.

More and more, even full-time faculty at community colleges are, like Meadows, “employees-at-will", that wonderfully lawyer-ese construction that soundly debunks any notion about colleges being anything but businesses.

It’s a cut-throat everyone-for-themselves Cheney-esque world we have today. Isn’t it wonderful?

Phil, at 8:55 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Classic Reasoning

“It is a very common practice at most institutions that adjunct instructors do not have benefits available. It is an accepted practice and understood by most.” (2007)

“It is a very common practice at most institutions that women receive lesser pay. It is an accepted practice and understood by most.” (1977)

“It is a very common practice at most institutions that black and white students do not mingle in the same classrooms. It is an accepted practice and understood by most.” (1962)

“It is a very common practice at most institutions that employees sign a loyalty oath before being hired. It is an accepted practice and understood by most.” (1954)

It’s amazing how many ethical dilemmas can be overcome by citing “accepted practice"!

jack trades, at 9:50 am EDT on July 9, 2007

I don’t know how to get the message to her, but losing her job is a “qualifying event” and she doesn’t need her husband’s open enrollment period to get added on to his insurance.

Toni, at 9:50 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Cheney?

” .. It’s a cut-throat everyone-for-themselves Cheney-esque world ..”

What does Dick Cheney have to do with this?

For that matter, in the (weird) vein — did Teddy Kennedy’s dad (a very rich man) treat all his employees like they were AAUP members at MegaStateU? What about John Kerry-Heinz? And will Bill Clinton lead the seminar on intern relations?

The brutal, ugly truth: academia is filled with petty, small-minded bureaucrats who attack anything that might affect their paychecks. As in the old joke: “Oh, my God — you did exactly what I told you to do!!”

You’ve been warned. Don’t expect the taxpayers to rescue you — we’re got our own problems. Good luck.

Buzz, at 9:50 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Open enrollment

Regarding the statement that Meadows is now without health insurance because she missed her husband’s “open enrollment” period — She may want to re-check that. My (somehwat substantial) experience in similar situations has been that the spouse/partner has the opportunity to switch to the “family” category if/when his/her other family member(s) lose coverage — and not just when the next open enrollment period comes around.

ed, at 9:50 am EDT on July 9, 2007

get real...

“It’s a slap in the face to academic freedom.”

Come on. How, at any time during her contracted period of work, was Mrs. Meadows prevented in any way from pursuing any lines of inquiry related to philosophy, English, or humanities? That’s not what this was about. Mr. Benjamin’s quote borders on absurd; at least he spelled prima facie correctly.

“She was informed that her contract wouldn’t be renewed right after her husband’s ‘open enrollment’ period to add to his insurance coverage. Since they missed that chance, Meadows is now ... without health insurance.”

Horsehockey. A spouse’s loss of insurance coverage is what HR people call a “qualifying life event,” which means that changes to the husband’s benefits can be made, including changing beneficiaries/dependents and changing levels of coverage.

It’s unfortunate Mrs. Meadows lost her job. Sounds like Ivy Tech handled it poorly. But this is more groundless sensationalism than news.

anonymous, at 10:40 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Another Involuntary Martyr to the Adjunct Cause

We can now add Becky Meadows-Wilson to the pantheon of adjunct faculty who thought she had academic freedom and found herself an involuntary martyr for the adjunct faculty movement. Like most adjuncts, including unionized ones, Becky was employed without tenure or any kind of job security at all. And like most adjuncts, including unionized ones, she will probably not have any rights to grieve the loss of her job.

The citizens of Indiana need to know the kind of community college system their legislators are running. We used to call colleges without tenure “diploma mills.” The Chancellor of Antioch, who recently closed down their only campus with tenure, calls such colleges “progressive.”

Let’s hope the APA and the AAUP vigorously come to her defense.

Richard, at 10:45 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Equity

How many years will adjuncts be treated by second class professors: no health insurance,firing at will as contingent employees,traveleing to several colleges becasue theya rent allowed to teach more than 9 units per semester? No one wants to address the outdated laws keeping adjuncts from the benefits they deserve.Its a two teired system of adjuncts and tenured faculty.Tenured faculty are paid about 5 times as much with all the benefits.Does that sound equitable?Unions only keep admins and chairs at bay.Isnt it time to allow the dedicated professionals the opportunity to have ONE job where they dont have to travel to three campuses to make a living?

Adjuncts are akin to civil rights.It was once understood and accepted for blacks to give up their seats to whites.Should adjucnts give up their seats to tenured faculty? Of course not. Its time they get the benefits and fair treatment they deserve.This will require changing state ed code laws which are repressing their rights and changing the attitudes of those accept these practices.

Yes mam, at 10:50 am EDT on July 9, 2007

This is a multiple-choice question.The reasoning of executive responsible for the decision to not renew Ms. Meadows:

A. I worked long and hard to get this position and I have no intention of letting you, an employee and mere mortal, tarnish my college by suggesting publicly that there is something wrong here. After all, I am the college and if you appear to be questioning the college you must go.

B. Everyone else sees it my way. I know they do because they never question my decisions or anything I say. We are one big happy family here, everyone but you, that is. If you can’t see it my way you must not be committed to this college like everyone else is so it’s time for you to go.

C. I am boss therefore I must be the smartest. If I say it is true it is, because I am the smartest and that makes me the arbiter of truth in my college. This is my world and as my employee you have no right to do anything that might suggest that there is a problem in my world. If you do, you must go.

D. All of the above

management prof, at 10:55 am EDT on July 9, 2007

Treason?

William Sumner Scott, J.D., as usual sees beyond the mundane and connects the larger dots. That Scooter Libby wasn’t charged with treason is reason enough to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Patrick Fitzgerald. Perhaps a panel chosen from tenured faculty could conduct its own investigation. Hopefully, when its initial findings become available in 2020, Becky Lee Meadows will still be alive. And let’s not forget the obvious involvement of the Discovery Institute.

Christine, at 12:05 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

no violation of academic freedom; adjuncts are not minorities

I have to agree with anonymous, as bad as this sounds, this wasn’t a violation of anyone’s academic freedom. The school’s ability to teach and research (whatever a community college teaches and studies) was not hindered, nor, by implication was the free inquiry of its teachers. Yes, the school acted in a jerky manner. The quote about making out a “prima facie” was silly, because in order to make such a showing one would have had to lay out the law, and show how the facts fit the law. (And even then “prim facie” does not mean that the plaintiff recovers.) Nobody did. This is pretty sloppy for an academic. But, Benjamin qualifies his rhetoric by saying that it “might” be a prima facie case. So, he doesn’t even know what the law is.

Secondly, Tenured does have a point. Adjuncts are, indeed, second-class academics. They are treated like second-class professors because they are such. They chose this life for themselves. To be sure, being an adjunct has some benefits: more flexibility, ease of multiple appointments, etc. Sure, some adjuncts complain that they have the same credentials as real professors. If this were true, then they would be able to get full-time positions. Or, if they really hate the system, they could just quit academe and work in the private sector. Unlike women and non-white people the constitution and statutes do not protect them, so, the parallel between women, black people, and adjuncts is, well, silly. But, hey, if you guys want to give adjuncts the same constitutional status as minorities, I urge you to march on Washington and inspire public opinion.

I think this woman was not a “voluntary” martyr. She knew how her activities would be received.

Larry, at 12:20 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

“And let’s not forget the obvious involvement of the Discovery Institute.”

Plus don’t forget the Discovery Channel. I think they had a paw in this travesty of justice.

By the way, why didn’t this professor suggest HIP or Medicaid? A rock concert seems just a tad dramatic. I can sort of appreciate why the university was concerned about the message that LIVE ADJUNCT would have sent.

Student, at 12:30 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

NACIQI irony?

How ironic is it that the the Ivy Tech VP, is the chair of the body that advises the Sec’y of ed on accreditation matters? Wonder if North Central will not this incident during its annual review of the college?

Jeff, at 12:30 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Ok, let me make sure I get this. The college thought that publicly raising funds to help adjunct faculty with overwhelming health care costs would be a PR nightmare.

Somehow it did not occur to them that firing Professor Meadows for her altruism would be a PR nightmare.

Ummm. Excuse me. These people don’t understand PR.

It would be great PR for the institution to have shown that it cares about adjunct faculty, particularly those who have serious health issues, by supporting Meadows’ cause. Instead, Ivy Tech looks even worse.

Talk about Simon LeGree. In this case LeGree has taken the heroine trying to save the widow and tied both of them to the tracks.

Georgia NeSmith, adjunct associate professor, at 12:45 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Res Ipsa Loquitor

Rarely have I seen such mean-spirited commentary about someone who was trying to do a good thing because two uninsured adjuncts had medical emergencies which, presumably, led to financial problems.

This Good Samaritan, rather than looking the other way and saying “it’s not my problem,” tries to do something to help and she gets fired.

She tries to raise money in a way she has a unique ability to do, and she gets castigated by the readers here.

And worse, so many readers boil this down to blaming the victims—the adjuncts—for being in their lowly positions. Gee, Tenured, that post of yours is really collegial, amounting to “I’ve got mine, screw the rest of you.”

I’m glad to see there are some people who try to make an effort to improve the lives of those in lest fortunate circumstances. Karma will eventually get the others.

Christine Valada, Esq., at 1:20 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Meadows is a victim

The article says she checked with the administration before she began her endeavor. Obviously, with too low on the pole, but she checked non-the-less.

In addition, she jumped through all the hoops, including cancellation of the concert. That should have been enough to protect her job.

Ivy appears vindictive.

Quizzical, at 1:25 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

tenure and academic freedom for adjuncts and ft

Part of this problem is the result of regional variations in the way part-time faculty are treated. In the Western US, where faculty have unions, many adjuncts do receive health care. In the state of Washington, it’s fairly easy to qualify for health care as an adjunct, teach at least 50% load two terms in a row and you have it, over the summer as well if you don’t teach. Why, unions and collective bargaining. I’m not sure of the conditions for Oregon and California, but they get pretty much the same treatment, despite the continued over-reliance on PT faculty.

As for the academic freedom connection, it seems pretty clear. If an administration will fire someone for helping others because it shows how poorly the institution treats their faculty, they will surely fire someone for pursuing unpopular academic views in the classroom or for failing the mayor’s or board member’s kid. I’m no genius, but those are two dots pretty easy to connect.

It seems that in some places higher education doesn’t count for much when it come to inculcating and practicing ideals we have long associated with higher education, such as thinking for yourself, acting on those thoughts, and doing right by your conscience. This is the sort of thing that is bound to happen more and more as the neo-liberal business model infects higher education.

bradley bleck, instructor at Spokane Falls CC, at 1:25 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

No good deed goes UNPUNISHED

Is seems like a person who went out of her way to make the college a better place for instructors at no direct cost to the college got sand bagged and sad to say a turf war was created. But this is the way it is in the private sector too and results in turning people to not step forward and show leadership and initiative. SAD

Al Lewandowski, at 1:35 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Reply to Ms. Valada and Mr. Bleck

Ms. Valada, I fail to see how any of this has to do with the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitor,” which, itself allows a negligence plaintiff to prevail in some narrow circumstances where he doesn’t know the specific circumstances of a breach.

Look, folks, sure the university treated her badly. Their actions were stupid. But, that doesn’t mean that her academic freedom was violated.

Let me let you in, folks, on a couple secrets: institutions treat many people badly. Adjuncts, because of their choice to accept second-class academic positions, will likely be treated worse than others. (I don’t have anything against adjuncts personally, but if adjunct teaching was the only thing I could get, I would get the heck out of academe. Academe and me would not be a match.) All of these slights are not violations of academic freedom. So, Mr. Bleck, are you really saying that just because a college acts like a jerk, that somehow a personal right to academic freedom (if there is one, which there probably is not) is violated. If so, are you going to argue that any time a college breaches ANY kind of Contract or commits any kind of tort that someone’s academic freedom has been violated. If so, this is really great: students malpracticed upon by “counselors” at public institutions will be able to claim that their academic freedom was violated, snow-removal contractors that feel that their contract was breached, can screech “academic freedom,” and heck, neighbors of a college that sue claiming some injury to their property can claim that THEIR academic freedom was violated.

Larry, at 2:50 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Issues re: adjuncts

In one of the first doctoral classes I took, I discovered very unsettling information. An adjunct normally signs on as a adjunct thinking that with their foot in the door, if a permanent opening becomesavailable, they will be most likely the first to be considered for the vacant tenured position. Not true. Most adjuncts stay at the same university for 7 years before they realize that they will always be an adjunct.

The only person who really cares about the adjunct normally is the one to whom they answer. I was amazed when I hired on (I have a staff position with no tenure) that the regular faculty had nothing to do with the adjunct faculty. At times, I have just mentioned the name of an adjunct and the faculty member would ask who is that? And the adjunct teacher had worked there 4-5 years, teaching sometimes as much as two or three classes.

I observed no one was interested in what they had to say, unless all of a sudden an adjunct could not be had to teach a class the regular faculty had to up their load to 3 classes and teach a “beginning” class. No one was concerned with their not having any access to insurance, possible tenure, not being invited to attend faculty meetings,etc. No one wanted to know about or be required to respond to their difficulties at home, etc. I think in the faculties’ minds, they fell one level below “human.”

Not all school treat their adjuncts with such disparity. I did find a few that were trying to level the playing field, but not many.

I have thought about using this subject for my dissertation when I get to that point.I found it interesting, and truthful that adjuncts are treated the most badly on campus. I was asked to dumb down my class requirements because what I was asking of the students was “too hard.” It was, however, not as hard as the same course I had gone through as one seeking my BA, and I had a lot more interesting elements inserted into the course than the course I had taken as a student only seven years before.

I agree — adjuncts get a raw deal — just about anyway they turn and I will pray for Becky Meadows, that someone will recognize her and how she values all faculty, not just those who are tenured. Seems like EEOC might be interested in looking into this issue, unless the rep has been bought out by the school. I don’t agree that the two elements in our society — universities and abortion clinics — should be “untouchables.” — out of the range and grasp of the law, so to speak.

And to anyone who takes a stand against an invested position held by a university, I say more power to them!

Suzu

Susan Sanders, Curator of Visual Resources, at 2:50 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Faculty Scared to Speak at Ivy Tech in Madison

I am a faculty member of Ivy Tech’s Madison campus where Professor Meadows worked. I saw the great things she was trying to do, and how she was a bright shining star on the Madison campus. She went out of her way to do great things for Ivy Tech, and everyone agreed she was extremely talented. She was even slated for a promotion from Program Chairperson to Department Chairperson right before her termination.

Administration for Region 11 has the faculty at the Madison and Lawrenceburg campuses scared to death to speak out about anything for fear the faculty members will not get their contracts renewed. Ms. Meadows was president of the Faculty Senate and tried to help adjunct instructors in need. They fired her because they thought it made administration look bad. Trust me, they already looked and still look like idiots who haven’t the foggiest idea about the protocol and ideals of higher education. Ms. Meadows had the approval of the campus Executive Dean before presenting her idea to the Faculty Senate, which agreed to help with the concert.

AND — if anyone looks into the credentialing of this administration, he/she would be shocked to discover many with only Bachelor’s degrees who run the show. Ms. Meadows is ABD for her PhD in Humanities, and was the most credentialed person on the Madison campus. No wonder they fired her. She wasn’t a “yes” person — she was someone who had the potential to expose incompetence of administration members. They were scared to death of her.

Ms. Meadows has said she has filed an official grievance, but administration is ignoring it. They cannot ignore her forever.

Well, now they will be even more scared of her because, from what I hear, the media campaign has only just begun.

Ivy Tech Faculty Member, Faculty at Ivy Tech Community College, Madison campus, at 3:10 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

academic freedom

Larry,

What I’m saying is that any institution that treats folks with contempt when it comes to exposing the institution, and not in a mean spirited way, for the louses they are would also be the sort of institution that would sack a faculty member for making them “look bad” by pursuing unpopular academic ideas. I think that was pretty clear.

I didn’t say her academic freedom had been violated, but that it was pretty easy to see how a knee-jerk reactionary such as those who fired the woman after giving her approval, after how she did all she could to placate the morons, would also fire faculty who lack protection (as in tenure or a contract that requires cause) should they pursue something academically unpopular, and I have no doubt the pinheads at Ivy would do just that. As I wrote, much of this is the result of neo-liberal, so-called free market and right-to-work ideologies (which as we can see are really right to sack) infecting higher ed.

The case described in the article is exactly why unions and tenure remain necessities. Too many administrators are simply career building and care too little for the core values of a liberal education, even at the “lowly” community colleges.

bradley bleck, instructor at Spokane Falls CC, at 3:20 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

might I add

As you can see just above my previous comment, the Ivy Tech faculty member doesn’t feel safe exposing their identity in this forum. Were some hot-button issue being discussed involving my institution, I could speak without fear of professional retribution. I can sign my name; I needn’t hide behind a pseudonym even if this involved my college president (who is a better human being it seems than that Ivy Tech has). I’ll chalk that up to tenure and union representation, despite the real and perceived flaws of each.

bradley bleck, instructor at Spokane Falls CC, at 4:40 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Errata — D’Amico no longer at Ivy

The following correction was sent to me:

With regard to your comment on the Inside Higher Ed article — Carol D’Amico is no longer associated with Ivy Tech. She sued the college when a divided board of trustees passed her over for the president’s job. The board settled, paying her $200,000 in salary and benefits. She has since joined the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. Karen Francisco senior editorial writer The Journal Gazette Fort Wayne, IN (260) 461-8206kfrancisco@jg.net

William Sumner Scott, J.D.

wss@jefound.org

William Sumner Scott, J.D., at 6:15 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Mr. Bleck, Then I think we agree. In fact, I agree that as a matter of policy and common decency adjuncts should be treated better. If unions are the means to do this (and resist administrators), so be it.

Ms. Sanders, Adjuncts know what they are getting into. Unfortunately, way too many people in academe are delusional. It starts in undergrad. People are told that programs or majors are respected and lucrative, when they are not. People don’t check, and institutions don’t really want to be honest. Students in graduate programs fool themselves into thinking that they will get tenure-track positions, when, in fact, in many fields they statistically will not. It comes as no surprise to me that people think that being an adjunct faculty member is a step to getting a tenure-track position at a university. At best, it is a “holding pattern” towards getting a tenure track position at another university. But, come on, folks, stop pretending that you are surprised by it.

Larry, at 6:15 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Union!

I’ve worked as a adjunct, and I remember that I foolishly thought it would lead to a full-time, tenure-track position. Universities see adjuncts as expendable, and they’re right—they can usually find enough qualified people willing to work for $500/credit hour in order to stay in academia. What adjuncts need is to unionize and not to settle for peanuts. By the way, since universities charge the same for courses taught by adjuncts and tenure-track/tenured faculty, some of that extra money the universities earn might be devoted to benefits for the adjuncts.

Carol Leibiger, University of South Dakota, at 6:15 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Hardly

” .. The case described in the article is exactly why unions and tenure remain necessities ..”

Oh, really? In Podunk towns, where the college deans have usually been faculty union presidents and thus co-opted? Where the syllabi appear to have been unchanged for 10+ years because there is no incentive to update them?

A zillion unions and blanket tenure will never, ever fix those problems. Never. Only charters might.

Buzz, at 6:15 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Fact is: helping adjuncts implicates the system (if they didn’t need help, then no one would be helping them...).

Fact is: tenured profs (on the whole) do not care to disrupt the system that employs them—this means you “Larry"—else the system would be changing (tenured have the power to change the system but are not)

Fact is: adjuncts did not choose their fate. They didn’t one day wake up and say “I think I will accept sub-standard wages without benefits or security. I mean, after all, I would love to put my advanced degree to work for a system that subjugates me. Ooh, that sounds like fun.”

Fact is: large PhD classes lead to a disproportionate supply of cheap adjunct labor (the university system as a whole makes money on the advanced degrees and then on the adjunctification of that same degree)

Fact is: no one in power cares about the above facts.

Piss Poor Prof, at 6:15 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

Thanks Becky for trying to help!

Becky, You are one of the few full-timers to actually care about the adjuncts. As a 17+ year instructor, who also lost my job, and also had a “full-time” none tenure track job, I understand and relate to you. You took on the powers-that-be. Make no mistake that you were and are up against the fascists, who will do anything, no matter how cowardly, to keep academic freedom only for those with nothing else to lose. Get a lawyer and sue the school. Thanks, Terry Knudsen

Terry Knudsen, na, at 11:20 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

charter colleges and universities?

Buzz, I’m not sure what to make of the suggestion that higher ed have charter schools the way the k12 system does in places. I guess you could start one. Pretty much anyone can, if you can round up the money, if the marketplace thinks your ideas are worth the investment. If anything the U of Phoenix would be analogous to a charter school. They don’t accept everyone though, even if they can pay. You have (last time I checked anyway) be over 21, be working and be an adult in both mind and body. In short, it’s not very democratic or ennobling, and is more about credentialing than educating based on those I know who have attended, not exactly fulfilling the enlightenment goals of our founding fathers when it comes to an educated populace. Do you expect the state to fund your charter college because it’s not worthy in its own right?

Similarly, there are the ITT Techs of the world for folks who want that. But where do students go? Public and Private non/not-for-profit institutions for the most part, though I don’t have an numbers to support that. Many of which not only have tenure, but cherish it. Plus, there are many that have union representation as well. so, the so-called charter schools of higher education are out there, but people aren’t voting with their feet.

bradley bleck, instructor at Spokane Falls CC, at 11:20 pm EDT on July 9, 2007

What?

” .. the so-called charter schools of higher education are out there, but people aren’t voting with their feet ..”

Say what?

U of PHX is the largest institution of higher education in the U.S. Public academia has been scrambling to copy UoP’s techniques, including online. If the Public Education Monopoly ever lost its coercive powers of taxation, UoP would be at least three times larger.

Arguing is one thing. Facts are another. Keep trying.

Buzz, at 8:20 am EDT on July 10, 2007

copying UoP?

Buzz, I am not sure how UoP is really the “largest.” I guess it depends on how you count. Students? Acres? Tenured Professors? Adjuncts? Computers? Buildings? Whatever the case, I do not consider someone with a degree from that institution to be a real degree, and nor does anyone I know. Maybe, at some point, for-profit institutions will come into their own, but they have a long way to go.

Larru, at 9:30 am EDT on July 10, 2007

U of PHX size

” .. Buzz, I am not sure how UoP is really the “largest.”

Read the lede ..

http://select.nytimes.com/search/...s=F40B15F6355B0C728DDDAB0894DF404482

Is UoP better or worse than Average State College? No definitive empirical proof — and, of course, as in all things social science, never will be.

Buzz, at 11:30 am EDT on July 10, 2007

Academic Freedom ??

The University of Phoenix? Others copying its processes and approaches? No one wants to copy the average 16% graduation rates (as reported by Business Week recently).

This is almost as crazy as the other ignorant persons who are writing that this lady’s academic freedom was violated! Its ludicrous!

I have nothing against adjunct faculty members. However, they should not expect to be treated — in salary and benefits — in the same manner as those who are qualified to earn full-time positions and to earn tenure. If they are so qualified, they should secure those jobs, if they possess the other requisite skill sets. If the full-time positions do not exist and they are qualified they should modify their educations to qualify for those faculty positions for which there are many more positions than there are available faculty.

James, at 12:15 pm EDT on July 10, 2007

U ludicrous?

” .. This is almost as crazy as the other ignorant persons who are writing that this lady’s academic freedom was violated! Its ludicrous! ..”

Not as ludicrous as the Public College Monopoly (PCM), abandoning adult learners, until John Sperling, PhD, built UoP. That is, from 0.0% to 16%.

This is opposed to the PCM, backed by the power of coercive taxation, that can barely graduate 50% of incoming freshmen within six years. As in, failing to achieve the major goal in 50% of cases.

Charters, people. Get the PCM off the public dime and get it to stand on its own, so it will be stronger by focusing on students, not politicians.

Buzz, at 12:50 pm EDT on July 10, 2007

academic qualifications

The problem, James, is that many adjuncts are as good and qualified as the full-time faculty they work with. It’s not a matter of lesser pay for lesser skills. Instead, it’s institutions balancing budgets (inadequate budgets) on the back of cheap labor.

As for UofP, my point is that the competition is out there, the so-called higher ed charter schools exists, and as the enrollments in any one area will show, even if they serve more students across the country than any other institution, they are bit players in every regional market they enter. They serve a small niche, and if the 16 percent graduation rate is accurate (though there are lots of reasons that graduation rates are not indicative of success, such as a student needing only one class to learn a particular something), such a rate is hardly indicative of quality, which is also true for size. Big is not synonymous with better, or even good. Big is just big.

bradley bleck, instructor at Spokane Falls CC, at 12:50 pm EDT on July 10, 2007

Mr. Bleck, At some level, we could state that there is no justice in the world, because not all PhDs have tenure-track jobs. But, at another level, we could concede that maybe not all PhDs are really as qualified as they think they are. Are all the whiney adjuncts out there really equally (or more) qualified than tenured or tenure-track professors? Would the college really benefit by making them a tenure-track professor? In most cases, the answer is no. Adjuncts simply are not the superstars that they think they are. They might be smart, competent, and nice, but institutions have determined that they would be better off putting people with other qualifications on the tenure track. Now, to all the adjuncts out there, let me ask you this: what are you doing to make yourselves better?

Buzz, You can tell us how UoP is the greatest institution in the world all you want. However, because it is a for-profit institution and it plays by different rules, it will always be in a different world. Maybe that world is objectively better (since it can claim “efficient”). Maybe it is worse (since it has a low graduation rate, corruption scandal, limited physical resources). But, it isn’t the world that we live in.

Larry, at 4:30 pm EDT on July 10, 2007

CC’s doing the best they can

In regards to the article, certainly Ivy Tech fumbled the PR ball. Whatever reasons they felt they had to cancel Meadow’s contract, it’s the perceived reasons they must manage.

In regards to the use of adjuncts at CC’s, those institutions would rather hire full-time faculty, but can’t because of personnel and capital funding shortfalls. At my institution, we are below our NCA target for full-time faculty (but NCA continues to accredit us). When money becomes available to add more FT faculty positions, another problem arises — available office space. We’ve converted classrooms (not a good option), storage spaces, and played shell games with academic and admin staff to provide suitable office accomodations. Because tuition is low (and that is more than a selling point — it is germaine to our mission) and we rely on the state for financial support (I must restrain myself from laughter), the money just isn’t always there. We’ve come up with some creative programs (faculty fellows) and tried to provide our adjuncts with “benefits” (professional continuing education and shared office space). But it’s not easy!

DuPont Snoddy, at 11:45 am EDT on July 11, 2007

TWO issues here:

1) The need for national health insurance; this would not only help these poor adjuncts, but also Detroit and other US industry in competing with companies abriad that do not have to pay employee’s health, but still have their employees’ health care taken care off. Don’t believe that national health care is substandard. I’ve seen it at work in Greece, a member of the EU, and it’s great. Total bill for student with broken foot: $7 for x-ray film. Total time in waiting: faster than St. Vincent’s in Indy. Care just as good, though waiting room looks like BMV, not the Hilton. Go for it. And don’t lose sight of this issue.

2) The need to eliminate accreditation to degree granting institutions that do not give proper security to faculty who teach and carry administrative burdens. These faculty should at least have the job security of public school teachers, and if it takes unions and strikes to do the job, I’m all for it. States should not be allowed to go for cheap (in every sense of the word) on higehr education, and that’s what Indiana’s doing with IVYTech. All higher ed teachers should have at least the same rights as K-12 teachers, and without these rights the degrees at such institutions will not be worth the paper they’re printed on in the long run.

Robert Sutton, Professor at IUPUI, at 4:30 pm EDT on July 14, 2007

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