‘A’ New Adjunct Movement

Hello everyone! I sure miss being part of the CCC community. I ran across this article today in my reading and thought it was an interesting way to advertise adjuncts. Joey

‘A’ New Adjunct Movement
September 21, 2011, 9:47 am

By Isaac Sweeney

If you see a red “A” on a colleague’s door, it probably doesn’t mean “Adultery.” The “A” is for “Adjunct.”

I first heard of this movement from Katherine Burke, a part-time instructor in the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University, who posted the idea on the Con Job: Stories of Adjunct and Contingent Faculty Facebook page. She didn’t come up with the idea originally, she says, but she is committed to raising awareness, especially among students. You can see a photo of Burke’s “A” at her blog.

A red “A” signifies that you are an adjunct, some other contingent faculty member, or that you sympathize with contingent faculty members. The idea is to signify some level of unification and to spread awareness. Imagine if a student sees more and more red letters on faculty doors. The student may even see a room full of letters, or letters mysteriously attached to hallway desks (because there is no office or door). Eventually, a student is going to ask someone what it means.

When I’ve talked to students about the working conditions of many contingent faculty members and the pennies they are paid, the students seem appalled. Many students just aren’t aware of the contingent situations some of their instructors are in. This is important because students are, supposedly, the ones with the real power in academe. They are typically energetic and willing to advocate for change when they feel passionately about something, and some of them sit in high places on campuses across the country.

The trick to this, though, is that people have to be willing to answer questions when students or colleagues ask about the red “A”. Contingent faculty members have to be willing to stand up, to take that first plunge, to put that “A” where it can be seen. And supporters who aren’t contingent faculty have to be willing to put themselves out there as well. In the past, staff and faculty –- contingent or not -– have been afraid to stand up against the overuse of contingent labor in higher education. But maybe this simple symbol can alleviate some of that fear.