15 December 2007
To the Editor,
First let me say how sorry I am that Angelique Carson is retiring a Editor of the Free Press. I’ve been impressed by the quality of the paper under her leadership. The last issue to appear under her editorial command (Dec. 10, 2007) included several “must read” articles for all members of the campus community. The first, “Students Upset Over Unrenewed Contracts” (written by Angelique herself) discussed the decision by the English department not to rehire long-term adjuncts. In covering this story, the paper brought to our attention the stark differences of power and prestige among faculty at USM. Some of us have job security; some of us apparently never will. Like many tenured faculty, I have serious concerns about the increasing “adjunctification” of teaching at U.S. universities; clearly there is a need for a real conversation about this-but I am quite sure that it cannot begin with the suggestion apparently made by a member of the English department that “after [being hired] you’ve got three years to build up your resume and go out on the market.” What a misunderstanding this is of our adjunct colleagues-as if each of them were highly mobile and newly minted PhD’s just getting a little experience before looking for a “real job.” The December 10th issue of the Free Press had a second interesting and related article on “bad professors,” (by Sarah Trent).
Again, this is a real and serious problem; but, again, the proposed “solutions” were rather hair-raising including a suggestion that the administration can “make people disappear.” Who ever takes over as Editor at the Free Press has some explosive stories to pursue in the spring!
Wendy Chapkis
Associate Professor of Women & Gender Studies and Chair of Department of Sociology